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Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
The artist's schematic for ORATORIO–Variation On A Theme By Joseph Bor. He also wrote the following about the work:
"ORATORIO portrays an event that occurred during the Second Holocaust, a performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Terezín concentration camp in 1944, with full orchestra and chorus of Jewish prisoners, for an audience of Nazis. The Procrustean overtones here are so obvious as to be grotesque and hideous in their irony. That this event precedes the Third Holocaust by barely a year increases its tragi-comedic theatricality. The laughter of Procrustes is his most terrifying edge and here, in ORATORIO, it is in full display. The Second Holocaust completes the cycle of biblical time initiated by J in the book of Genesis making possible the fulfillment of prophecies. The significance of ORATORIO is not the tragedy of the Jews but rather the paradox of theism: one man’s God is another man’s Satan.The portrayal of Jews in performance of a doctrinal Catholic requiem in a Nazi concentration camp is irony of such magnitude as to make Procrustes himself blush. The similarities of facial contortions involved with singing, screaming, and lamentation are so obvious as to be banal. The permission and encouragement of the Nazi propagandists for such a grandiose undertaking in the face of appalling circumstances is sadism of procrustean virtue."
The following is excerpted from Robert Cremean's THE TENTH ARCH, the sequel to VATICAN CORRIDOR, A Non-Specific Autobiography:
"ORATORIO was begun early in the summer of 1995. Sub-titled Variation On A Theme By Josef Bor, ORATORIO is an ambient composition of seven sculptures and a leaning wall eight feet high by thirty-two feet long. The chorus of images intends to cast into metaphor the significance of art in the face of death, the supreme confrontation of the real and the actual.
"Eichmann was there and so was Moese. The event was the VERDI REQUIEM presented with full orchestra and chorus. . .
"The summer of the year 1944 was a time of storm.The shattered and demoralized German armies were retreating on all fronts, the German cities were transformed into heaps of bizzare ruins, and Hitler, inflamed into open madness by the attempt on his life, scattered death in the ranks of the Wehrmact. The Nazi empire was collapsing to its very foundations. None of this interfered with Eichmann’s plans. The tactics of his 'final solution of the Jewish problem' in the field of Central Europe remained unchanged. Construction was completed on the strictly secret and perfectly disguised Birkenau work camp at Neu Berun, which had a capacity of ten thousand human bodies per twenty-four hours. And the chief device by which the disguise was maintained, a great assembly camp, the ghetto of Terezín, heretofore a place of suffering, hunger, and death, was in the short space of a few weeks rebuilt and decked out into a gigantic, astonishing film set, commissioned for the penultimate act of the tragedy of Terezín. In accordance with Eichmann’s scenario, living people had to help create this film set. And they believed in it; they began to hope and to live."
"The Terezín Requiem
"by Josef Bor
"The performance was cut to an hour’s length to accommodate the official entourage, and the entire group of musicians was shipped off to Auschwitz a few days later. Procrustes is omnipresent; no myth he. He lives in simplistic answers and expedient solutions.... Artists are his favorite guests."
---------------------
About the entire PROCRUSTES TRILOGY, Robert Cremean wrote the following:
THE PROCRUSTES TRILOGY was initiated in 48 A.H. with PROCRUSTES IN SITU. Throughout the following five years my preoccupation with this monster of the Thesian myth became obsessional. Threading back through the eternal Now of PROCRUSTES IN SITU, two events emerged to illustrate Procrustes at his most extreme…two acts of holocaust: ORATORIO, an event knotted in linear time during the Nazi persecution of the Jews, and MARTYRS OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN, dating back to the prehistory of biblical time. Both events live on politically, socially, and psychologically within the Now. By dating the Now from the Third Holocaust, which occurred at Hiroshima on the sixth of August, Nineteen Hundred and Forty Five, the Trilogy becomes a play in four acts. The fourth and final event will be the Fourth Holocaust. There will be no fifth. There will be no other.
Procrustes was first introduced into our lexicon of metaphors through the trials and triumphs of the mythical Greek hero, Theseus, as a robber-innkeeper who haunted the road near Eleusis. When travelers accepted his hospitality, he made them lie on one of two beds: one very long, the other very short. If the guest was too long for the short bed, Procrustes cut off his legs until he was short enough; if he lay on the long bed, Procrustes stretched him until he fitted it. In the legend, Theseus slays Procrustes. Once personified, however, like all enduring metaphors, Procrustes refused to die. Through metaphor, he illustrates a truth and, as a truth, he lives on throughout the evolving triumphs and tragedies of the human condition. His existence is indelible.
At approximately the time the myths were personifying the attributes of Procrustes as villainous, a writer named J, in the kingdom of Judah, was illustrating these same qualities as virtuous in the first chapters of the Old Testament. This clash of metaphors exists today in the war between humanism and theism.
PROCRUSTES IN SITU attempts to illustrate the obvious and redundant visages of Procrustes. He is omnipresent within the human condition: cutting, trimming and stretching each individual to fit the beds of conformity. During this phase of the Trilogy, I came to see how essential he is to everything that we are. Without Procrustes, there is no coherence. Procrustes is the antithesis of chaos. He is also the enemy of Art.
Procrustes thrives on repeat, stasis, and order. His sole purpose is to determine and control. Anything that threatens his authority and the dimensions of his beds is trimmed away or stretched beyond its viable scope of importance. The enforced illusions of Procrustes are in constant conflict with the Artist’s desire for truth, no matter what the cost.
In PROCRUSTES IN SITU, the connection between Procrustes and nature, sexuality and reproduction is considered. The linear extension of the species gives Procrustes great authority within the strictures of society. This is acknowledged in the beds of the mother, the father, the young woman, the young man, the child, and fear. Procrustes controls these beds through instinct. We are born into them. By these he controls us all. Chaos is not a threat to Procrustes in his natural form but rather to the illusions that that form has itself constructed. It is this illusion of identity that centers the drama of Procrustes: Theseus versus Procrustes, Art versus culture, chaos versus illusion.
PROCRUSTES IN SITU sets the stage for the following two acts of the Trilogy: ORATORIO portrays an event that occurred during the Second Holocaust, a performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Terezín concentration camp in 1944, with full orchestra and chorus of Jewish prisoners, for an audience of Nazis. The Procrustean overtones here are so obvious as to be grotesque and hideous in their irony. That this event precedes the Third Holocaust by barely a year increases its tragi-comedic theatricality. The laughter of Procrustes is his most terrifying edge and here, in ORATORIO, it is in full display. The Second Holocaust completes the cycle of biblical time initiated by J in the book of Genesis making possible the fulfillment of prophecies. The significance of ORATORIO is not the tragedy of the Jews but rather the paradox of theism: one man’s God is another man’s Satan.The portrayal of Jews in performance of a doctrinal Catholic requiem in a Nazi concentration camp is irony of such magnitude as to make Procrustes himself blush. The similarities of facial contortions involved with singing, screaming, and lamentation are so obvious as to be banal. The permission and encouragement of the Nazi propagandists for such a grandiose undertaking in the face of appalling circumstances is sadism of procrustean virtue.
MARTYRS OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN examines the First Holocaust. Based on the blue triangle that descends the back panel of PROCRUSTES IN SITU, the third section of the Trilogy concerns itself with the destruction of the cities Admah, Gomorrah, Sodom, and Zeboiim which the Old Testament attributes to the wrath of God. It examines the procrustean constrictions of patriarchy and the liberating challenge of feminine entelechy through the songs of Procrustes and the opposing chants of Chance, Being, and Desire. Masculine gestalt versus feminine insurrection.
As the pen of J transported good and evil into biblical time, the following centuries of hermeneutics turned the holocaust of the Cities of the Plain into a simplistic hatred of homosexuality.
Ascribing to a Father-god absolute judgement of good versus evil set the illusion that has dominated the religions of Abraham through the millennia: God destroys bad people and rewards good people. Through this lens, men have assumed their superiority.
J, by transporting the monotheistic Father-god of the Israelite tribes onto the pages of literature, initiated the gestalt of metaphors upon which linear history has based its illusions. By casting one protagonist as the sole arbiter of the human drama, J created a monster of deception and paradox, the sort of creature that Greek myth sends its heroes to defeat. He is Procrustes.
As J concretized monotheism in the Old Testament, a Greek poet named Hesiod was composing his Theogony of polytheism. These two dramatizations of the human condition have traversed the centuries in the hermeneutics of morals and ethics.
When J ascribed to the Father-god the destruction of the Cities of the Plain in terms of good and evil, he placed nature within the paradigm of moral rectitude. God’s will became the supreme wisdom of Patriarchy and all its contingent hermeneutics. The Israelites became god’s chosen people and the saga of the religions of Abraham began. By the time of the Second Holocaust, the Father-god had assumed two additional profiles, Christianity and Islam, and in the Second Holocaust, god turned his wrath against the Jews. A year later, in replication of his annihilation of the Cities of the Plain, he would rain death upon the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Fourth Holocaust will be the last and all non-believers will be slaughtered by his wrath. What an ugly and ignorant scenario!
The gestalt of monotheism, with all its attendant metaphors and hermeneutics, is simply bad art. How much richer in imagination and complexity, Hellenic mythology. Comparing the nomadic expediencies of monotheism with Hesiod’s Theogony is like comparing a water jug to the Parthenon.
Compared to the Israelite tribes, the Cities of the Plain were highly civilized societies. To joyously praise their destruction in the worship of a Father-god’s wrath rather than admit to schadenfreude has been the basic theme for centuries of monotheistic history. As long as a Father-god exists, war will never cease. History will remain a drumbeat in constant repeat until the fourth and final holocaust.
THE PROCRUSTES TRILOGY exists for me as an attempt to understand the artist’s plight. (Interestingly, the dictionary gives the word plight two definitions: one is “a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable one.” The other is: “to give in pledge, as one’s word, or to pledge, as one’s honor; danger, risk.”) The artist, as prototype for singularity versus the conforming group, confronts the beds of Procrustes as intrinsic within natural and social Isness.
The grotesqueries of ORATORIO attempt to portray the open hostility that exists between culture and Art. In the faux setting of the Terezín ghetto in Birkenau, Procrustes was operating with deft facility and terrible humor. Verdi’s Requiem was cut short to fit a Nazi time schedule and the musicians who performed this propaganda were shipped off to Auschwitz, their talents of no further value.
If an artist believes that Art is purifying and spiritualizing, what differentiates artists who worked inside Terezín and those who worked outside? Jewish musicians performed Verdi’s Requiem for a Nazi audience and were destroyed because the culture had decided to purify itself. German musicians performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for German audiences and exalted the Nazi culture with the Ode To Joy. It is impossible to imagine any audience not being moved by either work. It is the culture that qualifies the emotion. And what of Wagner? And what of the musicians who performed during the Nazi regime. Were they collaborators because they believed in the power of Art no matter what its audience? No matter what its consequence? What is the moral equivalency here? Wherein lies an artist’s loyalty and honor?
Did the Jewish musicians of Terezín not know that they were collaborating with Nazi propaganda any more than German musicians knew of Nazi atrocities? Can an artist refuse his responsibility to Art?
MARTYRS OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN mirrors the artist’s plight set forth in ORATORIO. The eight testimonies of the four voices of Art are inscribed on the four-sexed sails of the Traveler.
By casting the voice of the artist as creator, heretic, healer and slave, an attempt is made to stage individual diversity on the beds of Procrustes.
As the Israelite Father-god rained death on the Cities of the Plain in an attempt to sever the two ancillary sexes from natural selection and societal acceptance, all living things were sacrificed to his dedication. This biblical example of the triumph of good over evil regardless of natural truths and objective ethics persists and continues to martyr the human condition to the plagues of mono-theism. God the Father is now positioned to destroy us all in the Fourth and final holocaust.
Homosexuality is part of Isness. To seek its eradication is to murder one’s children in a conflagration of hate and ignorance and fear. Even the Jews, in the agony of their own holocaust, seek to purify their martyrdom by cutting away the martyrs of the Cities of the Plain. Procrustes is omnipresent. No one eludes his beds. His delight. His laughter. His irony.
By setting a Father-god over the Isness of Being, humankind will always and ever be at war with itself, its nature, its self-recognition and realization.
The four sails of MARTYRS OF THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN are situated between the entelechies of masculine and feminine. The red monologues of War, Religion, and Commerce, with their corresponding heads and drawings of the male body, stand in opposition to the blue essays of Isness with its heads and drawings of the female body.
The blue and red commentaries flowing across either side of the sails relate past and present to the procrustean Now. (These inscriptions relate back to the diatribe that moves across the seven embossed prints of PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER.)*
In opposition to the Songs of Procrustes performed by War, Religion and Commerce, the alcove of feminine entelechy, personified by Chance, Being, and Desire, lies outside the Inn of Procrustes with its beds of conformity. This alcove, formed by the flowing blue inscription across the four sails of the traveler and the two walls of writings and drawings, attempts to define the true face of Theseus, not as a mythical hero, but as any human being who struggles with the destructive forces of dogma. Only truth can slay Procrustes. Only courage can lay waste his beds. Only empathy can destroy the accommodating hatred of his Inn.
Encased in the armor of helmet, miter, and bowler, Procrustes controls the history of men.
*PROCRUSTES INN REGISTER is a suite of engravings and monologues derived from the Preparatory Study that forms one wall of PROCRUSTES IN SITU.
------------------
1992-1997
Collection:
Fresno Art Museum
Fresno, California
(Robert Cremean: Metaphor and Process, the video, may be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgrxW8xSvrA)
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Israel’s security barrier is meant to protect Israeli civilians against Palestinian terrorism. The imagery of this cartoon amounts to a blood libel on a day when the millions of victims of the Holocaust are remembered. Image created for HonestReporting.com on January 28, 2013. Please credit as "CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com" (without quote marks) and link back to this page for attribution. Original image featured in related article: Cementing Hate on Holocaust Memorial Day. Brief blog post on the creation of HR's graphic above: HR Behind the Scenes: Addressing the Sunday Times Visually. Follow-up stories and other coverage: Sunday Times in Damage Control Over Offensive Cartoon and Rupert Murdoch Apologizes For “Grotesque, Offensive Cartoon”.
Rye House Gatehouse
Gatehouse to Rye House (demolished), lower part used as a museum. C15 for Sir Andrew Ogard a naturalised Dane (license to crenelate 1443) on this moated site beside the river. 1683 scene of the Rye House Plot to murder Charles II. Rebuilt except gatehouse at end of C17 (RCHM Typescript). Said to have been used as the parish Workhouse before 1834. Site made into a pleasure garden for London trippers c1868 by Henry Teale (1806 - 76). Site cleared and gatehouse restored recently for Lee Valley Park. The gatehouse is the only complete C15 part standing. Red brick in English-bond with some diaper ornament in black headers, and carved stonework to string courses and main entrance. Roofless upper storey. 2 high storeys and crenellated parapet to roof. A tall rectangular block standing on the inner edge of the moat, facing E. SW corner carried up as stair turret above parapet. A hollow moulded stone string course runs around the building at the base of the parapet and is decorated by grotesque heads at intervals. A similar string runs around the top of the stair turret with a head at each corner. Decorative elements are concentrated on the E front with a secondary elevation on the W formerly facing into the courtyard. E front nearly symmetrical with a moulded stone pointed gateway with carved spandrels in a rectangular frame. Boarded wooden double doors. Small upright windows to each side with elaborate moulded brick jambs and head and label dripmould. Above the door false machicolations in corbelled arched brickwork with relieving arch over. Advanced wallface patterned with diaper in black brick. Central merlon decorated by a raised rib and merlons each side pierced by arrow loops. False machicolations with intersecting arched corbels at a lower level on each side carry projecting diapered panels with moulded brick frame and large corbelled oriel windows with canted returns. These have large brick mullioned and transomed windows, 2-light on left but 3-light on right, and castellated tops. Large 1st floor window on left hand return with square head, moulded jambs and label. W elevation has a large pointed brick gateway in 2 chamfered orders, a small upright window on the left with moulded jambs, rectanqular head, and label. Corbelled 1st floor chimney rises above parapet in a tall composite barley-sugar shaft with moulded cap and base. Small unemphasised stair window to right. Front wall of an attached small wing set back on N end with a 3-centred arched doorway into the main gatehouse at the upper level, the springing of a tunnel vault over the ground floor, and a small window in the front wall, with 3-centred rere arch, at 2 levels. (RCHM (1911) 210: Archaeological Journall32(1975) 111-150). Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Listing NGR: TL3857309955
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Towering over the rooftops of York is England's greatest medieval cathedral, the largest medieval church north of the Alps (Cologne is larger still but not entirely medieval).
York Minster never fails to impress, it is an awe inspiring spectacle. It may lack the intimate charm of many of our cathedrals but makes up in sheer magnificence and the acres of medieval glass that survive within.
St Helen is probably my favourite Kent church. At least from the outside. Alternating bands of flints and local stone give it a Christmas Cake effect, but in bright sunshine it looks stunning.
Inside, its no less impressive. Part of the wall paintings survive, as do geometric patterns on some of the supporting columns.
And it is huge, with a fine wooden roof, a replacement after a fire, but still works well, and the fabric of the church seems good.
Everywhere there are fabulous things to find; Aumbries, memorials, and so much more.
And I reeived a warm welcome from the warden who was waiting for visitors. Last time I was here, there was a display of how the estuary airport-cum-Boris Johnson vanity project seemed a real possibility. Now he is back insulting foreigners, and the airport is dead. But a new Thames crossing is being mooted, and it might run across Grain, which would be a shame to have the peace and quiet shattered.
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An absolute knockout of a church. From the first glimpse of the exterior, with its zebra-like stripes of flint and stone, you know that here is a church of great interest. In plan it consists of an aisled nave, transepts, chancel and west tower - all built on a prodigious scale. Although the church was heavily restored on two occasions in the nineteenth century there is still a great deal of interest and a visit here should not be rushed. The pillars of the nave have distinctive 'V' paintings contemporary with their fourteenth-century construction. The pulpit is of 1636 and shows some excellent carved arcading. Attached to it is a contemporary hourglass stand. The north transept has wall paintings depicting the martyrdom of St Edmund, but these were over-touched-up by Professor Tristram in 1932. Further paintings exist in the south transept and probably show the martyrdom of St Margaret. The base of the rood screen is fifteenth century while the rather insubstantial traceried top is an early twentieth-century addition. There is an elaborate tie-beam high in the roof with little quatrefoil piercings in the spandrels, but this could not have supported the rood as the remains of the rood loft staircase may be seen in its usual position. Outside the north chancel wall can be found a piscina and holy water stoup - all that remains of a medieval chantry chapel or anchorite's cell which has been demolished. The blocked-up doorway that originally gave access to it may be seen both inside and out. On the inside south wall of the chancel is one of the finest sedilia in Kent which together with its double piscina dates from the early years of the fourteenth century.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Cliffe
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THE Church at Cliffe is dedicated to St. Helen and bears the distinction of being the only church in Kent dedicated to that Saint. It stands in a prominent position at the edge of the Hoo peninsula overlooking the extensive marshes which at this point stretch some two miles to the Thames.
The village seems at one time to have been of greater importance than it is to-day. Lambarde describes it as a large town in his day in spite of a disastrous fire which had destroyed many of the houses about 1520, a fire from the effects of which it appears never to have recovered.
The Manor of Cliffe belonged from very early times to the Prior and Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, who were also the owners of the advowson, and thus became concerned with the upkeep of the church. At the Dissolution the Manor passed to George Brooke, Lord Cobham, though the Archbishop of Canterbury is still the patron of the living. Among the Rectors of Cliffe were several men of distinction, some of whom probably never visited the parish. From an early date there seems to have been a perpetual vicarage attached to the church, but when it became merged in the Rectory is uncertain.
Of the first church at Cliffe there is no definite record. It is sometimes said to have been founded by Offa, king of Mercia, in the latter part of the eighth century, though the only evidence for this appears to be the presumed identification of the place with the Cloveshoo of the Saxon Chronicle, where various synods of the Saxon Church were held in the eighth and ninth centuries. Without attempting to suggest a solution of this very debatable point, it can only be said that the evidence in favour of Cliffe appears to rest on at least as good authority as that of the rival claimants—Abingdon in Berkshire, and Clifton Hoo in Bedfordshire. There is moreover good reason to think that Cliffe was less inaccessible than might be supposed in mediaeval times. There still remain traces of a causeway across Higham Marsh, which must at one time have led to a ferry, thus affording an easy means of approach from Essex and the Midlands.
The earliest undisputed documentary reference to a church at Cliffe is in the Domesday Survey. It was evidently a building of more than usual importance for it is expressly stated that two ministers were in charge. Of this building, however, not a vestige remains, though there can be little doubt that from it the present plan has, on more or less recognised lines, been developed.
The plan as it exists to-day is complete, and consists of a nave with wide aisles, north and south transepts, chancel, western tower and south porch. The church is one of the largest in Kent, and is a striking example of a parish church whose size and splendour could have borne but little relation to the actual needs of the locality. It was the product of an age whose zeal for church building was limited only by the funds available. The total internal length from east to west is 182 feet, while the width across the transept is 82 feet. The exterior has been the subject of somewhat extensive restoration, which has robbed it of much of its ancient appearance. The south aisle differs from that on the north in having an embattled parapet, similar to that of the porch. The walls of the tower and transepts are faced with flint rubble with little attempt at regular coursing. The later work of the nave and chancel, though extensively refaced, is composed of alternate courses of dressed flints and stone ; the latter, a soft ragstone from the lower green sand formation which, quarried probably from the outcrop a few miles to the south, has weathered badly in many places. A variety of other materials is noticeable, some of which appear to have been reused from the earlier church. A block of Caen stone in the east wall of the chancel, and several pieces in the north wall, have obviously been reused, while a single piece of calcareous tufa can be seen in the north wall of the transept; Reigate stone is also fairly abundant.
It is not till one enters the church, that its size is fully realised. The absence of pews over a large part of the nave, with the fact that the nave arcade is carried past the crossing without a break, and the absence of a chancel arch, all combine to emphasise its spaciousness. The impression
gathered from a superficial survey of the interior is that of a thirteenth century church with considerable additions in the fourteenth century, but a more careful inspection shows at least one trace of an earlier building. The arch from the north aisle into the transept, which has been partially cut away when the thirteenth century nave arcade was constructed, is certainly of late twelfth century date and must therefore have survived from an earlier church. Before, however, considering the development of the ground plan, it is necessary to refer briefly to the chief features of architectural interest which call for notice.
The porch is of a fairly common type, with an upper room, approached by a stair turret from the south aisle. It measures internally 11 feet 5 inches from east to west by 16 feet from north to south, and is apparently of late fifteenth century date. On the right of the inner doorway are the remains of a holy water stoup. The room above has been considerably modernised, and there is nothing to indicate its original use. Occasionally an altar is found in the porch chamber, which, however, in this case would seem more likely to have been used for storing the church goods.
The north and south aisles of the nave are 19 feet 10 inches and 18 feet wide respectively, and are thus considerably wider than the nave itself. They contain a fine series of Decorated windows, those at the end of either aisle being particularly interesting examples of three lights. The church as a whole is very rich in windows of this period, which form in themselves an interesting study in design. The south aisle has a stone bench running along its south and west walls.
The tower is entered from the nave by a plain thirteenth century arch, and measures approximately 15 feet 6 inches from east to west by 17 feet 6 inches from north to south (interior measurements). The lower stage, which is shut off from the church by a screen, and is now used as a vestry, is lit by three narrow lancets, one in each of the disengaged walls. The roof is a simple quadripartite vault, without any boss at the intersection of the ribs, which are carried on shafts supported on corbels set in the four angles. The lower part of the tower is apparently thirteenth century work, and somewhat earlier than the transepts. The flat, clasping buttresses appear to be original, though now entirely re-faced, and might in themselves suggest a transitional date for the base of the tower. The upper part has been rebuilt at a much later date, and contains a Perpendicular window. Like most towers of the period, it is probable that there was originally no structural stairway leading to the upper stages, access to which had to be obtained by means of a ladder, though the existing doorway to the modern stair turret appears to be of fairly early date.
The transepts deserve special consideration on account of the very interesting work which they contain. Their date cannot be later than about 1260 and there are some grounds for thinking that the south transept may be slightly the earlier of the two. The east wall of the south transept is
divided into two bays by blind arches, supported on slender banded shafts, with a narrow lancet window in the centre of each arch. A somewhat similar arrangement exists on the east wall of the north transept, though in this case the central shaft is not carried to the ground, but rests midway on a moulded bracket, below which is a piscina with a trefoil head of the same date. The treatment of the west wall of the north transept is very similar to that of the east, but the arches are much narrower, and the arrangement has been somewhat interfered with by a later widening of the nave aisle. In the south transept the arcading on the west wall is somewhat plainer, and the banded shafts have been dispensed with. Although similar in general design, certain details point to the south transept being slightly the earlier. The string course below the windows, which is continued round the shafts of the mural arcading, is a plain scroll moulding, while in the north transept a fillet is substituted, and the central bands on the shafts of the arcading are of a more elaborate character. The triple lancet windows at the ends of either transept are modern, and replaced two large fifteenth-century windows, which are shown in several early views.
The north transept was formerly shut off from the rest of the church by a screen, and used for holding the Rector's Court. In mediaeval times, and down to 1845, the Rector of Cliffe had a peculiar jurisdiction within his parish. He was exempt from all ecclesiastical authority other than personal visitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The wills of parishioners were proved in the local court, and the official seal of the Peculiar is still preserved in the Rochester Museum.
The chancel, which appears to have been rebuilt entirely in the middle of the fourteenth century, is complete, save for the insertion of a modern east window, which replaced an extraordinarily ugly eighteenth-century aperture of brick. The remaining windows are all fine examples of Decorated work, the tracery of which shows a distinctly Flamboyant tendency. The eastern pair affords interesting examples of Kentish tracery. All have good hood-mouldings with
grotesques at the ends. Beneath the windows is a stringcourse, which terminates at the altar rails with a grotesque head on either side. That on the north has been renewed, but the southern one represents the battered head of a monk.
The chief interest in the chancel, however, is its fittings. In the south wall is a series of three very beautiful fourteenth century sedilia, with a piscina of uniform character, recessed in the wall and ascending eastward. They are divided by slender buttressed shafts, supporting elaborately carved ogee canopies, and surmounted by crockets and finials. Beneath the canopies are trefoiled arches, and behind these the roof is carved in imitation of sexpartite vaulting.
Opposite in the north wall is a fine late-fourteenth century tomb of early Perpendicular character, which is often referred to as an Easter sepulchre, for which purpose it may well have been used. The wide cinquefoil arch is surmounted by an elaborate embattled cornice, supported on narrow
buttressed shafts, and terminating with a carved head at either end ; circles with internal cuspings fill the spandrils of the arch.
Immediately west of this tomb is a blocked doorway which led to an adjoining building, now demolished. The exterior wall at this point is of a different character from the rest of the chancel walls, and apparently of earlier date. It is composed of a variety of material, including pieces of Caen stone, which probably came from the earlier church, and suggests that this section of wall and the chapel, of which it formed part, survived the re-building of the chancel in the fourteenth century. The two adjoining buttresses have been constructed out of sections of the eastern and western walls of the chapel, and serve to indicate its approximate size. The position of its low roof is clearly shown by the stone corbels which remain at a height of 7 feet 8 inches from the ground. The floor must have been somewhat lower than the present ground level, as the small piscina in the exterior of the chancel wall is now only two feet from the ground. In the base of the westernmost of the two buttresses is a niche, now scarcely eighteen inches from the ground, which may originally have been used as a holy water stoup, since it was close to the entrance to the chapel. This small building probably served the joint purpose of a Sacristy and Chapel. That it contained an altar there can be no doubt from the piscina already noted.
It may possibly be referred to in the will of Richard Elys, who in 1468 left 12 pence to the light of the Blessed Mary in the chapel and 4 pence to the light of the Blessed Mary near the pulpit, though one of the transepts may of course have been here intended. Such evidence as there is on the other hand seems to point to the chapel having been pulled down at the time of the rebuilding of the chancel or soon afterwards. The blocked doorway in the chancel wall was originally carried down to the present ground level on the exterior, so that there must have been some steps in the thickness of the wall leading down into the chapel. The date of this doorway, which was probably contemporary with the building to which, it led, is uncertain. It is certainly earlier than the adjoining late-fourteenth-century tomb, as parts have been cut away when the latter was inserted, and the use of somewhat small stones points to an earlier rather than a later date. Its details on the other hand include the wave moulding which is usually taken to be characteristic of the Decorated period, or one might otherwise be inclined to think that it formed part of the thirteenth century chancel. The filling on the exterior is certainly not modern, and the fact that a plinth has been inserted when the doorway was blocked up, to match that round the rest of the chancel evidently with the intention, which was never carried out, of continuing it along the section of earlier walling where the chapel stood, seems to suggest that this work was undertaken about the same time as the rebuilding of the chancel.
We are now in a position to consider the probable development of the ground plan, which, though somewhat conjectural for the earlier period, has left some interesting and unmistakable traces of its later history. In the entire absence of remains of the early Norman church, one is forced to rely for the identification of its position on analogy with other buildings of similar type. The first church of which we have any record in all probability consisted of a simple nave and square- ended chancel. The three easternmost bays of the existing nave arcade would preserve the line of
the north and south walls of the church, while the chancel would occupy the interior of the present crossing. There is nothing to show the position of the west wall, but it would have been approximately in a line with the present north and south doors. Towards the close of the twelfth century north and south aisles, about half the width of the present ones, were probably added by piercing the original walls with arches, and about the same time a small chapel or aisle appears to have been built to the north of the original chancel, and the existing arch constructed so as to give access into it. This arch, which cannot be later than about 1200, is obviously much earlier than the present transept and must therefore have communicated with an earlier building on its site. Some evidence in support of this came to light during the restoration of the north transept in 1864. The foundations of an early wall four feet thick were found beneath the present floor running parallel and close to its eastern wall. At a distance of 15 feet from the chancel wall it appears to have been met by another wall at right angles to it. Unfortunately no further record was made of this discovery, but it establishes beyond doubt the existence of a building in this position, to which the arch in question opened. It is possible that this was the chancel arch of a late twelfth century church, and that the foundations were those of the former chancel, though such a theory would be more difficult to reconcile with the later development of the plan. Moreover on the assumption that there already existed a building on the north of the original chancel when the thirteenth-century builders decided to remodel the church, it is possible to account for the hitherto unexplained fact that the north transept is wider than the south by some three feet. The normal development of the thirteenth century produced a cruciform church. A new and longer chancel, and north and south transepts, were built around the small twelfth century chancel, while the nave and aisles were lengthened by the removal of the west wall some 20 feet further west, and a tower erected to the west of this. These extensive works could not of course have been simultaneous.
The tower appears to be somewhat earlier than the transepts, so that presumably the lengthening of the west end was undertaken first, and at the same time an Early English arcade, extending an additional bay westward, was inserted in place of the twelfth century arches. Contrary to what was frequently the case in churches of this type, there was clearly never any intention to erect a central tower over the crossing, since the abutments are far too weak to have supported the weight. This weakness would account for the presence of the strainer arch of oak, which must
have been inserted sometime in the fifteenth century.
With the completion of this work the early builders grew more ambitious. Almost immediately the work on the new chancel and transepts must have begun. A temporary hoarding was probably erected, shutting off the nave and the altar, transferred there until the new works were finished. The chancel and the south transept were probably first erected, as the sites were free of buildings ; the width of the latter being determined by the size of the former chancel and the chapel on the north. When the work was completed attention was directed towards the north transept, which, according to the usual practice, would have been rebuilt round the earlier building, the foundations of which were discovered in 1864, thus accounting for its slight extra width. Probably towards the end of the century the small chapel, the remains of which have already been mentioned, was built on the north of the new chancel.
Considerable alterations were undertaken in the fourteenth century, the principal of which were the rebuilding of the thirteenth century chancel, and the widening of the nave aisles. The latter was a very frequent form of improvement at this period, and was usually occasioned by the desire
for extra space to set up additional altars so as to meet the enormous increase in the popularity of Chantry bequests. At Cliffe the effect of this widening is clearly shown on the already completed design of the transepts. In the north transept one of the lancets was cut away, and a short pointed arch springing from shafts, which do not reach the ground, inserted in its place. The apex of the original lancet still remains in the wall above. In the south transept a similar alteration in plan is treated somewhat differently. A segmental arch, here reaching to the ground, and opening into the extended aisle, was inserted within the earlier bund arch in the west wall of the transept. This also necessitated the removal of an original lancet, the head of which can be seen occupying the space between the original arch and the later insertion. The windows in the nave all appear to be of this date. Probably contemporary with this extension of the aisles, was the heightening of the nave to allow for the clerestory with its row of single splayed lancets. The junction of this work with the old can be clearly seen immediately above the arcading. The thirteenth century roof of the nave was about on a level with those of the aisles, as the small window in the east face of the tower, which now looks into the church, must originally have looked out over the roof. The line of the fourteenth roof, which was erected at the time that the clerestory was added, can be seen on the wall of the tower, passing across the window opening. Below this the position of the third roof, erected 1732, can also be seen. This roof, which was almost flat, was replaced by the present one about forty years ago.
The rebuilding of the chancel would appear to have been undertaken at the same time as extension of the aisles, to judge from the similarity of the external stonework. This would again have necessitated the use of the nave for services, and it is probable that either at this time, or during the earlier work on the interior of the transepts, the round headed arch, which can be seen on the exterior of the north wall of the north transept, was constructed for the convenience of the masons while the ordinary entrances were not available. That this arch or doorway, which has sometimes been said to be of Norman origin, was really of a much later date, and of a purely temporary character, seems to be shown by a close inspection of its construction. The position is not in the centre of the wall while the arch itself is made up of a variety of material including large flints, pieces of Beigate stone and a single block of calcareous tufa, the latter doubtless coming from the early church. Further, the fact that the filling of the arch' seems to be of much the same character as the adjoining walls points to it only having been used for a comparatively short time. Everything in fact indicates that it was a purely temporary arrangement used during the construction of the transepts, or the later chancel, and filled up as soon as the work was completed. A somewhat similar, though smaller, arch in the exterior of the south wall of the tower was probably of a similar nature, though its purpose is conjectural, and it may have had some connection with original stairs to the upper floors. By the end of the fourteenth century the church was practically complete. The porch was added early in the following century, and the large Perpendicular windows, which formerly existed at the ends of the transepts, inserted. At the same time the upper part of the west tower was rebuilt. Certain work also seems to have been in progress about this time in the chancel, for in the will of the Rector in 1413 a sum of money was left towards that object. Exactly what resulted from the bequest one cannot say.
The subsequent additions were chiefly in the nature of modern insertions. The eighteenth century saw many acts of destruction which are duly entered in the parish registers. In 1730, during the Rectorship of George Green, the old high-gabled roofs were taken down, the lead recast, and an
almost flat roof substituted. Two years later the east window was demolished and a hideous brick opening substituted, and at the same time the old timber roof of the chancel, which, since it bore his arms, had probably been erected during the time of Archbishop Arundel, who occupied the See from 1396 to 1414, was pulled down, and both the nave and chancel ceiled. During this period also the two enormous brick buttresses, which are shown in some early views, were erected on the north and south sides of the tower. The church was in this condition when Sir Stephen Glynne visited it in 1857. Subsequent restorations have been extensive, though for the most part necessary. The brick buttresses to the Tower were removed shortly after Sir Stephen Glynne's visit, and the present circular stair turret erected in the place of the southern one. The chancel was restored in 1875, when traces of the original reredos were discovered, and the jambs of the original east window, which were of Reigate stone and about 15 feet apart, were found in situ. The present window was erected in place of the eighteenth century one in 1884, and at the same time the flat lead roofs of the nave and chancel were removed, and the present high-pitched tiled roofs substituted. Finally a small building, without any communication with the church, has been erected in recent years to the east of the north transept. During these successive restorations much of the external walls has been refaced from time to time, and the whole of the upper part of the east wall of the chancel which was pulled down in 1732, was rebuilt when the present window was inserted.
It is somewhat difficult now to picture the appearance of the interior of the church in mediaeval times. A brilliant colour scheme evidently played an important part in the general effect. Many of the piers of the nave arcades, which are apparently constructed of hard chalk, still show traces of a bold chevron pattern in red and yellow, and, together with the extensive wall paintings, slight traces of which still remain in the transepts, and the brilliance of the mediaeval glass, must have combined to give a very rich effect to the interior. Of the ancient glass very little remains. Dr.
Grayling mentions some fourteenth century borders in the chancel windows, which seem to have disappeared. In the central window of the north aisle is a small piece of ancient glass representing a ship with fish in the water beneath, which is said to have been found many years ago in a shed in the churchyard. In the top of the adjoining window is a fifteenth century figure of the Virgin and Child. A coat of arms in another window is mentioned by Thorpe, but this also seems to have disappeared. The wall paintings, though now very indistinct, were evidently much clearer until
comparatively recent times. On the east wall of the north transept, in the space between the southernmost of the two lancets and the arch in which it is placed, is one of these paintings, divided into five panels, depicting the Martyrdom of St. Edmund. Very little of it can now be made out, though the whole of this transept showed traces of colour at the time of the restoration of 1864. Some remains of a painting in a similar position in the south transept can still be seen, and are said to represent the Last Judgment.
Several bequests for the provision and upkeep of lights before the various altars add a little to our knowledge of the interior in mediaeval times. Of the various saints to whom lights were dedicated in the church Our Lady was of course the most popular. We have already seen that two altars
were dedicated to her. One of these is again mentioned in 1483, when Robert Qwikerell left 20 pence "to the Parish Church of Cleue and to the ligth of Our Lady besyde the pulpett there" and also a similar amount to the lights of St. Laurence and St. George. Richard Elys in 1469 also
mentions lights of St. Christopher, St. John and St. James, while in 1509 Steven Tudor bequeathed to the high altar of St. Elyn 20 pence, and to the light of St. Elyn 12 pence.
Of the position of these various lights one cannot speak with any certainty. That to St. Christopher would have been near the main entrance to the church, while the light of the patron saint, St. Helen, would have been in the Chancel, probably over the high altar. Remains of a piscina in four other places in the church prove the former existence of altars in these positions. That in the Sacristy has already been mentioned. At least one altar stood in each of the transepts, while a small piscina, apparently constructed of broken window tracery at the east end of the south aisle, testifies to another. An altar probably stood in a corresponding position in the north aisle. This disposition would exactly account for the number of lights mentioned in early wills. Besides the lights burning before the altars, there would also be a light before the great Rood over the entrance to the chancel. Some of the lower panels of the original rood screen survive. Above, and partly supported by, the screen was the rood loft, which was already in existence as early as 1413, when it is mentioned in conjunction with the great rood itself and its attendant figures in the will of Nicholas de Ryssheton, Canon of Sarum and Rector of Cliffe. The small fifteenth century doorway with a fourcentred arch, which gave access to it, can still be seen high up in the north wall just east of the entrance of the chancel, and the original stairs remain in good condition, though the entrance from the church has been blocked up and covered over with plaster.
The furniture in the church has suffered much from “restoration" and other causes. Six of the ancient stalls remain, three on each side of the chancel, though panelling at the backs and all the seats except two are modern. The sides terminate in carved heads, some of which have been
renewed, while the two original miserecords are carved with grotesques. The Communion rails are Jacobean, though somewhat repaired. They are of the fairly common baluster type with a central bulge. The pulpit is a very fine piece of Renaissance carving, and retains the original stand for the hour glass, though the glass itself is modern; on it is the date 1636.
Besides the fragments of the original rood screen there is another screen shutting off the vestry under the tower.
The font, which has been moved from its original position, is 3 feet 4£ inches in height, and apparently of late-fourteenth century date. The perfectly plain octagonal bowl has concave sides, around the lower edge of which is a hollow chamfer. The bowl is supported by an octagonal, buttressed stem on a plain base. On the westernmost pillar of the south arcade can still be seen the bracket and chain by which the font cover was raised, indicating its original position.
The monuments in the church are few, and call for little comment. In the floor at the west end of the north aisle are two flat coffin-shaped stones with early fourteenth century French inscriptions in Lombardic capitals. The one on the north is probably the earlier, judging from the very rough
characters which are now scarcely legible. It commemorated Eleanor de Olive, of whom nothing is known. The other stone shows traces of brass, and is inscribed in memory of Joan, wife of John Earn. These stones are described in the Gentleman's Magazine, and old rubbings of them exist among the collection of the Society of Antiquaries. There are three brasses of seventeenth century date, one of which is thought to have been engraved locally.
Two wills are of interest in connection with early burials in the church. In 1376 Robert de Walton, Rector of Cliffe, desired to be buried in the church of Olyve at the entrance to the quire. Some years later, in 1387, Thomas de Lynton, a subsequent rector, directed that he should be buried in the chancel near the entrance, and between the entrance to the quire and the tomb of Master Robert Walton, late Rector, and he ordered that a handsome marble monument should be placed over his body at the discretion of his executors. It seems not unlikely however that his executors favoured a brass monument. In the chancel is the stone matrix of what must once have been a very fine brass of about this period, representing a priest under a canopy. Another smaller matrix of an ecclesiastic is close to the pulpit.
Of the church plate the most important piece is a very beautiful paten of silver gilt of the early part of the sixteenth century. In the centre, worked in coloured enamels, is a seated figure of God the Father holding before Him a figure of the crucifixion. The extreme rarity of pre-reformation
plate is not generally recognised, and the example at Cliffe is one of the finest English patens in existence. At some period or other the paten at Cliffe served as a chalice cover, and it is even said to have been used as an alms dish, which would account for its numerous signs of wear. The other plate is of seventeenth century and later date, and of no particular interest.
It remains for me to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. F. O. Blliston Erwood for several suggestions and for the photographs which illustrate this paper. The present account is intended to supplement, but not to supplant altogether, an article on Cliffe Church, by the Rev. I. Gr. Lloyd, a former Rector, which appeared in Vol. XI. of Arch. Cant., where reference should be made for further particulars.
www.cliffehistory.co.uk/martin.html
-------------------------------------------------
CLIFFE (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of North Aylesford, hundred of Shamwell, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 5 miles (N. by W.) from Rochester; containing 842 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Thames, and comprises 5660 acres, whereof 180 are woodland, about 2000 arable, and the remainder pasture, including a considerable portion of marshy land. The village, which is supposed to take its name from the cliff or rock on which it stands, was formerly of much greater extent, a great part of it having been destroyed by fire in 1520: it was the scene of several provincial councils. A pleasurefair is held on September 28th. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £50; net income, £1297; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury: the glebe contains 20 acres. The church is considered one of the finest in the county, being a large handsome cruciform structure in the early English style, with an embattled central tower, and containing several curious monuments and remains of antiquity, together with six stalls that belonged to a dean and five prebendaries, it having been formerly collegiate.
www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp63...
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Beeby was once a larger settlement but today has dwindled to only a handful of houses, it comes as no surprise then to find the church had become redundant, but has happily been vested in the Churches Conservation Trust who continue to maintain it.
The most striking aspect of this attractive ironstone church is its handsome late medieval west tower, distinctively crowned with the 'sawn off' stump of an intended spire (which it seems was never finished). The remainder of the building is mostly of 14th century date with later adjustments (such as the addition of a clerestorey), though the chancel is an early 19th century rebuild in brick, and seems a little undersized for this otherwise fairly grand building.
Within there is the slight sense of sparseness associated with retired churches but plenty of interest to enjoy. The woodwork is a surprising mix, with late Georgian box pews on the south side of the nave and and an extremely 14th century wooden rood screen, partially restored but retaining its fine tracery forms (of which a further section can be seen in the south aisle). There is a rather charming font (13th century with a later bowl and cover) and a profusion of quirky carvings added as part of a major restoration in the early 19th century.
Beeby church is happily generally kept open for visitors during the day, one of the admirable aims of the Trust who preserve our heritage and keep it accessible for all to enjoy.
ISO 1600 55mm f/5.6 1/30 sec This bronze statue was the most interesting thing that I saw at the Detroit Institute of Art.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Dictionaire, Encyclopedique et Biographique de L'Industrie et Des Arts Industriels - Ex libris A. Koltchak
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
I thought I'd try something different from my usual wildlife photography and so went on a guided photo walk of York with Paula Duck. The centre of York has many historic builings including York Minster. A team of stone masons are continually creating new bits to replace weathered stone and this includes new grotesques and gargoyles. Gargoyles also function as water spouts directing rainwater run-off away from the walls wheras grotesques like this one are purely decorative. This one was in the stone masons yard at ground level. I had to photography through a security fence, hence the rather tight narrow crop.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
103 leaves. 168 by 112mm. Single column, 26 lines, ruled in brown ink, written space 110 by 60mm; lettre bâtarde.
Note: Miniatures for beginning of Obsecro te (after f. 9), Prime (after f. 24), None (after f. 29), Psalms (after f. 50), Hours of the Holy Cross (before f. 61), and Office of the Dead (after f. 64) removed.
Decoration: One- and 2-line initials and line fillers throughout in blue, red or orange on gold grounds with foliate infills and highlighted with white tracery; initials, 3- and 4-line, of the same type. Vertical panel borders of French floral-acanthus design, including birds, insects and grotesques. Twenty-four small rectangular miniatures in vertical borders of the calendar pages, which include signs of the zodiac and the labours of each month. Twenty-three small miniatures in black and gold ruled frames introduce the suffrages. Eight miniatures preface the Hours and main divisions of text.
Binding: Sixteenth-century brown calf the symbols of the Passion stamped in gilt on both boards; all edges gilt.
Provenance: Decorations and miniatures follow patterns established by the Maître François School in Paris from the mid-fifteenth century onwards. The artist responsible for the Four Evangelists (folio 7) and the Annunciation (folio 12) is related to the Rouen School. Front pastedown inscribed ‘Ce precieux manuscrit atteignit a l’hotel de Bullien en 1783 la some de 42411’. The Hotel de Bullion was a Parisian saleroom in the Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Purchased from J. G. Commin, Exeter, catalogue 614 (1949).
References: Manion, Vines, de Hamel no. 64; Reed Early Bibles no. 21.
Shelfmark: RMM MS 8.
Description reproduced from Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in New Zealand Collections (London, 1989) by permission of the authors (Christopher de Hamel, Margaret Manion, and the family of Vera F. Vines).
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
One of the most famous grotesque horror comics covers, Black Cat #50 is partly responsible for the Comics Code’s hateed against horror. Ironically, what it depicts is not too far off from the horrifically gruesome effects of radium (and phosphorous) poisoning, which was making headlines at the Radium Girls trial.
But the thing is… that isn’t the actual story. There is no “Radium Man,” and in fact radium does not figure into the comic at all. It’s uranium.
“White Heat” is a comic about a kind-hearted man whose wife is dying of an agonizingly painful disease. He does not make enough money for her medical bills or treatment which would save her, and he can’t even get a loan. So out of desperation, he takes some mobsters up on their offer - he works security at a place that stores uranium, you see. So he burglarizes it in the middle of the night, forced to seriously injure a fellow guard to make off with his deadly bounty (“I hope I didn’t kill him!”). After he gets his money he runs home to find that his wife is already in the hospital. He rushes over there and offers money to save her life, but it is too late. The doctor actually would have treated her for free (making the heist unnecessary), but he can’t - the only way to save her was by using uranium radiation, but somebody stole the only supply they could use. “Whoever stole the uranium murdered your wife!”
IRONIC AND BAD END.
As for the figure itself, it resembles the cover art, and nothing in the story. It’s gruesome enough for its scale, though the tiny uranium bar is easy to lose. Pretty striking if you know what it is depicting, though it is honestly more like a zombie than anything else.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
Our Lady & The English Martyrs, Cambridge
stepneyrobarts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/our-lady-english-ma...
Yesterday I revisited St Peter for internals and finished of Cambridge, visiting seven Victorian built churches only one of which, Our Lady & The English Martyrs, is worth writing up.
At first sight I wrote OLEM off as a Victorian Gothic monstrosity but as I wandered around the exterior I was struck by the quality of the building and the interior stunned me with lots of rather good glass and impressive architecture (oh and apart from three revisits, Babraham, Guilden Morden and Stow cum Quy, that finished the north west quadrant).
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, or OLEM, is situated in the heart of the city of Cambridge. An imposing example of the 19th Century Gothic Revival, it was built to the designs of Dunn & Hansom of Newcastle between 1885 and 1890, and founded solely by Mrs Yolande Marie Louise Lyne-Stephens, a former ballet dancer at the Paris Opera and Drury Lane, London, and widow of a wealthy banker. She promised to build the church on the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Monsignor Christopher Scott - the first Rector - also wished to commemorate the Catholic Martyrs who died between 1535 and 1681, over thirty of whom had been in residence at the University.
Designed by architects Dunn and Hansom of Newcastle and built by the Cambridge firm of Rattee and Kett, OLEM is constructed in Casterton, Ancaster and Combe Down Stone. The church is a traditional cruciform structure in the early-decorated style with a large tower at the crossing, a polygonal apse and a west bell tower with a 65-metre spire, visible for miles around Cambridge. Quite often, it is quoted by visitors and local residents as a location point. The approximate internal dimensions of the church are: length 48 meters [156 ft] width across the aisles 16 meters [51 ft] width at the transepts 22 meters [71 ft], the height of the nave 15 meters [71ft].
Inside and over the west door stands the figure of Our Lady of the Assumption crowned with lilies and standing on the crescent moon with the vanquished serpent beneath. The west window shows the English Martyrs arranged in two principal groups, the clergy on the south side with St John Fisher in their midst and the laity on the north grouped round St Thomas More.
Beside the South aisle is an ancient statue of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. This statue is understood to be a gift in 1850 from Emmanuel College, which was built on the site of a Dominican Priory dating back to 1274. The Church of the Black Friars of Cambridge contained a statue of Our Blessed Lady to which much pilgrimage was had. Although unconfirmed this could be that statue.
The Chapel of the Holy Souls with the book of Remembrance is located at the west end of the south aisle. The sculpture above the altar depicts the solace and relief of the Holy Souls in Purgatory through the intercession of Our Lady and the angel who comforted Our Lord in Gethsemane. The Chapel is now appropriately used at the two great Christian celebrations: at Easter for the Empty Tomb indicating the Risen Lord, and at Christmas for the Crib.
The aisle windows were almost completely destroyed when the church was struck by a bomb on 1941, but were subsequently replaced in their original form. They epitomise the various sufferings of the English Martyrs, their being brought before the Council, racked, hung, drawn and quartered in the sight and sympathy of the faithful. The windows of the north aisle portray Carthusians, St Thomas Moore, B. Margaret Pole and others, while the south aisle is made a “Fisher Aisle”, devoted to scenes from the life of St John, Cardinal Bishop of Rochester, who in so many important ways is identified with Cambridge.
The best general impression of the interior is obtained from the gateway in the iron screen dividing the nave from the ante-chapel. The heads of the four great preachers of Our Lady’s Graces are carved in the four corners of the nave. The windows along the nave represent saints connected with the Church in Britain, arranged approximately in chronological order from east to west with a few additional figures in the eastern windows.
The Rood which is between the nave and the sanctuary is of the type known as “Majestas”; the figure of Our Lord, with glorified wounds, robed in alb, stole and pallium [as High Priest] and crowned [as King “reigning from the Tree”]. This was the earliest type of crucifix; the realistic figure, now almost universal, did not come into general use until the beginning of the thirteenth century. The cross, inspired by that at Nuremberg, is about 6 metres high, carved in oak; the figures of Christ and of Our Lady and of Saint John are of Kauri pine. They were carved locally by Mr. B. Maclean Leach and completed and blessed in 1914.
Beyond the present, modern altar is the High Altar with the relics of Saints Felix and Constantia, martyrs of the early Church. The tabernacle and ornaments of the altar are of exquisite French workmanship from Lyons. The baldacchino which covers the High Altar is similar to that over the tomb of Robert the Wise (1275-1343) at Santa Chiara, Naples. It is one of the earliest forms of adornment of a Christian altar. At the top is the figure of Our Lord in glory supported on each side by angels in act of adoration.
The design and the re-ordering of the sanctuary was done by Mr. Gerard Goalen of Harlow after the Second Vatican Council. On 7th April, 1973, Bishop Charles Grant consecrated the present central. The original High Altar has subsequently been used mainly for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.