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Oscott college Chapel

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The College Chapel

The chapel is the heart of the college’s life. In 1837, Augustus Welby Pugin, the rising star of Gothic architecture who designed the interior of Barry’s Houses of Parliament, was brought to Oscott. Pugin introduced many of the fine arts associated with his revival of medieval gothic design and craftsmanship; memorial brass work, the production of stained-glass, silver and gilt plate for use in the liturgy and encaustic tile-making. He was given a free hand in the chapel at Oscott, creating a glorious visual and spiritual experience for the visitor and worshipper, which would draw them into the mystery of Christianity and closer to God. The chapel, at the opening of which, in May 1838, he acted as Master of Ceremonies, became a showpiece for his ideas, and attracted national attention. It retains many of the features of its original design, including the characteristically jewel-like Pugin colour scheme of red, blue, green and gold.

The main window portrays the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, bearing the infant Christ. Surrounded by radiant golden light, she is flanked by St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Cecilia, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Thomas Becket. The altar was constructed by Pugin from medieval fragments and wooden sculptures to his own design. It consists of medieval carved scenes set in a framework designed by Pugin, surmounted by wooden tracery and a series of medieval carvings. The most striking of the side windows is the earliest war memorial to be erected in this country in honour of a Catholic chaplain. John Wheble offered his services as a volunteer in the Crimean War, during which he died from dysentery, like so many of the troops. The other windows from the 1850s and 1860s portray individual saints and commemorate college benefactors. The pulpit is associated with the most significant occasion at Oscott in its early decades, the first synod of the restored Catholic hierarchy in 1852. This occasion was marked by the striking sermon preached from this pulpit by John Henry Newman. Later published as ‘The Second Spring’, the sermon was a moving account of the recovery of English Catholicism. Its title passed into common usage to describe Catholic life in Victorian England.

The original choir stalls are seventeenth century French oak, decorated with beautifully carved faces. The benches in front were carved by Myers and Co of London in 1857, and in 1925, the stalls were completed by Italian craftsmen. They harmonize with Pugin’s designs, and were linked to the old stalls by the addition of new standards on the ends, bearing coats of arms of Oscott, and of bishops associated with the college. The ornately carved altar rails are seventeenth century, continental and full of Baroque flourishes and cherubs and are clearly dated ‘anno 1680’.

The life-sized alabaster statue of Sedes Sapientiae (Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom), which sits in the Weedall Chantry off the main chapel, was bought for the college in 1862. The Gothic niches in the pedestal base contain carvings of the Old Testament women who prefigured the Virgin Mary. Covering part of the wall behind the Sedes Sapientiae is a collection of commemorative brasses. Between 1868 and the 1920s, brasses were added to it in memory of eminent Oscotians and members of staff, and some who died in the college. One further one has been added in memory of Andrew Robinson, a student at Oscott who died of cancer in 2001.

The most ancient and beautiful image of the Virgin Mary in the chapel can be seen above the door. Acquired by Pugin, it is Flemish fifteenth century workmanship in a graceful and delicate style. Under the title of Maria Lactans, this is a statue expressive of the Motherhood of Mary and the humanity of Christ.