Over the summer, awe-inspiring new hangings for the Chapel have been installed.
The hangings are designed and created by Juliet Hemingray, who created all of the liturgical finery for the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Juliet spent time in Chapel studying the ornate interior and came up with the beautiful plans for the new set of church textiles which now grace our altar, pulpit and lectern.
Juliet describes the experience: “I often feel a bit like a church-based Sherlock Holmes looking for clues in the building that would help me to produce a harmonious design that would sit well in its context.
“The reredos started to ‘talk’ to me as I delved into its different facets of detail. The more I looked the more I started to feel that some ideas were beginning to form.
“After much cogitating I settled on using rays of light which are very prominent in the reredos. These were to be made in a 3-D way reflecting Jesus being the Light of the World. The school crest also informed the main central motif.”
She continued: “I adored the beautiful colours of the ceiling and the stars were an obvious choice for me to use throughout the design. Then, what really brought everything together were the dramatic chequerboard floor tiles.
“It has been a delight to offer our services to the Chapel for this project. In 44 years of working in this amazing field of church textiles I have never been asked to work on a piece with such an incredibly ornate reredos. Thank you for entrusting us with this project.”
