Stained glass has been around for centuries, in fact, tools employed by craftsman for making glass have been known to date back thousands of years. Traditionally, stained glass was used in British churches and became more common in houses during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The privileged few that boasted stained glass in their home often used them to pull rank in social status.
Today, we know that although some of the tools to create stained glass have been modernised and improved upon, the traditional skill has been retained, and stained glass windows are still hand crafted as they were centuries ago. Unlike most window companies, here at Wandsworth Sash Windows we love working with stained glass and we are able to either repair and refit (or make new) your existing windows, or if this is your first experience of stained glass windows, we can create a brand new bespoke design especially for you.
When to replace and when to repair your stained glass windows
If you’re deciding whether to repair what you already have or replace the windows and protect the glass for the long term, it helps to separate the project into two parts: the stained glass itself, and the timber window or door around it. With stained glass joinery, repair work can be less cost-effective than on standard glazing because you’re often dealing with both at once, and it’s not always possible to isolate one repair from the other. Removing stained glass can also expose issues in the surrounding joinery that were previously hidden.
Stained glass can absolutely be restored by a specialist. Re-leading and careful repairs can bring it back to looking like new, and the glass itself is not susceptible to rot. The question is what it’s going back into. If the surrounding timber is nearing the end of its life, you can end up investing in beautiful restored glass only to fit it back into joinery that may still be short-lived.
As a conservative rule of thumb, general window repairs can buy you around five years of extra life. That can be a sensible choice on standard windows, but when stained glass is involved, the overall cost and disruption can tip the balance towards replacement, especially if the joinery is tired and you want better comfort, security, and day-to-day operation.
A practical middle ground is often: keep the stained glass (where possible), restore it, and build new joinery around it. This can preserve the character you love while giving you the benefits of a newly made window or door.
Pros and cons of keeping the existing windows
- Keeping the existing windows (with repairs) helps retain original fabric and can reduce upfront spend, but you may still live with stiff operation, rattles, draughts, and recurring maintenance if the joinery is tired.
- New joinery can transform day-to-day use, smoother opening and closing, better alignment, upgraded security and draught-proofing, and more consistent performance, but it typically costs more, involves more disruption, and may require extra permissions depending on the property.
Stained glass window repair
If you are looking to revamp or repair your existing windows, our team of very skilled craftspeople would love to help. One of our installers will visit your home and carefully remove the existing stained glass. The installer will do this using extreme precision as old, fragile glass is not often in the best condition. The installer then carefully wraps and stores the glass. We will temporarily re-glaze the openings with clear glass before we send to our workshop to be expertly glazed into new frames. If the glass needs to be repaired in any way we may send to our friends at Bromley Stained Glass where they help us with a range of specialist works from re-soldering a small amount of lead, replacing panes within the stained glass unit with new glass that matches the existing elements, to replacing all the leadwork.
New stained glass windows
If you are new to stained glass windows or would just like to start from scratch, then we would love to arrange a design consultation to either match your existing windows or create a completely new and bespoke design with you. Making new stained glass allows us to seal it inside a double-glazed unit to create double-glazed stained glass windows.
The manufacturing process
There is a reason why the manufacturing process of stained-glass windows has remained the same for thousands of years…because it works! However, it is a highly skilled craft that requires time to perfect. For the manufacture of new leaded glass, we would allow 4-6 weeks. If replicating the existing glass, the design timeframe could be as little as 2 days, or a few weeks if there is a lot of back and forth between our team and the customer.
How much does a stained glass window cost?
We can either repair and refit the existing or create brand new designs. We can usually quote for both options.
Obviously, the price will depend on your exact requirements but as a guide:
- We recently repaired existing windows on a property in Kings Hall Road (Beckenham, Kent) and the repairs cost around £400 for all ten panes.
- We recently installed new leaded glass on a property in Green Lane (Chislehurst, Kent) which cost around £950.
Are stained glass windows expensive?
People usually mean one of two things when they ask, “How much does a stained glass window cost?”: the price to repair or make the stained glass panel itself, or the price to supply and fit a complete new window or door that includes stained glass. Those are very different jobs, which is why costs can feel all over the place at first glance.
As a rough guide, stained glass can be “expensive” mainly because it’s skilled, hands-on work, and because the joinery side of the project can add another layer of labour and complexity. Costs are influenced by the size of each panel, how intricate the design is, how many colours and pieces are involved, the condition of the leadwork, and access on site (for example, upper floors or bays).
How much to repair a stained glass window
Small, localised repairs (like strengthening joints and replacing a small number of pieces) can sometimes be relatively contained, but full restoration is more involved because it typically means renewing leadwork and reassembling the panel so it’s stable again. The key thing to factor in is that stained glass repair rarely happens in isolation: the window or door often needs attention at the same time, and once the glass is removed, it can reveal additional joinery issues that also need to be addressed.
When replacement becomes the better-value option
If your frames are worn, drafty, or nearing the end of their service life, replacement can be the more cost-effective long-term route. It lets you keep (and protect) the stained glass you love, while upgrading the overall window or door performance and how it operates day to day.
Here are two recent examples to show how this plays out in real projects:
- In 2026, we fitted new sash windows for a customer in Greencroft Gardens, West Hampstead (NW6), restoring and encapsulating the stained glass and installing new sashes. The guide price for the package (including stained glass repair, encapsulation, and new sash installation) was around £6,000 plus VAT.
- In 2024, we completed a new timber casement bay on Culverden Road, Balham (SW12), re-using the original stained glass by encapsulating it within new double-glazed units and fitting it into newly made joinery. Bay projects vary widely depending on size and access, but it’s a good example of keeping the character while upgrading the window as a whole.
If you’re not sure which route makes most sense for your home, we can talk you through repair vs replacement and help you choose the option that gives you the best long-term value. The easiest next step is to get in touch for a bespoke stained glass replacement consultation, and we can advise based on the condition of your joinery, the glass, and what you want the finished result to achieve.
Whether you replace or repair, we can help
If you are thinking about revamping your property and would like a stained glass feature, or bespoke windows, doors or shutters for your home improvement project, please do not hesitate to contact us to talk us through your project. Our new windows and doors with stained glass [add link to new landing page] are a popular option for properties of different types. We provide different options for customers to consider when decorating their homes with stained glass.