The Postcard
A postally unused Bridge House Series postcard. The image is a glossy real photograph, and the card has a divided back, on which is printed:
"This imposing structure of
early Byzantine style, designed
by J. F. Bentley, was opened for
use in 1903.
The foundation stone was laid
by Cardinal Vaughan in 1895.
St. Edward's Tower, clearly
shown in the picture, is 273
feet high."
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK, and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster.
The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of Westminster was purchased by the Diocese of Westminster in 1885.
Designed by John Francis Bentley in neo-Byzantine style, and accordingly made almost entirely of brick, without steel reinforcements, Sir John Betjeman called it:
"A masterpiece in striped brick and
stone that shows the good craftsman
has no need of steel or concrete."
The Cathedral Mosaics
One of the first public liturgies to be celebrated in the cathedral was Cardinal Vaughan's requiem mass; the cardinal died on the 19th. June 1903. For reasons of economy, the decoration of the interior had hardly been started, and still much remained to be completed.
Under the laws of the Catholic Church at the time, no place of worship could be consecrated unless free from debt and having its fabric completed.
The consecration ceremony took place on the 28th. June 1910, although the interior was never finished.
When the cathedral's architect John Bentley died in 1902, there were no completed mosaics in the cathedral, and Bentley had left behind precious little in terms of sketches and designs.
Consequently, the subject and styles of the mosaics were influenced by donors as well as designers, overseen by a cathedral committee established for this purpose. Indeed, Bentley's influence is only seen in the chapel dedicated to the Holy Souls.
Due to the absence of any designs by Bentley, there was no agreement as to how the mosaics should look, and in one instance, works already installed (in the Sacred Heart shrine) were removed after the death of the artist, George Bridge.
Mosaics installed during the period 1912–1916 were mostly done by devotees of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Those in the Lady Chapel were installed by Gertrude Martin (who had worked with George Bridge), in 1912–1913.
The work was supervised by Anning Bell and Marshall, who later designed the mosaic of Christ enthroned which is above the entrance to the cathedral.
The Tympanum of the portal shows in a Byzantine mosaic technique from left to right the kneeling St. Peter with the Keys of Heaven, the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ as Pantocrator on the throne, St. Joseph, the Nursing Father of Jesus with a lily in his right hand, and in a kneeling position the canonized English King Edward the Confessor in royal regalia.
As Jesus Christ blesses the viewer with his right hand, he holds in his left hand the Book of Life. The Latin inscription of the opened book pages reads: Ego sum ostium per me si quis introierit salvabitur (I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved; Gospel of John 10,9).
The mosaics in the chapel dedicated to Saint Andrew, paid for by The 4th. Marquess of Bute, are also in the style of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
1930 to 1935 saw a tremendous amount of work done, with mosaics placed in the Lady Chapel, in the alcoves above the confessionals, in the crypt dedicated to Saint Peter, and on the sanctuary arch.
No new mosaics were then installed until 1950, when one depicting St. Thérèse of Lisieux was placed in the south transept. Another, in 1952, in memory of those in the Royal Army Medical Corps who died in World War II, was added to the chapel of Saint George.
From 1960 to 1962, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was decorated in a traditional, early Christian style, with the mosaics being predominantly pale pink in order to afford a sense of light and space.
The designer, Boris Anrep, chose various Eucharistic themes such as the sacrifice of Abel, the hospitality of Abraham and the gathering of the manna in the wilderness, as well as the Feeding the multitude and the Wedding Feast at Cana.
In his old age, Anrep also acted as adviser and principal sketch artist for the mosaics installed in the chapel of Saint Paul (1964–1965). These mosaics depict various moments in the life of Paul; his occupation as a tent-maker, his conversion to Christ, the shipwreck on Malta and his eventual execution in Rome.
It was not until the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982 that the next mosaic was installed. Rather than a scene, the mosaic above the north-west entrance is an inscription:
'Porta sis ostium pacificum par eum
qui se ostium appellavit, Jesus Christum'
(Translated as 'May this door be the gate of peace through Him who called Himself the gate, Jesus Christ').
In 1999, a mosaic of Saint Patrick, holding a shamrock and a pastoral staff as well as trampling on a snake, was installed at the entrance to the chapel in his honour.
In 2001, a mosaic of Saint Alban, strongly influenced by the style of early Byzantine iconography, was installed by the designer, Christopher Hobbs. Due to the very favourable reception of the work, Hobbs was commissioned for further mosaics: the chapel to Saint Joseph which contains mosaics of the Holy Family (2003) and men working on Westminster Cathedral (2006).
Hobbs also worked on the chapel in honour of Saint Thomas Becket illustrating the saint standing in front of the old Canterbury Cathedral on the chapel's east wall and the murder of Thomas on the west wall.
The vault is decorated with a design of flowers, tendrils and roundels. As of 2011, there were plans for further mosaics, for example, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony in the narthex.
