In the late 1960's the Blessed Sacrament was removed from the main body of the Parish Church and the Choir Vestry was turned into a Chapel. The following image shows the Tabernacle and Gradine with the Comper Reredos partially obscured as fixed in 1968:
After a gap of 41 years the Blessed Sacrament is being restored to the south aisle of the Nave and you can see the work in progress so far from the following image. The addition of the oak panel beneath the Reredos will mean that the Tabernacle when installed will no longer obscure the Reredos.
In 1968, as was fashionable, the font was repositioned near the altar rails in the south aisle where the chapel had formerly been situated. The font is now being restored to a traditional position at the west end of the Nave's central aisle. The following image shows the 1960's position with the Confessional nearby and the base of the Paschal Candle stand can be seen in what was the Sanctuary of the former Chapel in the south aisle which is being restored:
The next image shows the new floor at the west end of the Nave now prepared for the arrival of Italian marbles to form a new floor beneath the font. There will be no plinth beneath the font pedestal as the marble will be flush with the York stone paving, which has still to be pointed. The font, having been removed from the south aisle in preparation for its permanent position, can just be seen behind our new Organist, Mr Andrew Storer, who was taking a break from cleaning out the organ blower room (hence the overalls!).
The marble floor should arrive on Tuesday 20th January and will begin to be laid the same day - watch the blog for progress. If you want an idea of the quality look at the design by our architect, Mr Julian Limentani, for Peterborough Cathedral. The stonemasons working at St Mary & St Giles tell me that ours knocks spots of theirs!
Still to arrive is a new Prayer Request board for the North Aisle recess. The Memorial Register is to be repositioned beneath it and later this year a life-size Icon of St Giles will be placed in this recess.
Our Lady was restored to the main body of the Church from the former Choir Vestry in 2007 and very popular she is too. In the style of an English Madonna it is a fine carving.
The image of St Michael the Archangel, formerly in the Church of St Mary the Virgin before it closed to be merged with St Giles, was found dumped in the attic of the former Vicarage shed with damaged wings. Restored six years ago it will be positioned in the tower area facing the west door as is traditional for an image of St Michael:
Further updates will follow as work progresses.
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