Burlison and Grylls
An English stained-glass firm founded in 1868 and associated with Victorian and Gothic Revival ecclesiastical glazing.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Burlison and Grylls was an English stained-glass company established in 1868 at the encouragement of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Its founders, John Burlison and Thomas John Grylls, had both trained in the studios of Clayton and Bell, one of the leading stained-glass firms of the nineteenth century. Their background placed the new workshop within the central network of British ecclesiastical art, architectural reform, and Gothic Revival design. The firm produced stained-glass windows principally for churches and other religious buildings. Its work included individual windows, groups of windows, chapel programmes, memorial glazing, and figurative compositions depicting biblical narratives, saints, and other religious subjects. The company’s commissions were installed in churches and cathedrals across England, Scotland, and Wales, as well as in overseas locations including Saint Boniface Anglican Church in Antwerp and St David’s Cathedral in Hobart, Tasmania. Known examples include work at Rochester Cathedral, Radley College chapel, Auckland Castle, Govan Old Parish Church, and numerous parish churches in southern and northern England. Burlison and Grylls operated during a period when stained glass was closely connected with church restoration and new ecclesiastical construction. Its commissions often formed part of broader Victorian and early twentieth-century programmes of architectural renewal. The firm’s work can therefore be understood not simply as decorative production, but as an integrated element of religious architecture: windows were designed to complement Gothic interiors, establish devotional themes, commemorate individuals, and organize the visual character of chapels and churches. Thomas John Grylls died in 1913. The business continued under his son, Thomas Henry Grylls, who was born in 1873 and died in 1953. Thomas Henry Grylls was a founding Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, reflecting the firm’s continuing place in the professional organization of British stained-glass makers. The company’s London premises were bombed in 1945 during the Second World War, and its records were destroyed. That loss limits the surviving documentary record and makes the attribution and dating of some works dependent on architectural surveys, church records, and later art-historical research. The surviving body of work is primarily encountered as part of historic buildings rather than as a consumer-facing brand. Important examples include the Lady Chapel at Rochester Cathedral; windows at St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Bolney; St Chrysostom’s Church in Manchester; the Church of the Holy Angels at Hoar Cross; St Aldhelm’s Church at Branksome; St Mary’s Church, Eccleston; All Saints, Wokingham; and St James’ Church, Swarkestone. The firm also created a substantial sequence of nine chapel windows for Radley College between 1894 and 1917 and installed a series at Auckland Castle in the 1880s depicting the lives of the Northern Saints and Saint Peter. The available reference material does not establish a definitive closure date, a current corporate successor, or a present-day operating structure. Accordingly, Burlison and Grylls is best documented as a historic English stained-glass firm whose principal significance lies in its surviving architectural commissions and its role in the development of Victorian and later ecclesiastical stained glass.
History
Burlison and Grylls emerged in 1868 within the Victorian revival of medieval ecclesiastical art. The firm was formed at the instigation of George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner, architects associated with the revival of Gothic principles in church design. John Burlison and Thomas John Grylls brought specialist training from Clayton and Bell, a major nineteenth-century stained-glass studio. Their formation therefore combined architectural patronage with workshop experience and placed the firm within an established professional tradition rather than treating stained glass as an isolated craft. During the late nineteenth century, the firm developed a portfolio centered on churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other religious institutions. Its work ranged from single windows to extensive installations. The subject matter commonly reflected ecclesiastical requirements, including scenes from the Bible, the lives of saints, devotional imagery, and commemorative designs. The firm’s commissions formed part of the wider Victorian campaign to restore medieval churches, construct new Gothic Revival buildings, and enrich interiors through coordinated architecture, sculpture, furnishings, and glass. Examples of the firm’s work survive in many parts of the British Isles. These include the Lady Chapel at Rochester Cathedral; St Mary Magdalene’s Church in Bolney; St Chrysostom’s Church in Manchester; the Church of the Holy Angels at Hoar Cross; St Aldhelm’s Church at Branksome in Poole; St Mary’s Church at Eccleston; All Saints in Wokingham; and St James’ Church at Swarkestone, where an east window of three lights dates from 1876. Other documented commissions include glazing at St Michael’s Church in Camden Town, St Peter’s Church in Winchester, St Nicholas Chapel at Little Coggeshall, St Mary’s Church in Portsea, and St Mary’s Church at Hartley Wespall. The company also undertook larger and more programmatic commissions. At Auckland Castle in County Durham, a series of chapel windows installed in the 1880s represented the lives of the Northern Saints and Saint Peter. At Radley College in Oxfordshire, the firm designed and installed a sequence of nine chapel windows between 1894 and 1917. Such projects demonstrate the firm’s capacity to work across an extended architectural programme, coordinating multiple windows around a shared religious or institutional narrative. Its reach extended beyond England. Surviving examples are associated with Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, Saint Boniface Anglican Church in Antwerp, St David’s Cathedral in Hobart, and St Margaret’s Church in Topsham. The firm also produced a memorial at Salisbury Cathedral. These commissions show that its workshop participated in a broader network of Anglican and ecclesiastical patronage, although the available material does not provide a complete account of its international business. After Thomas John Grylls died in 1913, the firm continued under his son Thomas Henry Grylls. The younger Grylls, who lived from 1873 to 1953, was a founder Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. His involvement indicates continuity in both the family business and the professional standing of the workshop during the early twentieth century. A major disruption occurred in 1945, when the firm’s London premises were bombed during the Second World War. The destruction included the company’s records. Because much of the documentary archive was lost, the history of the firm must be reconstructed from surviving windows, building records, church histories, architectural references, and professional documentation. The available sources do not establish a precise date of closure or identify a confirmed modern successor. Burlison and Grylls is therefore principally treated as a historic stained-glass firm represented by its architectural legacy.
- 1945
London premises bombed
[1]The firm’s London premises were bombed during the Second World War, destroying its records.
- 1917
Radley College chapel sequence completed
[1]The documented design and installation period for the nine-window Radley College chapel sequence concluded.
- 1913
Thomas John Grylls dies
[1]Following the death of co-founder Thomas John Grylls, the firm continued under his son Thomas Henry Grylls.
- 1894
Radley College chapel programme begins
[1]Burlison and Grylls began designing and installing a nine-window sequence for the Radley College chapel, with work continuing through 1917.
- 1880
Auckland Castle chapel glazing
[1]The firm installed a series of Auckland Castle chapel windows during the 1880s, illustrating the lives of the Northern Saints and Saint Peter.
- 1876
East window at Swarkestone
[1]An east window of three lights at St James’ Church, Swarkestone, is identified as a Burlison and Grylls work dating from 1876.
- 1868
Firm established
[1]Burlison and Grylls was founded in England at the encouragement of architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. John Burlison and Thomas John Grylls served as the founding partners.
Products and positioning
A specialist historic stained-glass workshop serving churches, cathedrals, chapels, colleges, and related architectural commissions, with a practice rooted in Victorian Gothic Revival design and religious narrative glazing.
Architectural glazing · 1868
Ecclesiastical stained-glass windows
The firm’s principal output was stained glass for churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other religious buildings. Commissions could consist of a single window, a group of related windows, or a complete decorative programme integrated with Gothic Revival architecture.
Religious art · 1868
Figurative religious glazing
Burlison and Grylls produced narrative and devotional windows showing biblical episodes, saints, and religious figures. The Auckland Castle chapel series, for example, represented the lives of the Northern Saints and Saint Peter across a coordinated group of windows.
Memorial art
Memorial windows and memorial glazing
The workshop also produced commemorative stained-glass work, including a documented memorial at Salisbury Cathedral. These commissions used architectural glazing to mark individuals or events within ecclesiastical settings.
Institutional architectural art · 1894
Chapel window programmes
For institutions such as Radley College, the company designed sequences of windows intended to be read as a unified programme. The Radley commission comprised nine windows installed over an extended period from 1894 to 1917.
Sources1 sources
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