Wood and Stone

The beautiful painted ceiling has always tended to be neglected during hard times, only to be rediscovered later. The Parish Magazine entry in September 1928 makes this clear:

As the work on the interior of the Church proceeds we are beginning to realise that we have a ceiling worth looking at, and indeed it is the opinion of those who know, to be one of Mr Bodley’s masterpieces in decoration. Were it in Italy, it would be boomed by the guide-books as a fresco of great merit. It consists of 144 emblems of S Michael joined together by a regular floral design. Right along the chancel and nave on both sides, at the spring of the arch, is the following inscription painted in beautiful Old English lettering: – Stetit Angelus juxta aram templi habens thuribubum aureum in manu sua. Regem Archangelorum Dominum Venite adoramus, venite exultemus. Te splendor et virtus Patris Te vita Jesu cordium Ab ore qui pendent Tuo laudamus inter Angelos. Patri simulque Filio Tibique Sancte Spiritus sicut fuit sit jugiler cum angelis et archangelis cumque omni militia coelestibus exercitus nomen tuum laudamus et hymnum gloriae Tuae canimus sine fine dicentes Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth saeculum per omni gloria. Amen.” … partly the Preface of Mass of St Michael and partly from various mediaeval rites.

The first history of St Michael’s, In the Beginning, includes a translation of this Latin text, as follows:

In the Chancel, the words are taken from the Preface in the Communion Service:
“With Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Thy Glorious Name, evermore praising Thee and saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts.”
In the Nave are two verses from the old Office hymn for St Michael’s Festival, followed by the antiphon, the translation being as follows:
“Thee, of the Brightness and the Might
Of the Father, Thee we sing,
Jesu, of our hearts the Life,
On Whose lips the Angels cling.
To the Father and the Son,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
As it was, so let it run
Glory through eternity.
An Angel stood at the Altar of the Temple,
Holding a golden censer in his hand (Rev. viii:3)
O come let us adore the Lord, the King of Archangels.
O come let us rejoice.”

At present, the paint is peeling especially from the lettering, but the ceiling as a whole still reflects the beauty spoken of in 1928.

The June 1926 parish magazine carried a list of volunteers to collect donations for the new font, adding that about £150 was needed “but it may very probably be more”. It concluded by saying that £20 received so far. The following month it mentioned that three more designs for the font had been received from Mr Leslie Moore “and we must lose no time in selecting one” and that only £26/3/6 collected so far. (Leslie Moore was the son-in-law and partner of Temple Lushington Moore and had completed the design of the tabernacle cover in the Resurrection Chapel in 1919 after Temple’s death.) The August 1926 magazine stated that the Finance Committee had accepted one of the three designs “with modifications”, to be submitted with estimate at next PCC meeting.

By the December 1926 issue £100 had been raised, but no estimate for the work had been received from the designers. This had risen to £160 by the January 1927 issue. The October 1927 magazine reported receiving a cheque from Joseph Green’s executors for £170, stating “Mr Green was always a good friend to St Michael’s and this legacy is the final proof of his devotion to the Church.” The following month carried a further explanation of the bequest – it was £170, including £50 “for the repair and embellishment of some part of the Church”. It had been decided that this should be the font. The March 1928 magazine stated that the new font was being erected at the time of writing.

The new font was described in the September 1928 magazine. The lower shields bear the arms of London, a plain Greek cross, a serpent in a goblet (symbolising St John the Evangelist), the arms of the Province of Canterbury, the fleur de lys (symbolising the Virgin Mary), a plain Greek cross pommee (symbolising St Michael) and the arms of the Diocese of London. The upper shields show “M” (for St Michael), IHS (the sacred monogram), the Shield of the Trinity, three instruments of the Passion, “Laus Deo” (praise be to God), two triangles with an eye (another symbol of the Trinity), IHS again and three fishes. The December 1933 issue included a final account of his time at St Michael’s by Fr Merritt, stating that £280 had been spent on new font but that the “cover [was] given later” (reported December 1933)

Its original scheme was a blank surface with motifs beneath “Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia”. This was probably on a red background, though we only have black-and-white evidence for it.

In his dealings with the London ecclesiastical authorities and the Aerated Bread Company in the late 1930s, the then-vicar Norman de Langdale stated his opinion that “At the present time the restoration of the reredos should … be taken in hand”. They agreed and £100 of the compensation was allocated to this project. However, the restoration may have become a full-blown redesign, since the Parish Magazines for 1939 refer to part of the compensation paying for a new design on the high altar reredos by William Lawson of Faith Craft. That new design is probably the present scheme showing the resurrected Christ beneath “Tu Rex Gloriae” (“Thou art the King of Glory”). ¹