The seven figures at the bases of the seven windows represent the ‘Seven Gifts of the Spirit’: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. Most of the works were made by Alan Collins, but ‘Piety’ was made by Dennis Huntley and ‘Fear’ by Karin Jonzen. The ‘Fear’ figure is rather inaccessible! PLAN
22. NORTHWEST CORNER
We are nearly back to our starting point. This is the ‘North garth’ at the Northwest corner of the Cathedral. Looking closely we can see a decoration above the East arch, a crest on the side gate, and a mitre on the top of the flagpole in the background.
23. DECORATIVE DETAILS
This decoration above the door is rather special with a pair of praying hands and a descending dove. The crest is that of the Diocese of Guildford. The sword and keys derive from the Winchester crest (Guildford Diocese was part of Winchester Diocese before 1927), the surround is woolsacks representing Guildford. At right we see a bishop’s mitre atop the flagpole, symbolizing the cathedral status of Guildford.
24. NORTHWEST ARCH
The decoration above this Northwest arch is a pair of hands holding a chalice of Communion wine. This pairs with the decoration above the South Garth arch: the Wine and the Bread of the Eucharist. It is interewsting that Guildford is the only cathedral to be built on a new site in southern England since the Reformation.
25. CAFÉ AND SHOP
To the Northwest of the Cathedral is a separate grouping of buildings including a café and a gift shop. Unfortunately these were not open on the day of my visit – Bank Holiday!
26. WEST DOOR
Time to think about entering the Cathedral, and we approach the West doors. Three doors beneath very tall separated West windows, the glass of the doors etched, and decorations above the Gothic arches ... .
27. ORNAMENTATION ABOVE WEST DOORS
The carvings above the West doors were dedicated by the Very Reverend Alex Wedderspoon, Dean Emeritus, on Whit Sunday in 2004. The figures are carved from Clipsham stone. Below the central figure of the Transfigured Christ are figures of men and women whose lives were thought to reflect the Holy Spirit. Four of these figures are from the past - St Bernard, St Benedict, St Columba and Dame Julian of Norwich, and the other four feature contemporary Christians - Evelyn Underhill, Bede Griffiths, Reginald Somerset-Ward and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.
28. WEST DOOR ETCHING
Artist John Hutton designed and engraved six larger-than-life angels for the West doors. John Hutton is most famous for his glass engravings on the Great West Screen of Coventry Cathedral.
30. NAVE
So we come to the nave and our first impression of the interior of this great Cathedral. Neat, clean, the stained wooden seating contrasting with the muted tones of the stone, Gothic arches with solid rectangular columns, large light windows with some stained glass, ... . We also note the font in the main aisle, and the simple sanctuary beyond. This is not a traditional cathedral, but it has character.
31. NAVE ROOF AND FONT
The portable font is a metre high, and made of oak and bronze. The bowl and feet are blue-patinated bronze, and the wooden detail is worked as downward-flowing forms. The nave ceiling is simple in form with allusions to traditional vaulting. It was unfortunate that the vaulting originally included asbestos which was recently removed at great expense.
32. WEST WALL
We now stand near the font and look to the West. We again notice the simple clear lines of the construction, the three tall lancets of the West window, the squared balcony with its crucifix and three supporting arches. At left is a welcomers’ desk, and at rightt a tree with golden leaves!
33. BALCONY CRUCIFIX AND CEILING
If we stand below the crucifix and look upwards, we can appreciate the coloured ceiling above the balcony with its rows of descending white doves – a reminder of the Holy Spirit theme of this Cathedral.
34. SPECIAL FLOOR TILES
As we walk around the nave we come across various blending memorial tiles. Here we see at left a heating vent with Pentecost tongues of fire. At centre is a 1959 memorial to the gift of three arches by the Agriculture Industry of Surrey. Below is shown the stone marking the 1957 visit of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. And at right is an acknowledgement of a gift of the Aircraft Industries in the Diocese of Guildford.
35. VIRGIN AND CHILD
Now that tree with golden leaves is seen to be a little artificial tree with prayer requests, standing near a carving of the Virgin and Child. This image by John Cobbett is carved into one of the nave columns.
36. NORTH AISLE LOOKING WEST
We now stand in the North aisle and look towards the West. At top is a balcony with the word ‘Philatelists’ and the Queen’s head displayed. This appears to be associated with a fund raising exercise. The ‘head’ was a preliminary design for the Penny Black stamp. Below is a staircase up to the balcony, and next to it a statue of St Francis of Assisi carved by John Cobbett. The stone base is a war memorial remembering several men killed in action.
37. NORTH AISLE LOOKING EAST
Looking back towards the East, there is a spectacular view along the length of the aisle. At right is a Holy Spirit tablet with a descending dove, tongues of fire, the text ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’ and a cross. I have not seen this version of the cross before – perhaps a reference to the Trinity?
38. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS I
We now examine the seven windows of the North nave. These two windows at the Eastern end are shown in full. We see that they are memorial windows, remembering various companies and service clubs that gave the windows. Here are mentioned: Tin Plate workers, Glaziers, Founders, Blacksmiths, Soroptimist International, Rotary International, Surrey County Hospital, Woolmen, and Chartered Institute of Builders.
39. NORTH NAVE WINDOWS II
The pattern is continued here, including windows given by the Police, various Military Units, University and Polytechnic, and even in personal memory of those who have died.
40. SOUTH NAVE
We next turn our attention to the South nave wall. We expect something similar with the memorial windows. We notice the small clear clerestory windows above which let light in. There is also a temporary display of works of art along the base of the wall.
