All Saints Heritage Trail
The Holy Name Chapel
We are now in the North Chancel Aisle. This small chapel is now known as the Holy Name Chapel and is used for small services and private devotion. It is also where the Books of Remembrance for fallen servicemen are kept together with some of their battle standards.
When the church was first built, this aisle was known as the Corpus Christi Chapel. The Corpus Christi Fraternity was a religious guild which was established in Maidstone in 1422 during the reign of Henry VI. The Fraternity was established for the regular observance of certain religious services and for the relief of their members when they became sick or old. The Fraternity was suppressed in 1547 during the Reformation and the town bought their main ceremonial hall – the Corpus Christi Hall - from the Crown in 1548 for £200. The hall reopened in 1549 as Maidstone Grammar School and was a school for those children who could write their name and read Latin. The school remained in this location for 322 years until 1871 when it moved to a new site on the Tonbridge road.
The three Books of Remembrance are in memory of those servicemen who were in The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment and who died in the 1st or 2nd World Wars and other campaigns. Most of the colours belong to the Regiment which in 1961 amalgamated with The Buffs Regiment to form The Queens Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment.
The stained glass window on the left is known as the Resurrection and Life Window. It was made in 1862 and is in memory of Charles Mercer who died in Cairo in 1861. The window illustrates the death of Christ. The window is also known as the “Different Window” because it is different from all others in the Church. This window is from the “decorated period” (c 1300) and is slightly deeper and more intricate in its tracery
The Resurrection and Life Window
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