|
|
|
During the restoration of the Priory in the 1980's, a stone which had at one time acted as a tombstone was recognised as being a former stone altar.
Traditionally made of stone, such altars contained relics, often of the patron saint of the church or chantry guild. Medieval churches had several altars; usually, but not always, these were set against eastern walls. They were generally all destroyed at the Reformation, to be replaced by a holy table, usually set sideways on in the nave. Altars reappeared under Archbishop Laud in the 1630s, but did not become the central focus of Anglican worship again until the second half of the 19th century, under the influence of the Oxford Movement. Most often, either the holy table or a Victorian replacement was placed in the east end of the chancel at this time, although in a few cases a medieval stone mensa was recovered from use as a paving slab, and returned to its original use.
It is not known whether this stone altar was originally used at the Priory or arrived there from elsewhere. It was, however, brought back inside the Church and was re-erected near the organ.
The area marked in red shows the outline of a deep indentation which is believed to have been where the relics of a saint would have resided. The larger green area shows where a brass plate was subsequently mounted when the altar was used as a tombstone.
---------------------> Return to Top of Page