A Tour of the Inside of Our Church

Part TWO

Altar.

The principal altar, or high altar, stands in the portion of the chancel known as the sanctuary. It was enlarged, in 1925, as part of the refurbishment programme carried out in memory of Samual Lee Smith. A large false top has been placed on the heavily-built, and nicely carved, wooden altar, but there are few opportunities to examine the carving properly, concealed as it is by the altar frontal. The altar has not always stood where it is now. It used to be sited right up against the east wall, so that the priest faced east as he celebrated Holy Communion. The westward celebration, that is in current use, was introduced in the late 1950s.

 

Sedilia.

This is the pair of seats recessed into the south wall of the sanctuary. The sedilia has its origins in mediaeval times, when it was used by the priests and deacons during the singing of the Creed and Gloria. Sometimes, the seats are of different heights. The priest used the highest one, whilst the other officials occupied positions as befitted their rank. Mediaeval ceremonial masses lasted a very long time, and the sedilia offered a welcome opportunity for a brief rest. Ours is used mainly by the server and during the administration of Holy Communion.

 

Reredos.

This is the name given to the decorated portion of the east wall that extends from the top of the altar to the base of the east window. The reredos in Holy Trinity consists of a series of short columns and pointed arches, flanking a simple representation of the Last Supper. In old churches, the niches in the archways might have contained figures of saints, or the twelve apostles, or painted panels depicting scenes from the Passion.

Aumbry.

This is the simple metal casket in the niche on the north wall of the sanctuary. Above it, a candle burns continuously. The aumbry contains the reserved sacrament - bread and wine - which has been consecrated at the principal service of Holy Communion on Sundays. It is these consecrated elements that are used when Holy Communion is taken to the housebound or sick.

Vestry.

This is entered via the small doorway set in the north wall of the sanctuary. It occupies the traditional position of vestries, and conforms to the practice of being located outside the main lines of the church. It is used as a robing room for the clergy and choir, and as a repository for many of the items that are such an important part of the life of the church - robes, vestments, plate, bread and wine, candles, sheet music, music, books, candlesticks, processional cross, and various items of decoration and ornamentation. Until the early-twentieth century, vestries were used for meetings of the church elders - now called the PCC. These were called meetings of the vestry.

Stained Glass.

Apart from the east window, and the fine wheel, or rose, west window, there are two stained glass windows high up in the south wall of the chancel, and a compound window of stained glass at the east end of the south aisle, behind the organ. The east window, consists of three, tall, lancet windows, depicting various scenes from the life of Christ. The two windows high up in the south wall of the chancel depict Daniel and the apostle John and commemorate various named members of the Wigan family, without whom this church would probably not have been built. The compound window in the south aisle, is, unfortunately, rather hidden by the organ. The scenes depicted in it have been taken from the Nativity. This particular arrangement of windows is known as plate tracery, and is repeated many times around the church, but this is the only one with full stained glass. The finest window in the church is the circular one at the west end. The design is in the Norman style. The individual windows show ten prophets from the Old Testament. Moving clockwise, from the top figure, they are; Abraham, Abel, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, Joseph, Samuel, Elisha, David and Noah. In the two lancet windows below are shown the figures of Moses and Elijah. If you are fortunate enough to be in Holy Trinity early on a sunny evening in summer, look out for the wonderful play of colours projected onto the east and south walls by the sun shining through the glass in these windows.

Roof Timbers,

As you make your way back to the west end, spare a minute to examine the timbers supporting the weight of the roof above you. The construction is of the king post type. Three massive tie beams span the width of the aisle. At the mid-point of each of these is a short, cylindrical, vertical, post - called the king post. Each one supports four struts, that transfer some of the weight of the roof onto it, and thence onto the tie beam. The ends of the tie beam rest on two, long, wooden, wall plates, running the full length of the walls. Each tie beam is strengthened by two diagonal braces that transfer some of the weight down onto corbel stones set into the walls. Note the various angelic figures with which the underside of each corbel stone is decorated. The tie beams and diagonal braces are united at the wall by a vertical, wooden, wall post. The weight is transferred from the walls to the ground via the pillars in the arcading, on the south side, and by the unpierced wall sections between the groups of windows, on the north side. Outside, these unpierced sections are reinforced by large buttresses. Such reinforcement is crucial in the case of Holy Trinity, since it was particularly important for the builders to reduce to the minimum the risk of any movement of the fabric. However, you may have noticed that there are a few signs that their efforts were not entirely successful.

MISCELLANY.

Gifts.

Many people have donated gifts to the church over the last one hundred and fifty years, and are still doing so today. Sometimes the gifts are to commemorate a loved one, or are in thanksgiving for God's blessings. It is not possible to single out the donors, but one deserves special mention. Our biggest benefactor - after the Wigan family - was Samuel Lee Smith. He presented the church with some land - to enlarge the churchyard, the present brass alms dish, a set of hymn books and psalters, the vicar's stall and choir stalls, and money to enlarge the chancel. In his memory, his executors paid to have the altar lengthened and refurbished, and for the communion kneeling benches. A wooden lozenge on the north wall, near the pulpit, commemorates his name.

Heating and Lighting.

Electric lighting was installed in 1934. Before that, oil or gas lamps, plus candles, were used. The oil-fired central heating, was put in in 1961, to replace the old solid fuel combustion heater. This, like the present heater, was situated in the chamber in the floor of the central aisle. Prior to that, heating was provided by means of a solid fuel boiler that circulated hot water through pipes taking a strategic route around the church. The flueway passes through a corner of the vestry, and the top of the flue stack can be seen, from outside, rising above the roof of the vestry. However, with its stone finish, it looks most unlike an ordinary chimney.