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Mullion |
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
A mullion is a structural element which divides adjacent window units.
Mullions may be made of any material, but wood and aluminum are most common, although stone is also used between windows. Mullions are vertical elements and are often confused with transoms, which lie horizontally. The word is also confused with the "muntin" (or "glazing bar" in the UK) which is the precise word for the very small strips of wood or metal that divide a sash into smaller glass "panes" or "lights".
A mullion acts as a structural member, and it carries the dead load of the weight above the opening and the wind load acting on the window unit back to the building structure. The term is also properly applied to very large and deep structural members in many curtain wall systems.
When a very large glazed area was desired before the middle of the nineteenth century, such as in the large windows seen in gothic churches or Elizabethan palaces, the openings necessarily required division into a framework of mullions and transoms, often of stone. It was further necessary for each glazed panel, sash or casement to be further subdivided by muntins or lead cames because large panes of glass were reserved primarily for use as mirrors, being far too costly to use for glazing windows or doors.
In traditional designs today, mullions and transoms are normally used in combination with divided-light windows and doors when glazing porches or other large areas.
The term "mullion" can also mean the horizontal and vertical spacing between adjacent display elements in a video wall system, in which an input video image is distributed across multiple displays to increase display size and resolution.
In cabinetry, the term "mullion" refers to any vertical member on a cabinet face that separates adjacent elements, usually doors or drawers. This same element is also called a "mid-stile."
Mullion1 is the largest village on the Lizard Peninsular in Cornwall and has shops, inns, cafes and restaurants, craft shops and art galleries. In the centre of the village, the 15th century church of St Mellanus is renowned for its richly-carved oak bench-ends depicting biblical scenes, including that of Jonah and the Whale.
Mullion Cove has a pretty working harbour, protected from the winter gales that rage across Mount's Bay by two stout sea walls. The harbour was completed in 1895 and financed by Lord Robartes of Lanhydrock as a recompense to the fishermen for several disastrous pilchard seasons. You can still see the old pilchard cellar and net store. There are plenty of smuggling tales too. In 1801, the King's Pardon was offered to any smuggler giving information on the Mullion musket men involved in a gunfight with the crew of HM Gun Vessel Hecate.
The cove had a lifeboat station from 1867 -1909, and with good reason: in the six years up to 1873 there were nine wrecks under Mullion cliffs along a mile-and-a-half stretch of coastline. Inland are the remains of Wheal Unity copper mine, which operated from the early 18th century to 1919. A large copper boulder from the mine is in the Natural History Museum, London.
Nearby Poldhu Cove is an ideal and easily accessible family beach. In December 1901, on the cliffs above Poldhu, Guglielmo Marconi conducted his famous experiment in trans-Atlantic radio communications. The beach at Polurrian, popular with surfers, is approached by an attractive walk along the cliffs or through a valley, and is well worth the effort.
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