Martin McAssey Glass
Glass art in a historic setting
Glass artist, teacher and craftsperson — sharing a lifelong passion for the beauty of stained glass.
About the studio
Martin McAssey Glass is based in the Learning Centre at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, just 15 minutes from Sheffield city centre on Abbeydale Road South. The studio sits at the edge of the Derbyshire Peak District — a beautiful setting for a day of making.
All courses and workshops are kept deliberately small — a maximum of twelve students for weekly courses, eight for one-day workshops — so every student has their own workbench and plenty of one-to-one support throughout the day.
About the Hamlet
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is one of Sheffield’s hidden gems — an eighteenth-century water-powered scythe and steelworks that once stood at the heart of South Yorkshire’s metalworking industry. Occupying a stretch of the River Sheaf, it was the largest water-powered industrial site on the river and is now a group of Grade I and Grade II listed buildings and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The site includes waterwheels, tilt hammers, a grinding hull, a steam engine and the last complete surviving crucible steel furnace in the UK.
Restored with Heritage Lottery Fund support and reopened in 2016, the Hamlet sits at the edge of the Derbyshire Peak District and has a quiet, unhurried quality that makes it an unusual and inspiring place to spend a day. The Learning Centre — where our studio is based — is fully accessible. Coming here to learn a craft feels entirely appropriate: this is a place that has always been about making things by hand.
The Hamlet is managed by Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust and is open to visitors. There is free parking on site and the site is well served by bus from Sheffield city centre.
The tutors
Martin McAssey (CertEd)
Martin is a professionally qualified teacher with many years’ experience teaching stained glass courses in Sheffield and throughout South Yorkshire. He has taught for Sheffield College at the Stocksbridge and Walkley Centres, Hillsborough College and Chesterfield College. Martin is also a member of the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) and the Artist Network.
Kate Billington BA(Hons) PGCE
Kate has over 25 years’ experience as a teacher and runs stained glass classes for Derbyshire County Council Adult Education as well as from her home studio, Billigoat Designs. She also works as an Arts Tutor for the homeless charity Crisis. Kate has been teaching alongside Martin since 2018, covering traditional stained glass, Tiffany and glass mosaic techniques.
Laura Mella (MA)
Laura worked in adult education for 13 years before becoming a student of Martin and Kate’s in 2019. After developing a passion for stained glass she set up her own home studio and now teaches workshops in traditional stained glass and Tiffany technique at the studio.
Meet all our tutors and read their full profiles →
Come and join us
Whether you’re a complete beginner or have some experience, there’s a class or workshop for you.