What's this in St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne?
Well, as the stonework says, it's a piece of the reredos of St Paul's Cathedral London (look it up!)
But my real question is, Why? I guess it's a nice gesture, but it seems to me a strange thing to give - unless there's some tradition behind gifting reredos parts. Anybody... ?
Anyhoo, next time I get to St Paul's in London, I'm going to look for the missing bit.
You wouldn't be able to find it though, because the reredos was removed in 1951. Probably scattered to the four winds.
ReplyDeleteOh - was the whole thing removed? Surely there's still one there today.
ReplyDeleteI think there would be. I was just parsing the grammar of the sign, which seemed to be 'this was taken from the St. Paul's reredos (not the current one obviously, but the one that was removed in 1951)'. The parenthesis seems to be aimed at preventing people thinking there is currently a reredos sans this particular piece at St. Paul's. :)
ReplyDeleteThe reredos was put in in 1888. St Pauls was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940. The bomb went off too early, just after hitting the dome, and so the high altar and reredos were badly damaged but Gibbons' choir stalls were undamaged, as were the candlesticks because they were so heavy. Almost all the stained glass was damaged by this and other bombs nearby.
ReplyDeleteThe Cathedral commissioned a new high altar and reredos after the end of the war which I think went in late 1940s. The American Chapel was built at the same time and this is why it is so close to the altar.
So the Melbourne reredos piece is part of the damaged one. So, Tim, there is currently one in London except it is newer. Perhaps they sent pieces of the old one to St Pauls' around the Commonwealth after the war?