Thursday 19 April 2012

Our Lady And The English Martyrs


The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady And The English Martyrs, usually just known as "the Catholic", is one of the main landmarks on the skyline of Cambridge. It first came into my consciousness as part of the mantra "One and two halves to the Catholic" which my mother used to say to the bus conductor when she took my brother and I on the number 128 bus to town. And half a century later I decided it was time I had a look inside.


The first impression that the church makes is that it is BIG. Like many Gothic Revival buildings of the late Victorian period it appears to have been built for a race of giants; the doors are huge, the ceilings high and the windows set so high that no one could see out. It was designed by Dunn and Hansom who designed many Catholic buildings, mostly in the north-east of England. Hansom, incidentally, was the nephew of Joseph Aloysius Hansom, the man who invented the Hansom cab.


The building was paid for by Mrs Lyne-Stephens, the former Yolande Duvernay, a famous operatic dancer of the mid 19th century. She was the widow of Stephens Lyne-Stephens, a politician and banker who was reputed to be the wealthiest commoner in Britain. On her husband's death she used her fortune to fund the building of churches and schools.


The erection of such a huge Catholic church in the 1890s caused quite a stir, not least because of its dedication to the English Martyrs, those men who were put to death by the Protestant authorities during the religious intolerance of the Tudor and Stuart period.


There is much beautiful carving around the walls of the church, most of it telling the story of the crucifixion.


This post is really for my cousins in the USA, for I believe their parents, my aunt and uncle of course, were married in this church. I hope I've got that right Granny Sue. For Granny Sue of Granny Sue's News And Reviews blogsite is my cousin who inspired me to try my hand at blogging.


I went outside and looked up again at the soaring architecture. I tried to find some different viewpoints to show the building to advantage and wandered around the surrounding streets for a while before realising that I already knew the place I was looking for. I made my way to the grounds of Downing College to see the church from the college lawns.


Take care.

16 comments:

  1. It's rather a splendid building both inside and out, I like the last view from Downing College

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  2. "Splendid" is the word in my head as I looked at your photos but I see Rowan has already used it :) This church is a great example of architecture's desire to reach for heaven...

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  3. How majestic that towering church; the indoors is incredible; grand artisans I am reminded. Glad your aunt planted the seed and you started blogging John.

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  4. It's a majestic building and your photos are wonderful!

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  5. That last distance shot is beautiful John.

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  6. What a great collection of photographs of a beautiful church! Jane xx

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  7. Wow! Simply WOW! I can't even start to imagine what it cost to build, even in Victorian times. The carved Stations of the Cross must be magnificent; the one example you showed certainly is. (How about a future post featuring all of them?) This building alone is sufficient justification for a trip to Cambridge. And thank you, Granny Sue, for getting John started.

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  8. I didn't know Granny Sue was your cousin. Very small world, isn't it? The size of that church is amazing, and it's just as amazing that it was built with the money from a single person. Wow! And wow!

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  9. Too lovely to contaminate with my words. I hope to visit this in the future. Thank you.

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  10. So amazingly pretty-I hope to see it someday! And so neat this post is connected to Granny Sue-one of my favorite bloggers : )

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  11. The stain glass panels seem to be a sequence of Jesus' life but I can't quite figure out the two on the right on the bottom. I like the high windows that shut out the view of the world but let the light in. The whole cathedral is so beautiful, so solid and yet so airy; so intricately adorned and yet so simple in overall design. Great view from the college.

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  12. What a marvelous church, John. You are probably finding -- as I do -- that once you have a blog, it is important to keep going out and looking at things with fresh eyes. Well done!

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  13. That's a beautiful stained glass window John.

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  14. Wonderful photos of an impressive church, I love the shot down the nave to the chancel and the light motes caused by the sunshine high up in the building. I also like the last view from Downing College as well as your bus memories of the 'one and two halves to the catholic':)

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  15. Thanks for all your comments. The church is reckoned to have cost around £5 million if you convert it to modern day values.

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