Chairman's Christmas Extra

December 2024

CHRISTMAS EXTRA

A nostalgic look at past Christmases
in Coventry Cathedral
An extended newsletter for you to keep and read during the Christmas holidays


 

   BABY JESUS IN the arms of his mother is a central figure high up on the west screen of Coventry Cathedral.   The figures were engraved in glass by John Hutton.
     A picture of his engraved image was stunningly projected on to the Cathedral tower and spire as part of “Where Light Falls” in November 2019. (right photo)  In that presentation Historic England worked with members of the Poetry Society and with Double Take Productions to create the projected story of the people who lived through the Coventry Blitz and the people who helped the city recover and rebuild.
     In spite of the wet weather over three nights some 16,000 visitors gathered in the Cathedral Ruins to pay tribute to the past, present and future of the City and its Cathedral.  
     They took part in an emotional experience of loss and recovery, but they left with a sense of hope for the future.
      Hope such as arrived that first Christmas.
 

 

On Christmas Day

COVENTRY CATHEDRAL CHOIR appeared before millions of television viewers on Christmas Day 1976.   The singers were guest artistes on ATV’s “New Faces - All Winners Show”.
     “New Faces” in the 1970s/80s was a popular live talent show - the equivalent of “X Factor” or "BGT".   Some of the stars who appeared on the show went on to become household names.   For example, Lenny Henry, Marti Caine, Victoria Wood, Showaddywaddy, Les Dennis and Jim Davidson. 
 

     The Choir sang The Twelve Days of Christmas in a programme that was shown on Christmas Day afternoon.   It appeared amidst a wealth of family entertainment just after the film Please Sir! (featuring John Alderton) and before Christmas Sale of the Century presented by Nicholas Parsons.   Derek Hobson was the presenter of New Faces and the judges’ panel that day was made up of Muriel Young, Shaw Taylor, Jack Parnell and Les Reed.       
     The Cathedral Choir was not a “New Face” competing in the show, but appeared as guest performers.   The show had been recorded in the ATV studios at Birmingham a few days earlier on the 20^th December.
     The competitors on the Christmas Day show were Peter Lewis (vocalist) from Birmingham, The Medium Wave Band (six-piece group) from Southern England, Cricks Canine Wonders (dog act) from Sussex, Linda Fletcher (vocalist) from Surrey, Bryan Taylor (vocalist) from Glasgow and Nickey Gunn (comedian) from Country Durham.   The winner was Bryan Taylor.

      
     The television appearance came at the end of an eventful year for Coventry Cathedral Choir.  
     In October 1976 a coach carrying the Choir was involved in a road accident.   The Choir was on its way back to Coventry after singing at a harvest service in Atherstone when the Harry Shaw bus in which they were travelling left the road.
     According to newspaper reports one member broke a rib, a woman broke her nose and a number of the singers suffered cuts and bruises.   Robert Weddle, the Director of Music, was sitting at the front of the coach and said later:
     “We hit the tree and uprooted it and the front of the coach was ripped away.    I consider myself lucky to be alive.   It was a miracle that nobody was seriously hurt.”
     “There were 30 men and boys aboard and they all behaved marvellously.   It was a frightening experience, but they all turned up for the Sunday morning service the following day.”
     The Choir sang the regular Sunday service without cassocks and surplices as the singers each had their vestments with them at the time of the crash and there was no time for cleaning and ironing.

 

 

I HAVE RECEIVED a £15 Christmas donation sent by a member who was struck by hearing at the AGM of the Friends' ongoing project to repair and maintain the Cathedral nave chairs.   The nave chair project is led by Phil Morris.
     The nave chairs were designed specifically for Coventry Cathedral by Gordon Russell.  They have been in continuous use since 1962, so it is not surprising that many of their joints have dried up and are in need of attention – a complete rebuild in some cases!
     Working steadily in the last few years the Friends have restored some 443 chairs.   The chairs cost £550 each to buy new.   This means that the Friends have saved the Cathedral the cost of replacement -  £243,650.  
     The restoration cost paid by the Friends for each chair is £15 (sometimes a little more).   That Christmas gift of £15 is worth £550 in value to the Cathedral.   Thank you.
 

 

   CATHEDRAL CHRISTMAS TREES have not always been limited to the nave as has been the case in recent years.
     These archive photos from the 1960s and 1970s show that from time to time Christmas tree lights were used to brighten up those dark corners in the porch, by the Chapel of Unity and in the Cathedral Ruins.
     There are more pictures of past Cathedral Christmas trees available if you search for "Cathedral Christmas" on the Coventry Digital website.

 

THE CHRISTMAS CRIB on the Chapel of Unity stage was a personal gift to Coventry Cathedral from Basil Spence, the Cathedral Architect.
     After the Consecration of the new Cathedral on 25^th May 1962 he commissioned Alma Ramsey-Hosking to create the crib.   He gave her a rough sketch of what he had in mind.   Today his sketches are lodged in the Spence Archive held by the RCAHMS in Edinburgh and they show that they site he had in mind for the Crib was the Chapel of Unity stage.
     The photo (above left) was taken by Richard Sadler FRPS in 1962 at the Crib's first Christmas.   The setting framework was simple, and lasted almost 30 years before needing replacement.   The figures of the shepherds are cleverly designed so that their clothes can be changed at Epiphany in order to transform them into the three Magi bearing gifts.   Epiphany is the festival when we celebrate the arrival of the three Magi at the stable with their gifts.
     The Epiphany in 1986 was the festival when Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward was installed as the Bishop of Coventry.
     (photo above right) On the occasion of his Installation the Cathedral was filled to capacity with clergy of all denominations, dignitaries from around the world and a great congregation drawn from the Diocese.   Bishop Simon entered the building down the Queen's Steps from the Cathedral Ruins and walked slowly through the west screen.   In contrast with all the other clergy in their colourful robes, he wore a simple white alb as he walked alone down the centre aisle.  
     As he reached the chancel he turned towards the tableau of the three Magi that was set up at the foot of the great lectern.  He walked across the Cathedral and knelt with the Kings to pay homage and to pray with them before Jesus in his stable.
     It was a simple and moving moment at the start of a service that was soon to fill the Cathedral with great celebratory music and ceremonial.


     In 1988 the Christmas Crib featured in the midnight service that was broadcast live on TV.   On that occasion the Christmas Crib was set up in a stable at the baptistry alongside the font.   During the broadcast service the Crib was blessed and prayers spoken as children knelt before the stable.
     In the photos standing at the altar (L to R ) are Canon Michael Sadgrove, Provost John Petty (the celebrant) and Rev Graham Dow (Holy Trinity Church).   Rev Graham Dow and Canon Michael Sadgrove stand facing the camera at the Crib.
     More recently the Crib has been restored to its original glory by Sarah Hosking whose mother was the artist who created it.   The full story of the Cathedral's Christmas Crib is told in a leaflet sponsored by the Friends of Coventry Cathedral and available at the Cathedral sales desk.

 

 

   THE MUSICAL ANGELS that dance and play their way across the west screen of Coventry Cathedral are appreciated by visitors the world over.
     The angels and saints were engraved on glass by John Hutton, a New Zealander (b.1930).   At the age of 30 he left his home country to come to the UK in order to pursue a career in art.  
     When World War II broke out he found himself in the British Army where he served in the 21st Army Group Camouflage Pool.   A fellow serviceman in the same section was the architect Basil Spence – a connection that proved to be invaluable in Hutton’s later career.  
     After the war Spence commissioned Hutton to create murals for the 'Sea and Ships' Pavilion that he designed as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain.   The two men worked well together so later that year after winning the International Architectural Competition to design Coventry Cathedral, Spence called upon Hutton to create the west screen.  The great west screen took John Hutton ten years to complete and is generally considered to be his masterpiece.
     Some time ago The Friends of Coventry Cathedral acquired the original cartoons of three life-size panels drawn by Hutton for the screen.   Those cartoons are currently being preserved by Heather Norville-Day, a specialist paper conservator.   The aim of the Friends is to preserve and re-frame the cartoons to the highest museum standards before they are offered to the Cathedral.
     I have written about the Hutton cartoons project in my past newsletters, and someone who read about them online was Fred Duthy in Malmo, Sweden. (photo right)   He was excited to read the story because hanging on his wall he had a John Hutton angel cartoon that had belonged to his grandmother.
     Fred wanted the cartoon to return to its spiritual home at Coventry Cathedral, where he knew he would find people to treasure it.   He offered it as a gift to the Friends that we gratefully accepted.   Fred’s cartoon is the angel that appears at the head of this article.
     John Hutton’s technique was to create his angel designs with white chalk on black paper in a manageable small format, of which Fred's cartoon is an example.   When Hutton was satisfied with the results he scaled up that small design to life size – i.e. to the size of the glass panels in the west screen.   On the small designs it is possible to see the lightly-drawn squares that he used to help the upscaling.   If you look carefully at the photos you can see those lines on Fred’s cartoon.
     Fred’s cartoon has arrived just in time for Christmas.  
     The cartoon has been removed from its frame and after 70 years requires some repairs and stabilisation before re-framing to go on public display.   By arrangement with Fred the gratitude of the Friends has been expressed in a donation to the Coventry charity “Carriers Of Hope”.
     What an exciting Christmas gift!   Thank you, Fred.
 

Christmastide Dates for the Diary

 16th December 2024 at 7pm
Handel's MESSIAH by Candlelight
Coventry Cathedral Chorus directed by Rachel Mahon
19 December 2024 at 5:30pm to 6:00pm
Britten's Ceremony of Carols
The Cathedral Choristers and harpist Cecily Beer perform Britten’s much loved Christmas gem.   This meditative performance begins at 5:30pm. Tickets (£5-10) can be purchased on the Cathedral website.
 22 December 2024 at 5:00 pm
Carols by Candlelight
A traditional carol service lit by hundreds of candles in the Cathedral.
 24 December 2024 at 2:30 pm
Carols for Families
A fun, interactive retelling of the Christmas story with singalong carols. A lighter take on Christmas.   Jazzy Christmas jumpers are encouraged!
24 December 2024 at 7pm
Form Of A Servant
Carols and readings that encourage meditation on the meaning of Christmas.
25th December 2024 at 10.30am
Christmas Day Eucharist

  

 

ON ADVENT SUNDAY (1^st Dec) the first candle of the Cathedral's Advent wreath was lit Head Server, Chris Cliffe, during the Sunday morning service.
     It almost did not happen!   With just days to go it was discovered that the stepladders needed by Brenda Stokes to climb high enough to create the wreath had disappeared!   Stolen or “borrowed” – who knows?
     To the rescue came The Friends of Coventry Cathedral and the Friends provided the sturdy and safe stepladders that you see are in use in the accompanying photograph.   In charge is Brenda Stokes in the great lectern with help from Tim Burnett (verger, right) and Andrew Murray (Works Dept., left)
     While the Advent wreath was being prepared by the lectern, hard at work on the Chapel of Unity steps was another team of workers led by Sarah Hoskins. (below left)  They were busy erecting the Christmas Crib that was created by Sarah's mother in 1962.
     Last Christmas the donkey could not play his part in the Nativity tableau because he had been damaged.   I am pleased to report that the damage has been repaired with help from the Cathedral’s insurers.
     In recent years the Friends of Coventry Cathedral have helped to maintain the Christmas Crib and display it to advantage.   After the restoration arranged by Sarah (mentioned in the earlier article) the Friends commissioned a theatre lighting consultant to create the current lighting scheme.   The Friends provided the barriers that are used to protect the figures.   As I mentioned earlier in this newsletter the Friends have also sponsored a colourful descriptive leaflet that is well worth reading.   You can obtain it from the nave bookstall.
     Earlier in the year a conservator’s report on the Crib advised replacement of the boxes in which the Crib artworks are stored during the time when the Crib is not on display.   Quotations are being obtained, and they may form the basis of a future Friends project.

            

         
          
            
Co-opted members: Jim Newton, Jane Williams and Mandy Wooltorton.

         
 

 

IN THE NEW Year when she is consecrated Bishop and installed as Bishop of Reading CANON MARY GREGORY will become the fifth Canon of Coventry Cathedral since 1962 to serve as a Bishop.  
     Here are brief details of all the Coventry Canon/Bishops.

   STEPHEN VERNEY (b.1919 d.2009) was part of the first Cathedral staff team appointed by Bishop Cuthbert Bardsley and he came to Coventry Diocese in 1958 as the Vicar of Leamington Hastings  and the Diocesan Missioner.   His book “Fire In Coventry” tells the exciting story how Coventry prepared for its new Cathedral.   Stephen held the post of Residentiary Canon from 1964 to 1970.   After leaving Coventry for Windsor, he was appointed the Bishop of Repton from 1977 to 1985 and thereafter he was Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford. 
    SIMON PHIPPS (b.1921 d.2001) became a member of that original Cathedral staff team when he was appointed Industrial Chaplain in 1958.   He led the inter-denominational Industrial Mission Team that used the Cathedral and the Chapel of Industry as its base.   He became a Coventry Canon in 1965 and moved on from Coventry in 1968 to be Bishop of Horsham.   In 1974 he moved to the post of Bishop of Lincoln.
 
   VIVIENNE FAULL (b. 1955)  came to Coventry as Canon Pastor in 1994, a position she held until she left in 2000 to head Leicester Cathedral.   She went on to be Dean of York Minster and in 2018 she was installed as the Bishop of Bristol, her present position.




    JUSTIN WELBY (b.1956) was serving as Rector of Southam when he was appointed a Residentiary Canon in 2002.   He left Coventry Cathedral in 2007 to take up the post of Dean of Liverpool and in 2011 he was installed as the Bishop of Durham.   In 2013 he expressed his personal surprise at someone like him with so few years spent as a Bishop being elected as Archbishop of Canterbury.

   

   MARY GREGORY (b.1970) came to Coventry in 2022 and she has served the Cathedral as Canon Residentiary for Arts and Reconciliation.   In November 2024 she was nominated to the Suffragan See of Reading, in the Diocese of Oxford.

 

THE MOON SHONE down on the Cathedral Ruins as some 200 people gathered together in a Prayer Vigil to mark the 84^th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz.
     History tells us that on the night of 14^th November 1940 there was a full moon.   Its brilliant white light is often mentioned in eyewitness accounts.   Some historians call it a “Hunters Moon”.   They are wrong to do so because in 1940 that name applied to the October full moon.   The name is appropriate, however, when the events of that night are considered, so I can easily forgive use of a little poetic licence.
     The Vigil on 14^th November 2024 was held just days after what the press dubbed a “Supermoon”, which is the reason the moon appeared so brightly in the photographs shining hazily through the clouds.
    At the Vigil, memories of Blitz Night were read alongside passages from the Bible.   An improvisation on the violin made time for reflection and meditation.
     At the close of the Vigil those present joined in Coventry Cathedral’s Together For Hope Pledge -

            For love which heals wounds.
                    We will stand.
            For generosity, which opens space for hope.
                     We will stand.
            For nurturing, which builds a culture of peace.
                    We will stand.
            For compassion, which seeks the best for us all
                    We will stand.
            For respect, which enables us to love with difference
                    We will stand.
            For humility, which allows healthy relationships with others
                    We will stand.
            Together for hope
                    We will stand.

 

Norwegian Greeting
 

       
    ON 21^st NOVEMBER Dean John Witcombe visited Bergen Cathedral to take part in a series of public discussions on Peace organised by the Bishop.  
     It was part of a series of six debates on Justice, Truth, Mercy and Peace.  On that particular evening the Chief Justice, Dr Juris Hanne Sophie Greve, joined the Bishop and our Dean in discussion.
    In the photos the Bergen Cathedral Cross of Nails is seen on the left.   Whilst in Bergen the Dean was greeted by Gillian, daughter of Provost H C N Williams, who was the first Provost (1958-1981) of the newly consecrated Cathedral.   Her home is in Norway. (photo right)  
 

            


   COVENTRY CATHEDRAL GIRLS Choir sang Choral Evensong in St John’s Church, Sibiu during their recent tour of Transylvania. (photo above and below)   The service was led by Canon Mary Gregory.   The Choir visit renewed Coventry Cross of Nails links that go way back to the start of the Cathedral’s active connections with Romania.
     The Cathedral’s links with Sibiu, Romania began when Cathedral congregation volunteers joined the work of a Romanian charity that was started in 1994 by founder trustees, Steve and Mandy Hughes.   Their work in post-Revolution Romania was to help heal the divisions in a society broken under the 25-year autocratic leadership of President Ceausescu.  The charity is now called SHARE.
     The work provided needy children with schooling, mothers with health advice (which had been unavailable under Ceausescu) and it supported nurses and medical staff with up to date training and the equipment that they lacked.   Steve had been ordained in Coventry Cathedral and his particular work was to help bring together members of the different Christian denominations who shared the same loyalty to Christ but who customarily refused to speak with each other on account of their differences.
     The Cathedral volunteers were followed in 1996 by Canon Christopher Burch, who in a service held at Cisnadioara presented the project with a Coventry Cross of Nails – a symbol of the support of Coventry Cathedral for the work of reconciliation.    That year additional volunteers from the Cathedral congregation went out to help in preparation.
     The Cross of Nails moved home on 23^rd September 2006 when the Rt Revd Colin Bennetts represented the Cathedral to pass the Cross of Nails into the care of the Institute for Ecumenical Research of Sibiu University.   Amongst others the service was attended by Stefan Tobler (Director), Metropolit Laurentiu Streza (Orthodox Bishop of Sibiu) and Dr Christoph Klein (Bishop of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania- Lutheran).   On the right of the photo are Revs Geoff and Gill Kimber who travelled from the Coventry Diocese and spent two years working with the Cross of Nails Project.
 
   Today Erika Klemm (above right) looks after the Cross of Nails that stands on the altar of St John’s Church next door to the Ecumenical Institute offices.   Many thanks are due to Erika who was a tremendous help with the arrangements for the Cathedral Girls Choir, helping the tour to run smoothly.   To keep the singers going she arranged for pizzas to be available after Evensong – yum, yum!
     1500 miles lie between Coventry and Sibiu but in 2024 the visit by the Cathedral Girls Choir renewed and strengthened the links between these distant places some 30 years after the first Coventry visit.      

Further information about SHARE is available online - https://share.charity/