The Glasby Family

In 1945, a very talented family arrived in Henfield -–the Glasbys.  William Glasby had been designing and making stained glass since 1875.  After working for a number of well-known artists, he set up his own studio and received many commissions, including a number of war memorial windows completed in 1922/3.  He supplied stained glass to 100 locations in the UK and 15 overseas.  In later years, one of his daughters, Barbara, assisted him and she became a well-respected craftswoman in her own right.

His largest commission was in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, where he was asked to produce a series of 20 windows for the Peachtree Christian Church.  He managed to complete 8 of these by 1939, but unfortunately had to stop due to the outbreak of war.  William never saw the completion of this project as he died in 1941, his daughters Barbara and Dulcima carried on in their studio at Sunnyside, Upper Station Road, Henfield, and completed the commission in 1953.  They quickly made a name for themselves for their beautiful colour rendering.

William Glasby (1863 - 1941). Image: Marjorie Baker Collection, Henfield Museum (CC BY-NC-SA)

Barbara Glasby at the studio in Henfield. Image: Marjorie Baker Collection, Henfield Museum (CC BY-NC-SA)

Although Dulcima assisted her father and sister with the production of stained glass, she was perhaps more famous as an actress, author and playwright, perhaps taking after her mother who was a successful author under the name of “William Beaumont”. 
In 1919, the Brighton Herald carried favourable reviews of a play “The Younger Generation” in which Dulcima was appearing at the Palace Pier Theatre.  The play toured the UK to good reviews.  The West End beckoned, and in 1921 she was described as an actress and writer, having written “Red Indian and Fairy Stories” for children.

In 1922, the radio station ‘L2O London’ broadcast a show called “Children’s Corner”, this eventually became “Children’s Hour” which included a transmission of the first episode of Dulcima’s story “The Queen who came to Town”.  She became a prolific writer of plays, books and articles.  In 1925, Dulcima joined the BBC and was the first person to adapt a play for radio.  When she resigned in 1933, she had dramatised for radio over 200 plays.  She then concentrated on writing her own plays, and in 1939 all the Glasbys moved to “Three Oaks, Worthing Rd, Horsham”, where they lived until 1942.
Following the 1933 slump, the two sisters opened a wool shop in Putney and then in Horsham (East Street), and then later in Henfield High Street.

In 1945, Barbara and Dulcima moved to Sunnyside, Upper Station Road, Henfield where they stayed until moving to Kentwynds, Blackgate Lane, Henfield in 1953, where Barbara died.  Dulcima moved to a nursing home in Cowfold, and passed away in 1975.  Dulcima may still be remembered as the woman who ran the wool shop in the High Street in Brick lane, where Hamfelds is now.
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William’s work can be found in various churches in Sussex, including;

Pulborough parish church
St Matthews church West Worthing
Denton church, Newhaven (St Cecilia’s window)
St Giles church Dallington, East Sussex
All Saints church in Herstmonceux.

The museum is very pleased to have a collection of plans and design drawings of the windows sent to Atlanta, and a small collection of children’s stories written by Dulcima.

Article by Assistant Curator Steve Robotham, first published in the Henfield Parish Magazine, March 2019.

For further information on Henfield's Glasby connection and examples of their work, view our art collection page, or view a research project by John Collins and Erika Szyszczak.

Barbara and Dulcima Glasby at the studio in Henfield. Image: Marjorie Baker Collection, Henfield Museum (CC BY-NC-SA)