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STAINED GLASS WINDOWS LUTON

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS LUTON Acknowledge Wilkipedia for the following information

As a material the term stained glass generally refers to glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which all the colours have been painted onto the glass and then annealed in a furnace. Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate workable design, and the engineering skills necessary to assemble the decorative piece, traditionally a window, so that it will fit snugly into the window frame for which it is made and also, especially in the larger windows, is capable of supporting its own weight and surviving the elements. Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the late Middle Ages. In Western Europe they constitute the major form of pictorial art to have survived. In this context, the purpose of a stained glass window is not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even primarily to admit light but rather to control it. For this reason stained glass windows have been described as 'illuminated wall decorations'.

The earliest settlements in the Luton area were at Round Green and Mixes Hill, where Paleolithic encampments (about 250,000 years old) have been found.[4] Settlements re-appeared after the ice had retreated in the Mesolithic period around 8000 BC. Traces of these settlements have been found in the Leagrave area of the modern town. Remains from the Neolithic period (4500-2500 BC in this area) are much more common. A particular concentration of Neolithic burials has been found at Galley Hill.[5] The most prominent Neolithic structure is Waulud's Bank - a henge dating from around 3000 BC. From the Neolithic onwards, the area seems to have been fairly thickly populated, but without any single large settlement. The first urban settlement nearby was the small Roman town of Durocobrivis at Dunstable, but Roman remains in Luton itself consist only of scattered farmsteads.[6] The foundation of Luton is usually dated to the 6th century when a Saxon outpost was founded on the River Lea, Lea tun.[7] Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as Loitone and also as Lintone.[8] Agriculture dominated the local economy at that time, and the town's population was around 700-800. St Marys Church, Luton town centre St Marys Church, Luton town centre The Wenlock chapel within St Marys The Wenlock chapel within St Marys In 1121 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester started work on St Mary's Church in the centre of the town. The work was completed by 1137.[9] A motte and bailey type castle which gives its name to the modern Castle Street was built in 1139. The castle was demolished in 1154[10] and the site is now home to a Matalan store. During the Middle Ages Luton is recorded as being home to six watermills. Mill Street, in the town centre, takes its name from one of them. King John (1166-1216) had hired a mercenary soldier, Falkes de Breauté, to act on his behalf. (Breauté is a small town near Le Havre in France.) When he married, Falkes de Breauté acquired his wife's house which came to be known as "Fawkes Hall", subsequently corrupted over the years to "Foxhall", then "Vauxhall". In return for his services, King John granted Falkes the manor of Luton. He was also granted the right to bear his own coat of arms and chose the mythical griffin as his heraldic emblem. The griffin thus became associated with both Vauxhall and Luton in the early 13th century.[11]

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