Barley Studio

Barley Studio was founded in 1973 by Keith Barley and is now directed by Keith Barley MBE and Helen Whittaker MBE from a purpose-built studio at Church Balk, Dunnington, on the edge of York. Over five decades the studio has built an international reputation for excellence in both the creation of new stained glass and the conservation of historic windows, working for cathedrals, stately homes, parish churches and prestigious secular buildings throughout the UK and abroad.

Conservation work covers every period and type of historic glass, from medieval and Renaissance windows to nineteenth-century memorial glazing, using minimum-intervention techniques, reversible repair methods and bespoke environmental protective glazing systems developed in-house. The studio also undertakes traditional lead glazing and fanlight work, associated metalwork, and produces its own range of kiln-distorted "Barley Bent" glass for use in historic settings. Notable conservation projects include the sixteenth-century Herkenrode windows at Lichfield Cathedral, the Lady Chapel and processional way glazing at Ely Cathedral, and new commissioned artwork for the Retro-Quire at Beverley Minster.

The team's craftsmen hold PASMA, IPAF and CSCS certifications for safe work at height on ecclesiastical buildings, and combine traditional studio skills in painting, leading and glazing with close collaboration with cathedral architects, conservation bodies and glass historians on major heritage projects.