Cathedrals, churches & basilicas: interiors

Old St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia

by


Old St. John’s Church Interior, Richmond, Va.
In 1775 a convention was held in this historic church to deliberate upon the oppressive measures adopted by the British Government for enforcing the collection of taxes levied upon the Colonies. Many members of the convention hesitated to commit Virginia to any act of resistance, but Patrick Henry though only 39 years old, flashed the electric spark which exploded with fiery eloquence, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of the chains of slavery? Forbid it Almighty God I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

During the delivery of this immortal speech Henry stood in pew 72, now marked by white tablet shown in this view.

Postmarked 1946

Street View

Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England

by


Winchester Cathedral, West Front

Google Street View.

By the early 16th century, much of the Cathedral you see today was complete. New secular names became linked to this place, to add to those of mighty kings and bishops, from the 17th-century angler Izaak Walton to the great early 19th-century English novelist Jane Austen.

The 19th century saw much restoration work, including new stone statues for the huge 15th-century Great Screen behind the altar. The Cathedral’s Organ, a cut-down version of a huge organ displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, was bought. By the early 1900s, there were fears that the east end of this ancient building would collapse, after centuries of subsidence. Deep-sea diver, William Walker, worked under water in total darkness for six years to stabilise them.

Today, after 12 centuries, this great Cathedral church remains the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. Its beautiful spaces continue to echo to the sound of daily prayers and glorious sacred music.
Winchester Cathedral.


Winchester Cathedral, Nave East
c.1910
Publisher: Francis Frith & Co, Reigate


Winchester Cathedral, Beaufort and Fox’s Chantry
c.1910
Publisher: Francis Frith & Co, Reigate

The Cathedral is famous for its beautiful chantry chapels, where daily masses were said for the souls of the powerful bishops who built them. A total of seven, were added between the 14th and the 16th centuries. This is more than any other English cathedral, reflecting Winchester’s great power, wealth and royal connections in this period.
Winchester Cathedral

Westminster Cathedral, London

by


London, Catholic Cathedral, Westminster
On the back:
A Landmark of Westminster, made prominent by its high campanile and byzantine style of structure. From design by by the late J.F. Bentley. When completed will be the handsomest Catholic Cathedral in England. The Eucharistic Congress specially represented from Rome, and the subsequent procession of Catholic Dignitaries rarely if even seen before in England created a prominence of public interest unparalleled in recent years. A part of old Tothill Fields prison formerly occupied this site.

Publisher: J.J. Corbyn, Westminster, London

Virtual tour (official website)

Street View

In the late 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy had only recently been restored in England and Wales, and it was in memory of Cardinal Wiseman (who died in 1865, and was the first Archbishop of Westminster from 1850) that the first substantial sum of money was raised for the new cathedral. The land was acquired in 1884 by Wiseman’s successor, Cardinal Manning, having previously been occupied by the second Tothill Fields Bridewell prison. After two false starts in 1867 (under architect Henry Clutton) and 1892 (architect Baron von Herstel), construction started in 1895 under Manning’s successor, the third archbishop, Cardinal Vaughan, with John Francis Bentley as architect, and built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture.

The cathedral opened in 1903, a year after Bentley’s death. One of the first public services in the cathedral was Cardinal Vaughan’s requiem; the cardinal died on 19 June 1903. For reasons of economy, the decoration of the interior had hardly been started and still much remained to be completed. Under the laws of the Catholic Church at the time, no place of worship could be consecrated unless free from debt and having its fabric completed. The consecration ceremony took place on 28 June 1910, although the interior was never finished.
Wikipedia.

Read more