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For mankind in the mass the neglect of beauty spells the hardness of narrowness either of a puritan or a materialist; though the saint and the mystic may pass directly, without the aid of external beauty of art, and even of nature, to God, himself."
The chancel is enclosed on four sides, the eastern-most side being bounded by a glorious fretted east window depicting the Annunciation and the Assumption of Our Lady; and to one side a statue of Virgin and Child, Our Lady being modelled on Comper's wife Grace, a memorial to Mary Gertrude Sharman, one of the benefactresses of St. Mary's. To the north and south are screens influenced by Spanish cathedral ironwork and made by Billingtons, a local firm. These screens are surmounted by exquisite cherubs and the motif of the Sharman sisters, the Royal Arms of England and of Wellingborough, old and new. On the west side the chancel and rood screen, mentioned above. The enclosing of the chancel emphasises the central importance of the altar, which is set away from the east wall and placed under a gilded classical baldachino, which is surmounted by a gorgeous Risen Lord attended by gambolling cherubs, all modelled on photographs of Italian youths, bought by Comper from Wilhelm von Gloedden, the great photographic innovator. The altar has a gilded plaster frontal of which other examples in silver can be seen in Pusey House Chapel and in the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Westminster Abbey.
The north transept has Comper's pure medieval style in the form of a Jesus Chancel, complete with an enormous east window known as a Jesse window, which depicts the life of Christ from the Annunciation through to the Transfiguration.
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The alter which rests against the east wall if of stone and has hangings either side and around the sanctuary. The screens are Gothic and at the west end is a beautiful painted organ case, set above the vast north door and its vestibule, now sadly unused. The ceiling of the Jesus Chancel is rich in its decoration, including angels holding scrolls and white roses emanating from central lozenges.
The south transept houses an enclosed chapel of St. John, a plain chapel in comparison to the rest of the church, but which nevertheless has a treasure of its own, in its windows, 16 in all, depicting central figures in English church history, from the time of the Reformation to the 20th Century.
Conclusion
St. Mary's is a masterful example of beautiful functionalism. Every part of the church is correct for its purpose: the gilded altar is at the heart of the building, suitable for east or west facing liturgy; it has two chapels of differing designs to suit the need for a range of service styles; a grant almost cathedral-like space for processions; copious amounts of light for witnessing the beauty of the whole; and throughout it tells the glorious story of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit in visual terms. The church originally had a hanging pyx in the form of a triple tiara, for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, a practice which Comper was key in reintroducing in the late 19th Century. The pyx has since been replaced by a silver tabernacle that can now be seen on the High Altar. As can be seen, Comper combines many art forms to make an astounding building and place of worship. It combines all that is great about 20th Century church building and design.
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