Lenten Array ... one that got away
Medieval History

Lenten Array ... one that got away



Fairford Gloucestershire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum (Allan Barton).
I fully intended to post this photograph during Lent. The Lady altar in the Tame chapel at Fairford in Gloucestershire has a reredos of 1913 by Geoffrey Webb, covered during Lent with Lenten Array. The reredos veil is decorated with a central rood group in grisaille with Oxblood stencelling around it. The tabernacle containing the image of Our Lady, that forms an upper level of the reredos, is enclosed with doors and the backs of the doors are also stencilled. Sadly these seems to be the extent of the surviving array, the blue frontal remains in place during Lent, as does the very festal dorsal with its armorial embroidery. Consequently the veiling rather loses its impact.

If you want to see an image or two of the reredos and the image of Our Lady uncovered, there are a couple of nice photos on Brother Lawrence Lew's photostream. Here and here.




- Grantham Lent Array
At the glorious fourteenth century church of St Wulfram in Grantham, Lincolnshire is this dramatic example of Lenten array photographed here by SarumSleuth.  The array entirely coveres George Gilbert Scott's magnificent towering reredos....

- Lenten Array 2011
The ancient western custom of covering altars and images with Lenten array and Lenten veils has been covered on this blog a number of times.  If you want to know more about the custom and its purpose look at the article here and...

- Lenten Array
Lenten array designed by F C Eden at North Cerney, Gloucestershire So Lent is upon us once again. Until a few years ago it was fairly common to see the altars of English churches covered with unbleached linen hangings known as Lenten array. This striking...

- More Empty Niches!
A little more evidence of late medieval devotion for you. This glorious Perpendicular tabernacle is in the east wall of the late fifteenth century north aisle of St Bartholomew's Aldsworth in Gloucestershire. No prizes for guessing whose image it...

- North Cerney, Gloucestershire - Part 1
If I was a country parson living in, dare I say it, the good-old-days of the Church of England, when there was one priest per parish. The one parish I would love to serve would be North Cerney in the Cotswolds near Cirencester. In my mind the church in...



Medieval History








.