The Postcard
A Frith's Series postcard bearing an image that is a glossy real photograph. The card was posted in Hindhead using a 2½d. stamp on Thursday the 17th. May 1962. It was sent to:
Mr. James Tippet,
28, Ranelagh Avenue,
Barnes,
London SW13.
The message on the divided back was as follows:
"May 16, Hindhead.
Thank you so much for my
birthday card - we've been
to Guildford Cathedral today
& now everyone around the
fire is arguing about their
opinions of the architecture -
it's very interesting.
Have you seen it yet?
All the best for your exams -
Uncle Tom & Auntie Joy."
Guildford Cathedral
There is a body of opinion that Guildford cathedral is indeed ugly, and that the archirect has learned nothing from the mediaeval masterpieces that preceeded it.
In a Digital Spy forum, brick-built Guildford Cathedral was described as 'Britain's Ugliest Church', and likened to:
-- 1950's council flats
-- a 1950's civic centre
-- a power station
-- a factory.
Other critics have likened the building to a grain store and a crematorium.
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral.
Designed by Edward Maufe and built between 1936 and 1961, it is the seat of the Bishop of Guildford. The cathedral was listed as Grade II* by Historic England in 1981.
-- Design and Construction of Guildford Cathedral
The Diocese of Guildford was created in 1927, covering most of Surrey. Guildford's restored Georgian Holy Trinity Church served as pro-cathedral, but was considered too small to become the cathedral.
In 1932, a design competition was held, with a brief that the construction costs should be £250,000. 183 architects took part, from whom the Cathedral Committee chose Edward Maufe (later Sir Edward Maufe) as its architect.
In 1933, Richard Onslow, 5th. Earl of Onslow donated six acres (2.4 ha) of land at the top of Stag Hill as a site for the cathedral.
The foundation stone was laid by Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1936, but work was suspended in 1939 due to WWII.
In 1947, Viscount Bennett, former prime minister of Canada, bought the land surrounding Stag Hill as a memorial to Canadian soldiers who were billeted in the area during the Second World War.
In 1948, work re-commenced on building new roofs and the base of the tower, but post-war building restrictions meant that building was not able to fully resume until 1952.
At that point, it was already clear that the £250,000 originally raised to build the cathedral was hopelessly inadequate. The Cathedral Committee, and its formidable secretary, Miss Eleanora Iredale, launched the 'Buy-a Brick' campaign in 1952.
Between 1952 and 1961 more than 200,000 people paid 2s 6d (equivalent to £5 in 2023) to sign their name, or the name of another person on a brick.
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip both signed bricks, which are on display inside the cathedral, along with bricks signed by other members of the Royal Family.
Before the war, the bricks themselves were made by Guildford Brick Works at the bottom of Stag Hill, from the clay removed during the installation of 778 piles, driven 50 feet (15 m) into the hill.
After the war, the brickworks ceased to trade, and bricks were then bought from a brickmakers in Beare Green, Sussex. There is a slight colour variation between the local bricks (forming the eastern end of the cathedral) and the Sussex bricks, forming the western end, tower, garths and Lady Chapel.
The building was consecrated in the presence of Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip on the 17th. May 1961. The building was finally completed in 1965.
-- Location of the Cathedral
Where to put the cathedral for the new diocese of Guildford was a vexing question until Richard, Lord Onslow donated 6 acres atop Stag Hill — so named because the Kings of England used to hunt there.
Its solid red brick outline is visible for miles around. Whilst in 1932 this was far outside the town of Guildford, the growth since then has already begun to wrap around the cathedral to the west and south. Guildford Cathedral shares Stag Hill with the main campus of the University of Surrey.
-- Description of the Cathedral
Writing in 1932, Maufe said:
"The ideal has been to produce a design,
definitely of our own time, yet in the line
of the great English Cathedrals; to build
anew on tradition, to rely on proportion,
mass, volume and line rather than on
elaboration and ornament."
The Pevsner Architectural Guides describe the building as:
"Sweet-tempered, undramatic curvilinear
Gothic", with a noble and subtle interior".
Maufe was influenced by continental cathedrals, notably Albi Cathedral in France, and favoured clean modern design in a Gothic Revival style. It is said that the design for Guildford Cathedral in turn influenced the design of Auckland Cathedral in New Zealand.
Inside, the cathedral appears to be filled with light, with pale Somerset limestone pillars and white Italian marble floors.
The tower is 160 feet (49 m) high, and contains twelve bells. At the top of the tower stands a 15-foot (4.6 m) gilded angel, which turns in the wind. The angel was given in memory of Sgt. Reginald Adgey-Edgar of the Intelligence Corps, who died on active service in 1944 during World War II.
It was designed by William Pickford and created by four silversmiths, before being positioned in the Spring of 1963. The supporting pole for the angel houses mobile phone antennas.
The wooden cross which stands outside the eastern end of the cathedral was erected in 1933 before construction work began in order to mark the site of the new cathedral.
Known as the Ganges Cross, it is made from timbers of Burma teak from the battleship HMS Ganges. The ship's emblem — an elephant — is embedded in the wood.
Sir Edward Maufe's wife, Lady Prudence Maufe – an interior designer, director of Heal and Son Ltd. and member of the Worshipful Company of Broderers – was instrumental in the design of the textiles within the cathedral.
Unusually, Maufe's contract included complete control over the internal fittings and colour scheme of the cathedral. This colour scheme references Guildford's wool trade past, notably the blue colour for which Guildford wool was famous.
The 1,447 kneelers, using a combination of standard and individual designs, were each reviewed and approved by Lady Maufe and her committee. They were made by over 400 individuals, mainly from the British Isles, but including people from other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand.
Whilst most were made during the late 1950's and early 1960's, there are examples dating back to the late 1930's, and they collectively form a fascinating record of society and life at that time.
20th.-century sculptors and artists are well represented at Guildford Cathedral, notably Eric Gill, Vernon Hill, Mary Spencer Watson, Dennis Huntley, Alan Collins and local artists John Cobbett and Douglas Stephen.
Charles Gurrey created a series of sculptures above the West Front in order to mark the Millennium, whilst Canadian sculptor Nicholas Thompson completed a sculpture of a WWI mother and child in 2016.
-- The Cathedral's Three Side Chapels
There are three side chapels:
-- The Children's Chapel is dedicated to children who have died, and holds a book of remembrance for children of any age.
-- The Chapel of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment holds the regimental colours, and was dedicated in 1959 to the Honour of King Charles the Martyr. The Queen's Royal Regiment was founded in 1661 as the Tangiers Regiment on the marriage of King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza.
-- The Lady Chapel was built using funds donated by the Canadian people, in recognition of the support for Canadian troops stationed in the area during both world wars. It contains a figure of the Madonna and Child, carved in lignum vitae by Douglas Stephen, the then-manager of Barclays Bank, Chelsea.
The altar and altar rails were originally used in the chapel in the crypt, the place of worship for the original parish, during the construction of the cathedral. The crypt chapel is now used as the choir room.
-- Cathedral Glass
The cathedral contains fewer stained glass windows than many comparable church buildings, having a predominantly clear glazing scheme (using opaque glass to soften the light) to complement the modernist architectural style of the building.
However it includes works by Moira Forsyth, William Wilson, James Powell and Sons, Ninian Comper and Lawrence Lee.
There are etched glass works by New Zealand-born artist John Hutton. One set adorns the panel at the west entrance; the other is above the internal doors to the south porch.
In January 2024 one of the panes on the west front door was smashed in an act of apparent vandalism. Hutton achieved particular acclaim for his work at Coventry Cathedral, and he worked on both Coventry and Guildford Cathedrals at the same time.
-- The Guildford Cathedral Organ
The cathedral organ was installed in 1961 by the Liverpool firm of Rushworth and Dreaper. It is a reconstruction of an organ dating from c. 1866, previously in the Rosse Street Baptist Church in Shipley, West Yorkshire.
The organ, probably built by Nicholson of Bradford, was a gift of the Coulthurst Trust. During the cathedral's renovation in 2015 to 2017, the organ was dismantled and refurbished by David Wells Organ Builders. There are approximately 4,600 pipes across both the main and positive organs.
A second organ, also supplied by Rushworth and Dreaper, is installed in the musicians gallery of the Lady Chapel.
-- The Cathedral Bells
Guildford Cathedral has a ring of twelve bells; ten of which were cast by Mears and Stainbank in 1965. The bells were augmented to 12 with two Whitechapel trebles in 1975.
The largest bell is the tenor which weighs 30 cwt and 43 lbs (1,543.5 kg), and is tuned to the key of D. A team of about 25 volunteer bellringers practise on Tuesdays. In June 2022, the cathedral hosted the final of the National 12 Bell Striking Contest.
Martin Luther King Jr.
So what else happened on the day that Uncle Tom and Auntie Joy posted the card?
Well, on the 17th. May 1962, African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a proposed "Second Emancipation Proclamation" to U.S. President Kennedy.
He also submitted a proposal that Kennedy sign an executive order with the proposed title:
"On Behalf of the Negro Citizenry of the
United States of America in commemoration
of the Centennial of the Proclamation of
Emancipation".
Kennedy declined to act on the request, and noticeably avoided all centennial celebrations of the original Emancipation Proclamation which had been signed by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on the 22nd. September 1862.
Thalidomide
Also on that day, Thalidomide was withdrawn from sale in Japan, bringing an end to the worldwide distribution of the morning sickness drug that had caused birth defects.
Dainippon Pharmaceutical halted further shipments. About 1,200 "thalidomide babies" were born in Japan.
