Chandeliers
In a crude form, chandeliers have been used as a light source since the turn of the 14th century when their candle-laden arms illuminated medieval churches, abbeys and richer monasteries. Having chandeliers in your house was a sign of significant wealth – lighting and snubbing out the hundreds of candles involved the employment of several staff, and even then they would only be lit on special occasions.
Unsurprisingly, the puritanical purge that formed part of the Reformation did for most of the chandeliers (along with all the buildings that housed them) and they didn’t really start to make a comeback until the 17th century.
However, now you can’t pass a hotel lobby or shopping centre without being dazzled by these lighting equivalents of teeth veneers. Gaudy, cheap plastic versions have diluted their aesthetic value, so that many see them as ‘naff ’, but in the right setting they still have the ability to inspire. St Clement Church in Hastings’ old town, for instance, has a pair of glorious 18th-century brass chandeliers that were recently restored by local firm Collier Webb as part of the renovation of the whole church – they now dangle above the nave’s pale marble floor. With the lights dimmed, their waxy amber flames cast a magical spell over the ancient interior. Both chandeliers were gifts from a committed group of parishioners in the 1760s. One, from the townsmen of Hastings and the other from the six Barons of the Cinque Ports, who raised the funds by selling the silver staves they were given as canopy bearers for George III at his coronation in 1761. Inscriptions to the benefactors are discreetly engraved in the brass globes, but you would need a very long ladder to check.
Gifting chandeliers was once very fashionable – the world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier was given to the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul by Queen Victoria. Made up of more than 750 beautiful crystal lamps and weighing in at around 4.5 tons, it certainly makes a statement. Sadly, no one appears keen to bestow a similarly glamorous item to cheer up the wobbly ceilings of Rock House, but I live in hope.
Next week: Do butlers need a sink?
{acepolls 79}
Unsurprisingly, the puritanical purge that formed part of the Reformation did for most of the chandeliers (along with all the buildings that housed them) and they didn’t really start to make a comeback until the 17th century.
However, now you can’t pass a hotel lobby or shopping centre without being dazzled by these lighting equivalents of teeth veneers. Gaudy, cheap plastic versions have diluted their aesthetic value, so that many see them as ‘naff ’, but in the right setting they still have the ability to inspire. St Clement Church in Hastings’ old town, for instance, has a pair of glorious 18th-century brass chandeliers that were recently restored by local firm Collier Webb as part of the renovation of the whole church – they now dangle above the nave’s pale marble floor. With the lights dimmed, their waxy amber flames cast a magical spell over the ancient interior. Both chandeliers were gifts from a committed group of parishioners in the 1760s. One, from the townsmen of Hastings and the other from the six Barons of the Cinque Ports, who raised the funds by selling the silver staves they were given as canopy bearers for George III at his coronation in 1761. Inscriptions to the benefactors are discreetly engraved in the brass globes, but you would need a very long ladder to check.
Gifting chandeliers was once very fashionable – the world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier was given to the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul by Queen Victoria. Made up of more than 750 beautiful crystal lamps and weighing in at around 4.5 tons, it certainly makes a statement. Sadly, no one appears keen to bestow a similarly glamorous item to cheer up the wobbly ceilings of Rock House, but I live in hope.
Next week: Do butlers need a sink?
{acepolls 79}