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A Century Of Service
From its
consecration in October 1888, the Church Of Our Most Holy
Redeemer has been a bastion of the Catholic tradition of the
Church of England. Beginning as a mission church founded from
St Philip's, Granville Square, on the site of the Countess of
Huntingdon's Spa Fields Chapel, the building was not to be of
the popular 'cheap Gothic' type, but rather 'stately and
impressive, uplifting the minds and hearts of those who dwelt
beneath its shadow'. And so the first vicar, Father E.V. Eyre,
recruited the architectural talents of John Dando Sedding,
architect of several notable London churches including Holy
Trinity, Sloane Street: the church interior was modelled upon
Brunelleschi's famous church of Santo Spirito in Florence and
the exterior given the feel of an Italian basillica, with its
gabled front, generous eaves and deep cornice as well as the
Latin inscription, 'Christo Liberatori' (To Christ The
Redeemer).
Externally, the church has changed much from
its initial appearance with the addition of the clergy house
and campanile on the south side in 1906, and that of the
Institute building, containing the parish hall and what were
once nuns' cells and rooms for the 'bettering of the poor', on
the north side in 1916. The plans for both were drawn up by
Henry Wilson, who had collaborated with Sedding on the
original design and who went on to oversee all the subsequent
additions for nearly 50 years, thus giving the building a
remarkable unity.
The worship and ceremonial, although
from the Book of Common Prayer, had a distinct 'Roman' feel.
Indeed, a none-too-complimentary view of the church's 10th
anniversary services in 1898 was published in the volume 'The
Roman Mass in the English Church: Illegal Services Described
By Eye-Witnesses'. However, Father Eyre fought against this
'tendency to think of our own English form of Catholicism as
though it were not simply such, but almost a distinct faith
and religion, 'Anglicanism'.' The use of vestments, incense,
bells, candles and due reverence to the Sacrament were then
and are still now seen as in accordance with the infinite
glory, power and majesty of God. This sense of dignity and
beauty is obvious throughout the building itself, the fittings
and the worship.
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The
Baldachino
The imposing baldachino perhaps
demonstrates best the influence of Brunelleschi's Santo
Spirito. The structure is in fact mainly wooden, as were the
original steps and sanctuary floor, for the marble steps and
floor were not installed until 1938 in preparation for the
50th anniversary celebrations. The capitals on the columns are
the work of F.W. Pomeroy who established a fair reputation as
a sculptor. The figure of The Living Christ And Yet The
Crucified, which now surmounts the baldachino, was designed by
Wilson in 1927 as a memorial to Father Eyre and originally
stood where the altar of Our Lady Of Walsingham now stands.
The original design had the figure seemingly dancing off a
wooden cross, but the figure alone was raised to its present
position after the Second World War.
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The
Lady Chapel
The Lady Chapel behind the sanctuary was
part of the original design, but due to a shortage of money,
it was not completed until 1895. Previously a temporary wall
existed along the line of the back of the baldachino and the
chapel arches. The reredos and altar steps were added in 1909
and the wooden panelling in 1930, while the altar itself,
designed by GE Sedding, was dedicated in 1913 for the 25th
anniversary festival. The statues of St Pancras and the
Blessed Virgin, which now flank the altar, represented the
Guilds which the church organised until recently for boys and
girls. A postcard from 1914 shows an altar of St Mary
Magdalene on the south wall of the Lady Chapel. This may,
however, have been a temporary measure while the current altar
panelling for the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene was being
built.
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The
altar of Our Lady Of Walsingham
The altar of Our
Lady Of Walsingham on the south side was the latest addition
to the church, some time in the 1960s, as a result of the
close links between the parish and the shrine at Walsingham.
For, in addition to regular pilgrimages from the parish, the
church is home to a Cell of the Society of the Holy House of
Our Lady of Walsingham which meets on the first Saturday of
the month for rosary, mass, a talk and lunch.
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The
Calvary
The Calvary at the west end of the church
seemingly dates from the last century and has changed, though
at times there have been curtains behind it.
The
paintings adorning the walls of the church are the work of
Lillian Reynolds, an artist who worshipped at the church
during the first half of the century. Her works are mainly
copies of the Italian Masters, the most striking being the
copy of Perugion's Virgin And Child which hangs above the
altar in the Lady Chapel.
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Stations of the Cross
The Stations of
the Cross, erected in 1931, are the work of J.E. Crawford, an
associate of Martin Travers, and are rather fine examples of
their period.
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The
Organ
The organ, a Father Willis, mounted on the
gallery at the back of the church, is an interesting
instrument, though sadly in poor condition now. It was
formerly in the Chapel Royal at Windsor Castle, but was
reconstructed in the church in 1889, with extra pipes and
pedals added during the 1890s.
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The
Chapel of All Souls
The Chapel of All Souls, in the
north aisles was completed in 1922, again according to
Wilson's design, as a memorial to those who died in the First
World War. The altar is of alabaster with a life-sized pieta
of bronzed plaster behind, and there is a mortuary chamber
behind the walnut doors and alabaster memorial plaques.
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The Chapel
of St Mary Magdalene
The Chapel of St Mary Magdalene
in the south aisle was seemingly part of the church's original
design and the present altar claims it was given in memory of
Emma Foulger, who died in 1884. A postcard from 1914, however,
shows a different altar with an IHS inscription and a painting
of St Mary above it, while another photograph shows the altar
now dedicated to the Sacred Heart in this position. The
present panelling and figure of St Mary Magdalene were added
some time before 1938.
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The altar
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The date of the
construction of the altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the
north side is a matter of speculation, though the altar,
statue and canopy were certainly in place in 1938. The
extended panels on the sides and back of the altar were added
in the late 1950s. A photograph from the late 1920s or early
1930s, however, shows the altar and canopy, without the
statue, in the Chapel Of St Mary Magdalene.
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