Dear Friends,
One of the treasures of the archives is the many original sets of drawings from Cram and Goodhue of the Church and the Parish House, which includes very large blueprints. Those drawings include details of the Yelland metalwork and everything from the pinnacles outside to the designs for the lighting.
Something that has puzzled me for a long while is why we use the term ‘chantry chapel’ for one of the side chapels of Saint Thomas. The original plans simply call it ‘chapel’, so, at some point, the title ‘chantry’ was added. I have done some sleuthing, but thus far, I cannot find out when that title was first used. I suspect that Fr. John Andrew may have started its use since he had a love of all things medieval, but I may be wrong.
Chantry chapels originated in medieval churches and cathedrals in Europe and were often built as additions to the building or as separate tiny chapels within. Above, you can see one of the more extraordinary chantry chapels built on a bridge in Yorkshire! Chantry chapels were usually endowed by a wealthy person so that a priest would regularly offer Mass for the repose of their soul, in perpetuity. The endowment would cover the stipend of the priest and even the cost of wax for the candles. Some chantry chapels are extremely beautiful, with exquisite stonework and even stained glass. Although the custom of offering chantry masses was suppressed at the Reformation, many of these chapels still exist and, since the Oxford Movement, have been restored to use. When our little group visited the Chapel Royal last February, we saw some beautifully restored chantries at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, and Westminster Abbey.
Lady Chapels are also very common in Europe, especially when the church or cathedral was not dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Again, we saw this at Windsor and Westminster. Lady Chapels also feature in many American churches, and my exploration of the archives has led me to surmise that the chantry chapel was actually intended to be a Lady Chapel.
The altarpiece in our chapel is surmounted by an exquisite carving of the Annunciation and two angels with gold, blue, and red wings holding the inscriptions “Behold the handmaid of the Lord” and “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” The large central panel of the altarpiece also features the mother of Jesus at the wedding of Cana in Galilee, where she said to the stewards, “Do whatever he tells you” — those words are also carved above that scene.
Recently, the vergers rediscovered a beautiful altar frontal for the chapel with a glorious image of Our Lady of Walsingham embroidered and appliquéd on it. The Altar Guild has also found a whole set of altar linens with what is known as ‘white work’, which features embroidery of Mary and Marian symbols in blue threads. The windows in the chapel are of women saints, the first being an image of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.
All these elements together, the medieval Spanish image of the Madonna, Child in the chapel sanctuary, and the long tradition of celebrating the Saturday Eucharist in honor of the Blessed Virgin, convince me that this is more properly a Lady Chapel rather than a chantry chapel, particularly since the Resurrection Chapel contains our columbarium and has been the traditional place where Requiem Masses have been offered for many years.
So, as we enter a New Year, I think we should rename the chantry chapel the Lady Chapel. Please note, though—this is not the Ladies’ Chapel! It is a reference to the old title of the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady.
Let me end with two poems of the great Anglican metaphysical poet-priest, John Donne (1572-1631). The first from his much longer poem ‘A Litany’ written in 1609, and his sonnet titled ‘Annunciation.’
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl
From A Litany by John Donne
V.
THE VIRGIN MARY
For that fair blessed mother-maid,
Whose flesh redeem’d us, that she-cherubin,
Which unlock’d paradise, and made
One claim for innocence, and disseizèd sin,
Whose womb was a strange heaven, for there
God clothed Himself, and grew,
Our zealous thanks we pour. As her deeds were
Our helps, so are her prayers; nor can she sue
In vain, who hath such titles unto you.
Annunciation by John Donne
Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is all everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Lo! faithful Virgin, yields Himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He’ll wear,
Taken from thence, flesh, which death’s force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created thou
Wast in His mind, who is thy Son, and Brother;
Whom thou conceivest, conceived; yea, thou art now
Thy Maker’s maker, and thy Father’s mother,
Thou hast light in dark, and shutt’st in little room
Immensity, cloister’d in thy dear womb.
