About Us

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS MAIDSTONE

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS MAIDSTONE 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'.

Maidstone Museum has evidence of many prehistoric peoples inhabiting the area. In particular, Neolithic finds have been made locally, notably at Kit’s Coty and the Countless Stones. The Romans brought Maidstone greater importance; their road from Watling Street at Rochester to Hastings passed through the site, connecting with the iron industry of the Weald: two villas and a number of other sites, have been discovered nearby. They were also among the first to extract stone (the sandstone known as Kentish ragstone) from the area. A great many other finds relate to this period. The Normans, in their turn recognised the worth of the area. by the time of Domesday Book. Heathland to the north of the town (today the suburb of Penenden Heath) was the site of shire moots or regional assemblies and the location of a key trial in the years immediately following the Norman Conquest. In 1146 the Cistercians from Clairvaux built an abbey at Boxley, to the northeast of the town; it was destroyed in 1538 [2]. Gatehouse of the College Gatehouse of the College In the same period there were two hospitals here built for the care of wayfarers, especially those on pilgrimage; and a “college” of secular priests. In the early Middle Ages the town was the home of the Guild of Corpus Christi. Members of the guild employed a chaplain who said prayers for their souls when they died and looked after its members in old age and in times of sickness.

HOME