Cathedral History in Pictures: A Festival of Britain Exhibition by Paul Tobin

CATHEDRAL HISTORY – A PICTORIAL RECORD The Cathedral and the Festival of Britain

Paul Tobin

The Cathedral was involved in a number of events that contributed to the Festival of Britain, which ran from May to September that year to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. The opening day of the Festival, Thursday 3 May, also happened to be the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord and to mark its opening by HM King George VI at the South Bank, Archbishop Edward Myers, Coadjutor Archbishop of Westminster, celebrated Pontifical High Mass at 10.30am. The following Sunday, the BBC Home Service broadcast the whole of the Capitular Mass which was celebrated by the Cathedral Administrator, Mgr Canon Cuthbert Collingwood, the preacher being Mgr Ronald Knox.

A week long ‘Cathedral Festival of Music’ was held from Whit Sunday to Trinity Sunday with a wide repertoire of pieces being sung at Mass and Vespers in addition to the usual plainchant; indeed, the only service not included in the programme was Vespers on the Wednesday, as the boys were given the afternoon off during an otherwise hectic week!

Three exhibitions were held in Cathedral Hall between July and September, the first was entitled An Exhibition of the Vestments and Plate in daily use in the Cathedral, the second was on Missionary Activities by the Pontifical Aid Societies and the third on The Catholic Way of Life. The first exhibition ran for two weeks and was opened by Archbishop Myers, seen in the centre of the photograph. Although the majority of items came from the Cathedral, including the ‘Howard’ Plate used exclusively by the archbishops of Westminster, a set of Mass Vestments designed by Edward Pugin for use in the Knill Chantry at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark was thought to be the most distinctive of all the exhibits.

The wax group of figures on the stage attracted criticism for appearing ‘subhuman’ according to the Editorial in the Cathedral Chronicle. Also criticised were the vestments they are wearing, for being too dull; these were the Byzantine red set by A E Grossé, that are nowadays used at Pentecost. The mitred figure in the centre is seated on a historic form of throne; this consisted of the faldstool used by the Vicars Apostolic of the London District, with its back made from a door, which had allegedly belonged to St Philip Neri. Ordinarily, this chair was kept in the crypt over what is now Cardinal Bernard Griffin’s grave and was brought up to the Lady Chapel to be used by the Archbishop of Westminster during the singing of Terce before a Pontifical High Mass. It ceased to be used in the 1960s and its current whereabouts are unknown. A number of items from Archbishop’s House were also displayed, including the Galero (red hat) of Cardinal Griffin. This can be seen hanging in the far right of the image; now it hangs above his grave in the crypt.

Image: Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, August 1951 Refs: Westminster Cathedral Chronicle, May, June, July and August 1951

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