Sydney Living Museums (aka The Historic Houses Trust) is currently featuring the work of James Moroney who established a leadlight works in Randwick in 1921. The date suggests the style of his designs – art deco geometrics and sinuous art nouveau. The designs from Moroney’s workshop are on display in the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, behind the Mint Building at 10 Macquarie St, Sydney.

Many of Glebe’s leadlights are of an earlier vintage and a stroll after sunset will reveal a plethora of handsome examples in glazed front doors, fanlights, side panels and in front windows. The Heritage Subcommittee has considered many different options for celebrating and focussing attention on this aspect of our Victorian and Federation houses.

We have decided that the Glebe Society website offers the best medium for showing off the glorious colours and designs of some of Glebe’s beautiful leadlights. We envisage including on the website a selection of pictures of leadlight styles, mentioning the street, but without identifying the specific house pictured. The following definitions may be helpful.

  • Leadlights are created by placing small sections of coloured glass into various shapes to create patterns; each piece of glass is braced in lead cames. This process produces bold patterns and colours.
  • Not to be confused with stained glass where an artist paints a scene onto glass, which is then fired in a kiln. This process produces very fine gradations of colour.
Leadlight window, Mansfield St Glebe (Source: Martin Lawrence )
Leadlight window, Mansfield St Glebe (Source: Martin Lawrence )

Can you help with leadlight photos?

But we need your help! We believe owners are in the best position to capture photos of their leadlights under perfect lighting conditions. The Glebe Society’s volunteer photographer, Phil Young, suggests that the best photos would be captured from inside the house on a sunny day, so that the colours of the leadlight glass can be seen to best advantage.

So if you have beautiful leadlights, please let us share them on the website. Please send your photos to webmaster@glebesociety.org.au or invite Phil Young (at the same email address or phone 9692 9583) to arrange for him to pop around to photograph your leadlights.