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Article THE CHURCHES OF WORCESTER Page 1 of 4 →
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The Churches Of Worcester
THE CHURCHES OF WORCESTER
( Continued from p . 290 . ) The churches in Worcester , erected during the last century are of course in the Italian style , then so prevalent ; and although we cannot admire the style , ( we must respect the spirit in which the men of that day undertook to rebuild their decayed parish churches . That they were actuated by no false spirit of economy is evident from the substantial manner of their construction , and the solidity of their fittings . In these respects , and also in an architectural point of view , these edifices contrast favourably with the more modern erections of St . Clement ' s , St . George
St . Swithin ' s ., St . Nicholas ' , and AH Saints' were built between 1730 and 1742 , from the designs of Mr , White , a native of Worcester , and a pnpil of Sir Christopher Wren . They bear a general resemblance to each other , both in style and arrangement , and not one of them has a chancel , but merely a shallow recessed sanctuary . The old tower remains at St . Swithin ' s ,
the eastern buttresses projecting into the body of the present church ; it lias , however , been cased and otherwise altered , so that little more than its original outline remains . The Venetian east window was filled with stained glass a few years ago ; it was executed by Rogers from a design by the late Mr . Egerton . The holy table is a marble slab with wrought iron supports . The pulpitis of oak , richly carved , and has a heavy sounding board ,
surmounted by a gilt u pelican m her piety . " This church would he greatly improved by substituting open seats for the high pews , putting the organ oyer the east doorway , and arranging the space between the pulpit and the altar rails for the clergy and choir . The lofty campanile at the west end of St . Nicholas is a good example of the Italian style , and forms a pleasing feature in the general view of the city . The interior of the church presents nothing worthy of remark , except the wretched theatrical arrangement of the pews and galleries , and the painted east windows , the latter being the liberal gift of a parishioner . They are not , however , good examples . All Saints is considerably larger than the churches just mentioned ,
and , unlike them , is divided into nave and aisles by two rows of lofty Doric columns , supporting an entablature and cornice , above which is a semicircular ceiling . The cast window , hy Rogers , contains full-length figures of Our
blessed Lord , St . Peter , and St . Paul . The pulpit is formed of old oak , ornamented with carvings of sacred subjects . Before the present pulpit and desk were put up by the late rector , a u three decker" stood in" the middle passage . On the top of the reredos are carved representations of
candlesticks with candles ; they likewise occurred at St . Swithin ' s , with a cross in the centre , but were removed when the reredos was lowered for the purpose of showing the lower parts of the painted window . It is singular that these ornaments should have been introduced in such an antisymbolical age as the early part of the eighteen th century . It is very evident they were not regarded with such suspicion and aversion as many well meaning people feel towards them at the present day . The tower is three stages in height , aud has a balustrated parapet with urns at the angles . The bottom stage hi a portion of the old tower ; it has a good third pointed window of four
lights , and a lofty , well proportioned arch communicating with the nave . Over the east window on the outside is a bust of Bishop Ilaugh , who gave £ 1 , 000 towards rebuilding the church . The organ anld gaAlery , which now
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Churches Of Worcester
THE CHURCHES OF WORCESTER
( Continued from p . 290 . ) The churches in Worcester , erected during the last century are of course in the Italian style , then so prevalent ; and although we cannot admire the style , ( we must respect the spirit in which the men of that day undertook to rebuild their decayed parish churches . That they were actuated by no false spirit of economy is evident from the substantial manner of their construction , and the solidity of their fittings . In these respects , and also in an architectural point of view , these edifices contrast favourably with the more modern erections of St . Clement ' s , St . George
St . Swithin ' s ., St . Nicholas ' , and AH Saints' were built between 1730 and 1742 , from the designs of Mr , White , a native of Worcester , and a pnpil of Sir Christopher Wren . They bear a general resemblance to each other , both in style and arrangement , and not one of them has a chancel , but merely a shallow recessed sanctuary . The old tower remains at St . Swithin ' s ,
the eastern buttresses projecting into the body of the present church ; it lias , however , been cased and otherwise altered , so that little more than its original outline remains . The Venetian east window was filled with stained glass a few years ago ; it was executed by Rogers from a design by the late Mr . Egerton . The holy table is a marble slab with wrought iron supports . The pulpitis of oak , richly carved , and has a heavy sounding board ,
surmounted by a gilt u pelican m her piety . " This church would he greatly improved by substituting open seats for the high pews , putting the organ oyer the east doorway , and arranging the space between the pulpit and the altar rails for the clergy and choir . The lofty campanile at the west end of St . Nicholas is a good example of the Italian style , and forms a pleasing feature in the general view of the city . The interior of the church presents nothing worthy of remark , except the wretched theatrical arrangement of the pews and galleries , and the painted east windows , the latter being the liberal gift of a parishioner . They are not , however , good examples . All Saints is considerably larger than the churches just mentioned ,
and , unlike them , is divided into nave and aisles by two rows of lofty Doric columns , supporting an entablature and cornice , above which is a semicircular ceiling . The cast window , hy Rogers , contains full-length figures of Our
blessed Lord , St . Peter , and St . Paul . The pulpit is formed of old oak , ornamented with carvings of sacred subjects . Before the present pulpit and desk were put up by the late rector , a u three decker" stood in" the middle passage . On the top of the reredos are carved representations of
candlesticks with candles ; they likewise occurred at St . Swithin ' s , with a cross in the centre , but were removed when the reredos was lowered for the purpose of showing the lower parts of the painted window . It is singular that these ornaments should have been introduced in such an antisymbolical age as the early part of the eighteen th century . It is very evident they were not regarded with such suspicion and aversion as many well meaning people feel towards them at the present day . The tower is three stages in height , aud has a balustrated parapet with urns at the angles . The bottom stage hi a portion of the old tower ; it has a good third pointed window of four
lights , and a lofty , well proportioned arch communicating with the nave . Over the east window on the outside is a bust of Bishop Ilaugh , who gave £ 1 , 000 towards rebuilding the church . The organ anld gaAlery , which now