The Assumption Window

Today is the anniversary of the death of Mary Smith, in whose memory the Assumption window at the west end of the Cathedral was given. Canon Billington: "The south aisle has its west window filled with glass, the work of Shrigley and Hunt, representing our Lady's Assumption. She is mounting up to heaven surrounded by a multitude of rejoicing angels. The inscription is from the antiphons of the feast: 'Assumpta est Maria in caelum; gaudent angeli' [Mary is assumed into heaven; the angels rejoice]. Underneath is a brass plate recording that 'This window was given by Richard Smith in memory of his wife Mary, who died 18 April, 1890. R.I.P.' Mr Smith, who gave the window in 1904, himself died in 1907. Both are buried in St. Peter's Cemetery." A footnote in Billington's parish history records that the window cost £300.

1938: The Sisters of St Catherine

Each Sunday at the end of all Masses at the Cathedral there is a retiring collection; the proceeds go to the 'doorstep fund', which is set aside for helping those in need. This weekly opportunity to help the poor and disadvantaged is nothing new: back in 1938 a new community of nuns was moving into the parish to help those suffering with illness, and the Mass-going community supported their work. The notice book for 20th March 1938 records, "At General Meeting last Sunday it was decided to amend the decision of three years ago and to devote one special collection per month towards the maintenance of the Sisters of St. Catherine instead of the school debt. This collection will be the last Sunday of the month or thereabouts. This decision will avoid any extra burden on the members of the congregation and will give each and every member the satisfaction that they are helping the cause of nursing the sick of the parish." This was, of course, in the days before the NHS, and there are records elsewhere that the parish supported in other ways those suffering through illness. At this time of year in 1938 the nuns were about to arrive, as the entry for 17th April tells us: "The new convent, 35 Higher Greaves, will be open Monday from 10 to 12 and from 2.30-5. If any member of the congregation wishes to look around, he or she will be welcome. The sisters leave their Mother House on Wednesday and will arrive here in Lancaster about 4pm on Friday. I would like you to give them a hearty welcome and to receive them kindly."

Apse Wall Paintings

They are the grainiest of images, but they just about give the viewer a picture of what the upper part of the apse once looked like. Above the windows at the east end of the church, looking down on the high altar, these paintings must have been viewed by many people over the years.

The top picture shows the Gospel side (as the congregation face it, the left); the image above shows the central painting; below we see the Epistle (right hand) side. All these images were painted over when the church was redecorated in the 1970s, and these poor quality images are all that remain - as far as we know. In the rest of the chancel the wall paintings still survive, and it appears from Canon Billington's brief description that all the paintings were part of the same scheme: "The upper part of the walls of the whole chancel, including the apse, is richly decorated in gold and colours, the figures representing a procession of saints... The apse window spaces and the walls over the arcading are filled with figures of angels."

Canon Billington also records the origin of the paintings: "This work was begun in 1894 as part of the memorial to Provost Walker, and was carried on and finished by special subscriptions, chiefly from the Leeming and Coulston families."

The image here shows St Peter's before the triptych was added in 1909. The wall paintings can be made out above the windows.

1909: Miss Margaret Coulston

Here we see Margaret Coulston (left), her companion Mrs Smith and Fr Thomas Murphy, parish priest at St Joseph's, Skerton 1902-1924. Miss Coulston founded the parish at Skerton and lived in what is now the presbytery. She was also an important benefactor of St Peter's and is frequently mentioned in Canon Billington's parish history. Cousin of Thomas Coulston (see here), she contributed towards the original stations of the cross (more information here), bought the altar for the St Charles Borromeo chapel and donated the second of the St Peter windows in the north aisle. Miss Coulston died in Skerton on this day in 1909 and is buried outside the main doors of the church. Exactly 100 years after her death, today Mass will be offered for her at St Joseph's church, and parishioners will visit her grave when Mass concludes.

The boy who would be Bishop

Early in February we posted a picture of a large group of children at the Cathedral School (see here). It provoked a fair amount of interest, and a number of people contacted us to identify people - one or two people even spotted themselves in the picture! One blog reader identified a young Brian Noble (circled above). He was born in Lancaster and educated at the Cathedral School before becoming a priest in June 1960. In 1995 he was called from his duties as a parish priest in Whitehaven and was ordained Bishop of Shrewsbury. He is one of a number of bishops to have been brought up in the parish or educated in the school (for example, Archbishop Thomas Whiteside, whom we met in January. Bishop Noble is celebrating his 73rd birthday today - Happy Birthday!

1890: The Sacred Heart Altar

On this day in 1890 the Cathedral's Sacred Heart altar was consecrated. Canon Billington gives us some details: "The altar, which was not part of the original design of the church, was given anonymously, in fulfilment of a vow, and was consecrated by Bishop O'Reilly on April 9, 1890. The table is of Sicilian marble, and contains relics of Ss. Irenaeus and Justin. The centre of the reredos is occupied by a statue of our Lord crowned and showing His Heart; it is carved in white Carrara marble and stands under a tall canopied niche. The side niches are occupied by statues of Ss. Catherine of Alexandria, Margaret of Scotland, Helen, and Frances of Rome... the designer was Mr. Edward Simpson of Bradford."

This old picture shows the St Charles Borromeo altar a short distance away. The Sacred Heart altar stands in the transept, beyond the right edge of this picture. What can be seen, however, is a screen which used to stand around the altar, allowing it to form a separate chapel. The screen was removed (seemingly sometime in the 1970s) though marks where it stood can still be seen today. Canon Billington tells us: "The stone arcading which forms a screen for the altar on the north side was designed by Mr. P. P. Pugin, and was placed there in 1896. The interior arcading on the south wall, the altar steps, &c., were added in 1899 from a design by Messrs. Austin and Paley. The total cost was £530."

Holy Week 1938

This handbill, found in an old Notice Book, shows the times of Holy Week services in 1938. Today, as then, it's a busy week with many extra services taking place. Lots of things have changed, however: many of the main services took place in the morning (Holy Thursday - High Mass 10:30am; Good Friday - Mass of the presanctified 9am; Holy Saturday - blessing of the Paschal Candle, Litany of the Saints and Blessing of the Font 9am). One of the sad aspects of the reforms is the loss of the Tenebrae service, during which candles were extinguished one by one. Seemingly it was very beautiful. If you'd like to take a closer look at the handbill, click on the image to enlarge it. You may also be interested in a couple of pictures of the morning Easter Vigil - we have no images of the service in Lancaster but if you click here you can see some old pictures of the vigil as it was celebrated in Westminster Cathedral.

1963: Dr Dixon's Panis Vitae

On this day in 1963 the Ashton Hall was the venue for the first north of England performance of 'Panis Vitae', a Eucharistic Oratorio by the Cathedral's musical director, Dr J. H. Reginald Dixon. The programme says of the work, "This lovely and deeply spiritual work was first produced in the Concert Hall, Munich in August, 1960 and afterwards at the Central Hall, Westminster in July, 1961." We will hear more of Dr Dixon next month as we mark 100 years since his appointment to St Peter's in May 1909. For now, though, a few more words from the programme for this concert will give us a sense of his importance: "The 76 year old composer is Resident Organist to the Lancaster City Corporation and Organist at St. Peter's R.C. Cathedral for more than 50 years and has been internationally famous for his Church Music."

Palm Sunday

Stumbled across in the archives, this photo shows a Palm Sunday procession of years gone by. Those with knowledge of cars could probably date the picture quite accurately!

1894: Alderman Thomas Preston

This is a portrait of Alderman Thomas Preston, who died on this day in 1894. The painting hangs in Lancaster Town Hall. Thomas Preston was the treasurer on the committee which oversaw the building of St Peter's, and he was a generous benefactor of local churches; Billington records that he gave £100 towards the building of St Mary's in Morecambe. He was also the first Catholic to be elected Mayor of Lancaster after the Reformation, as Canon Billington states: "It was in 1875 that he was first elected to the chair, but Protestant feeling in the town was so bitter at the time that it was considered injudicious for him to pay a state visit to St. Peter's. At his second term, in 1889, no opposition was raised, and an official visit was therefore made. His nephew, Alderman Robert Preston, elected mayor in 1894, 1899, and 1900, also visited the church in state." Robert Preston had two brothers who went on to be priests: Joseph and Richard, who went on to be an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.

2005: the death of Pope John Paul II

It was an event which got the attention of the entire planet. For several days in Easter week 2005 the world watched, hundreds of thousands gathered in Rome, and people waited, knowing that the man who had been Pope for over 26 years was nearing the end of his life. Over 200 world leaders attended his funeral, which brought together many who would normally never meet face-to-face. The Cathedral became the focus of prayer for the city of Lancaster and for the Diocese, as many came to pray for the Pope and to mourn his death.

The morning after the Pope's death a great crowd attended Mass, with the number present almost 50% higher than would be otherwise expected. These pictures are from a diocesan Mass which was celebrated on the evening of the Pope's funeral.

About 600 attended the Mass, with priests and people coming from all over the Diocese.

Red vestments are worn in a requiem Mass for the Pope. This is to show the unbroken link with the Apostles, most of whom were martyrs.

There was also an ecumenical celebration of Vespers, which was attended by many people and leaders from other denominations. A picture of the Pope on the sanctuary steps became a focal point for prayer, and candles were lit before it. Sadly these pictures are not of a great quality. If anyone has the originals, please contact us!

Votes for Clergy!

These days the Cathedral Social Centre is used as a polling station whenever general or local elections are held. Eighty-four years ago, however, the Cathedral had a different involvement in the electoral process. At that time Canon Blundell, the Cathedral Administrator, was standing for office himself, as the Notice Book entry of 29th March 1925 records: "On Monday April 6th the election for the Board of Guardians takes place. At present there is not a single Catholic on the Board – so the Canon is offering himself for election in the John O’Gaunt ward. Every Catholic that has a vote should record it. Those young men who are used to clerical work are asked to come forward to offer their services. They may give their names today to the Canon or to Mr. Tom Purcell. We shall need to begin the clerical work tomorrow night." The following week the issue is raised again: "In the election of Law Guardians tomorrow, all Catholics should consider it a duty to vote, if they have a vote. As yet there is not a Catholic on the Board. Make sure of the election of the Canon by voting only for him. There will be a meeting of supporters and those willing to work, in the Boys’ School after Benediction." The notice books make no further mention of the event: perhaps the Canon was not elected, or perhaps reference was made to the election in some other way, and therefore not mentioned in the announcements.