61. ROOD CROSS

The rood cross dating from 1885 hangs at the front of the Cathedral. It shows the crucified Christ at the centre, with Mary the Mother of Jesus watching on at left, and St John the Evangelist at right. This cross is interesting for the pelican on her nest at the base: in hard times the mother pelican is said to draw blood from her breast to feed her chicks; this has been used as a symbol of the sacrifice of Christ.     INDEX

62. SANCTUARY SIDE WINDOWS

These two windows by Margaret Rope are not at all cheerful. The North (left) window shows the martyrdom of seminary priests, and the South (right) window the martyrdom of St Laurence. Roman Catholics experienced severe persecution in Britain after the Reformation.

63. GREAT EAST WINDOW

The Great East Window was the first window to be installed in the Cathedral. It recalls the Catholic defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The Catholic side had prayed for the intercession of Our Lady, who is shown at the centre of the window.   

64. SANCTUARY CEILING

The sanctuary ceiling follows the Gothic shape of the top of the East window. It is made up of panels of uniform design, but with a varying and repeated logo in the middle of each panel. These logos include grain, the chalice, grapes, the ‘ihs’ symbol for Jesus, and others.

65. ALTAR AND REREDOS

The altar is simple but attractive with gold accents, and fleur-de-lys and HIS symbols across the front. A golden tabernacle and candlesticks rest on it. Behind is a stunning reredos by Pugin with four scenes depicted: the Annunciation, Nativity, Wedding at Cana and the Crucifixion.

66. REREDOS DETAILS

The scenes depicted in the reredos panels are well known, but it is interesting to look more closely at each scene and pick out the simple details: for example the pot in Mary’s house, the cow looking out over the Baby Jesus, the bread and grapes on the table at the wedding.

67. THE TABERNACLE

The golden tabernacle is a work of art too, with its two guardian angles keeping watch. It is in here that the Elements of the Eucharist are kept.    

68. FINAL VIEW

This completes our tour of this lovely Cathedral. We take time to look back across the nave altar, and down the full length of the Cathedral.