The Sanctuary and High Altar (1877)
Set within the stone of the altar is a triangular piece of marble which came from an early Christian altar in the Roman Catacombs.
The marble was a gift from Professor Dressel (who, at the request of Pope Gregory XVI had been undertaking the formation of the Vatican Museum). It was given to Mr James Forbes, the cousin of the first Vicar’s mother – which is how it came to be here!
This High Altar is actually the original altar from St Columba’s Church which stood at the other end of Splott on the site of the India Centre. It had been placed there in 1877.
Crucifix and Candlesticks
We love to make connections and tell a story. Here, behind the High Altar, is a link to Narnia and the works of the author, C.S. Lewis.
The central crucifix, which was placed here on Easter Eve 1913, was a parting gift of Fr Adams who had been the Assistant Curate since 1899.
He left to test his vocation to the Religious Life with the Society of St John the Evangelist (‘The Cowley Fathers’) and was professed in 1916.
He gave other gifts too, such as a Blessed Sacrament Banner to St Francis Church and a sanctuary gong which you may also be able to see somewhere in the church.
Fr Adams’ story lives on today in other ways for he played a significant part in the life of the author, C.S. Lewis.
As a member of the Cowley Fathers in Oxford, he was Lewis’s guide and confessor as he made his conversion to Christianity. So next time you read the Chronicles of Narnia, spare some thought for the Splott connection!
Incidentally, the candlesticks came from St Columba’s Church. They were made and gifted by Mr Gleeson, the first Churchwarden of the parish.
The Reredos
‘I see my paintings as poems, as prayers if you like,’ said the Welsh artist, Tony Goble who designed and painted the reredos you see before you.
The Reredos is rather striking and is quite different from its original which was painted and gilded with shields and lettering in 1895 and renovated in 1963. But in the 1980s the reredos received a colourful makeover when St Saviour’s celebrated it’s Centenary.
It was designed and painted by Welsh artist Tony Goble, who died in April 2007. It is a colourful and distinctive addition to the church and is full of rich symbolism and story.
The image of Christ the King stands above the scenes of his Passion in this beautiful stained glass window above the reredos.
The window was designed by Bodley (and executed by Messers Burleson and Grylls) and given by the Nicholson family in memory of their mother, Elizabeth Ismay Nicholson, a benefactress of the church. It was installed in 1898.
Either side of Christ the King are St Columba and St Francis, patrons of the parish, and St David and St Elizabeth on the left. No doubt, St Elizabeth was included as the saint name of Fr Nicholson’s mother!
The small window on the South side, which often goes unseen, depicts the three Archangels. It was also the gift of Fr Nicholson. There is another link to St Michael here in one of the Church Banners for the Guild of St Michael which was also donated by Fr Nicholson.
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