Issue 41 Spring web - Flipbook - Page 66
Unless the Lord build
the House: conserving
spirituality in a busy space
The first in a series of four illustrated articles titled ‘The Equilibrium between Conservation and
Spirituality’ by Jonathan Louth with textual contributions from articles by Julian Filochowski
Abstract
Every cathedral church starts with one foundation and
builds over decades and centuries into many facets of
faithful devotion. The holy shrine that first seats a cathedral in its place will accumulate many further adherents
and will grow, change and adapt to the many journeys in
life travelled by the pilgrim people who come into the
prayerfulness of the building.
Above, the Consecration in 1894 after repayment of the capital
debt shows Pugin’s triple barn basilica embellished by FA Walters
Above, St George’s cathedral borders both Southwark & Lambeth
near the Imperial War Museum, where Pugin was a convalescent.
Drawing on the inspiration of the Sixth Song of Ascents2,
“Except the Lord build the House, their labour is but lost that
build it”3, Jonathan Louth, architect to St George’s from
2003, talks about “conserving spiritual places through the
saints and relics”: these each have a specific meaning to
differing communities of worshippers and pilgrims.
In this first of four articles, Louth considers the equilibrium between conservation and spirituality4: he follows
from a reading of the cathedral’s architectural layout, with
its traditional response to pilgrims and worshippers,
through to the ordering of the cathedral’s spiritual life.
Introduction
As any cathedral must, the ‘seat’ of its original dedication
has continually evolved over decades and centuries to
encompass many manifestations of faithful devotion.
Above, Craze’s Clerestorey & Transepts of 1958 seat themselves
within Pugin’s perimeter walls and Westwork of 1848
At St George’s cathedral, over 20 years, the Deans and
Fabric Advisory Committee members have progressively
defined a sub-division of societal and devotional zones.
That definition now informs each decision about conservation, re-ordering, embellishment and presentation of
the fabric and artefacts, to enhance an immediate reading
of significance and purpose in the church.
Dedicated to St George, patron saint of England, with
‘catholic’ Blessed Sacrament and Lady chapels, this
Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral at Southwark
in London was built by AWN Pugin in 18481 after a period of three centuries during which English martyrs had
more or less covertly nurtured the Roman Catholic faith
in a Protestant land.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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