The Chancel
St Mary Magdalene’s Church was built in 1883 by William Butterfield, commissioned by Georgiana Twells, in memory of her husband Philip Twells, MP for the City of London, who had died in 1880.
In 1897, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria her final gift to the church was the internal artwork, designed by Edward Turner of Leicester, brother of the then vicar, the Rev George Turner and painted by Buckeridge and Westlake. It is some of the finest art on show in the Borough, and some of the most interesting Victorian Gothic artwork in Europe. The following year, Georgiana Twells herself died and was laid to rest alongside her husband in Lavender Hill Cemetery. Not only the land for the Cemetery, but the Town Park and Library had been theirs, and with the church, form their legacy to our town.
In 2012, with the help of generous local donations and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the walls and ceiling were restored and conserved by Hirst Conservation.
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Painted by Buckeridge, the figures on the ceiling represent the whole company of angels from cherubim to archangels, and they are shown with symbols of the Church - a dragon, a lily, a fish and staff, a book and scroll. The seraphim are shown below the archangels, holding scrolls bearing the words ‘Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus’ (‘Holy, Holy, Holy’). Next to the archangels are the four angels of the Passion, below which the cherubim are depicted. Below the seraphim and cherubim are sixteen panels bearing gold shields, each shield carrying a symbol of the Church or of an Apostle.
Each angel is presented in a canopy of elaborate arcading. The angels have gold wings, the seraphim are red-winged and the cherubim blue-winged. The wings are folded and finely feathered. There is extensive use of gilding. The angel faces are fine-featured and emotionless.
The paintings over the chancel are highly decorative, extensive use having been made of gold ragged stars on a blue background, and white roses on a red background. There are gold shields on which the letters ‘IHS’ appear, and two gold shields showing a jar of ointment, the symbol of St. Mary Magdalene, to whom the church is dedicated.
The paintings
The East wall
The Nativity scene in the East window (see below) is extended with the depiction of the Angel Gabriel announcing Christ’s birth to the Shepherds, on the left side of the window, and the Magi approaching on the right. The Shepherds are framed by the text ‘Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy’, the Magi by ‘The gentiles shall come to thy light’.
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The North wall
The prophets depicted in the windows (see below) are joined by Old Testament patriarchs and kings. Depicted to show Jesus Christ's human genealogy, the sequence starts at the West end with Adam and Abel, and culminates with Jesse and David at the East end.
The text running along the top and bottom of the wall paintings reads:
“He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of His Kingdom there shall be no end” St Luke 1.32
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The South wall
The four Evangelists in the stained-glass windows (see below) are joined by saints associated with the spread of Christianity to Britain. They include Ss. Alban and Helen (the mother of Constantine), and Ss. Columba and Augustine. The sets of figures are placed between appropriate Biblical quotations and are shown with objects symbolising their work and faith.
The text running along the top and bottom of the wall paintings reads:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord’s House shall be established in the top of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto it and many shall say Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord’s House” Isaiah ii. 2-3
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Paintings photos © Gordon Giles
The stained glass
East Window
There is a great deal of beautiful Butterfield stained glass in the church chancel. The East window has a Nativity scene with angels holding banners that say "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." Seated above the Nativity scene is a portrayal of Christ the King at the top of the window with the symbols of Alpha and Omega - the 'first and the last' whilst beneath the Nativity scene are portrayals from the life of St Mary Magdalene.
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The North and South windows
The prophets depicted in the North stained-glass windows are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, below are inscriptions dedicating the Isaiah and Jeremiah windows to Mr Philip Meller Twells who died 1863 and his wife Mary who died 1877; the Ezekiel and Daniel windows to the Revd John Twells MA who died 1875.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (The four Evangelists) in the South stained-glass windows also have inscriptions below. Mark and Matthew are dedicated to the memory of Joseph Line whilst John and Luke are dedicated to the memory of John(?) Twells.
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Stained glass windows paintings © John Salmon
The Chancel and history
Two Diamond Jubilees
2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, it was also the year our chancel was refurbished through generous local donations and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. During the course of work we were delighted to discover that our Chancel was originally painted in 1897 and dedicated to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
As well as finding the Jubilee Inscription on the Ceiling, we also found inscriptions recording the names of the Vicar and Churchwardens, and of those who actually painted the ceiling and Walls of the Chancel.
To complement this we have put up similar inscriptions recording the historical circumstances of 2012’s restoration commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
The painter and the Titanic
Meanwhile, a previous incumbent, John Sampford provided a photograph, taken in 1897 of the workmen who originally painted the chancel, with an inscription on the back of the photo. Then we heard from someone related to one of them, John Boffin, pictured in the group, and in the separate photo. We have been told that after working on our chancel, he went on to paint some of the interiors of the Titanic. Fortunately these paintings have lasted a hundred years longer!
