At the back of the chancel we now see more clearly than ever the great reredos to the High Altar, carved in Caen stone by Houlton of Cheltenham, to the design of Fr John Ullathorne, who was assistant priest in the parish in 1880 and nephew to Bishop Ullathorne. On the altar front are three carved relief panels: the central one shows our Lord on the cross with our patrons beside Him, since this is the central act of self-sacrifice of Christ our Saviour, an act which every Mass re-presents for us. On the one side of this is a panel representing Noah’s sacrifice after the end of the flood, a thanksgiving sacrifice marking the end of God’s anger with sinful mankind; on the other is the sacrifice of Abraham, ‘our father in the faith’, who was prepared to sacrifice his own son Isaac, but was given by God a ram to kill instead of his son. Above the altar in the centre is the Tabernacle, behind its veil, in which is reserved the Blessed Sacrament of Christ’s Body in the form of bread, as it has been consecrated in the celebration of the Mass. It is from here that Communion is taken to the sick and here that we worship Him in adoration outside Mass time. Over the tabernacle is a beautiful carved ‘Pelican in her piety’, a symbol of Christ we first saw on the font. Above this is the altar crucifix in the place where the Blessed Sacrament is sometimes exposed for more solemn adoration, and we see the spot guarded, as it were, by adoring angels in niches on either side of the tabernacle. The whole is surmounted by a graceful spire which soars over the whole altar to a height of some 30 feet (9m). Two smaller spires form the ends of the reredos, each surmounting an image of our two patrons: our Lady on the left, and St. John on the right, at whose feet is his emblem, the eagle.
Above the reredos, the three great windows of the apse are decorated with fine glass. The central panel is dedicated to the crucifixion, below which are three smaller panels: the first showing Our Lady’s heart pierced by seven swords, as Simeon had foretold at the Presentation of her Son in the Temple; the second shows our Lady cradling the dead body of her Son, a motif known as the ‘Pieta`’; and thirdly St John leading our Lady from Calvary. Then at the foot of the window you can just see the kneeling figures of the donors, Mr and Mrs Gaunt. This was the first panel to be glazed in 1880. Later on the panels to right and left were also glazed by other donors, who also are figured kneeling at the foot of each window. On the left we see the Magi adoring the Christ-child at the Epiphany, which we celebrate on January 6th, below which are representations of our Lady’s betrothal to St Joseph, the Annunciation and the Visitation, and at the bottom of the window the donors, the Gibbons family. On the right we see Christ in His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, speaking with the ancient prophets Moses and Elijah, and witnessed by three of Christ’s apostles, Peter, James and John who are all blinded by the brilliance of the light shining from Christ’s body, a feast which we celebrate on August 6th. Again, there are three smaller panels below this one dedicated to each of the three apostles present at the great Transfiguration: St John leaning on our Lord’s breast at the Last Supper; our Lord’s charge to Peter ‘Feed my sheep’; and the martyrdom of St James, and once again below can be seen the figures of the donors, Peter and James Cremonini.
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Above the reredos, the three great windows of the apse are decorated with fine glass. The central panel is dedicated to the crucifixion, below which are three smaller panels: the first showing Our Lady’s heart pierced by seven swords, as Simeon had foretold at the Presentation of her Son in the Temple; the second shows our Lady cradling the dead body of her Son, a motif known as the ‘Pieta`’; and thirdly St John leading our Lady from Calvary. Then at the foot of the window you can just see the kneeling figures of the donors, Mr and Mrs Gaunt. This was the first panel to be glazed in 1880. Later on the panels to right and left were also glazed by other donors, who also are figured kneeling at the foot of each window. On the left we see the Magi adoring the Christ-child at the Epiphany, which we celebrate on January 6th, below which are representations of our Lady’s betrothal to St Joseph, the Annunciation and the Visitation, and at the bottom of the window the donors, the Gibbons family. On the right we see Christ in His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, speaking with the ancient prophets Moses and Elijah, and witnessed by three of Christ’s apostles, Peter, James and John who are all blinded by the brilliance of the light shining from Christ’s body, a feast which we celebrate on August 6th. Again, there are three smaller panels below this one dedicated to each of the three apostles present at the great Transfiguration: St John leaning on our Lord’s breast at the Last Supper; our Lord’s charge to Peter ‘Feed my sheep’; and the martyrdom of St James, and once again below can be seen the figures of the donors, Peter and James Cremonini.
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