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Conserving and Restoring the Hereford Screen

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art 1 views

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The restoration was needed and I'm glad the screen is preserved in the V@A Museum - but it should never have been removed from the cathedral! This beautiful screen was created in the 19th century, thanks to the "high church" movement It was designed with the cathedral in mind and meant to be seen IN that context, as part of a larger whole, not as a "stand alone" piece Unbelievable to me that those who were entrusted to care for Hereford Cathedral in the 1960's decided that the screen had to go It "separated" the people from the altar; it was too gaudy for the cathedral; it was "Victorian" and therefor out of style; it didn't reflect "contemporary liturgical views" What rubbish brbrOrthodox Churches have had similar screens in them for centuries They symbolize the mystery of the Eucharist and symbolically separate the profane world from the sacred, yet Orthodox Christians don't feel "separated" from what happens behind them; quite the contrary The screen connects them TO the liturgy, acting as a sort of sacred window The same beliefs re: screens in churches were held for centuries by western Christians as well brbrTo say that the removed Hereford screen was "gaudy" doesn't cut it, I'm afraid Medieval churches didn't have bare stone interiors They were ABLAZE with color, not only seen in stained glass but in painted walls, ceilings and statues Look at the restored Shrine of St Thomas Cantaloupe at Hereford: brilliant red, blue and gold, "gaudy" by modern standards yet beautiful and fitting for the interior How anyone could look at the Hereford screen in the 1960's and see only "unfashionable Victorian" when it screams "medieval inspired screen in a medieval cathedral" is beyond me brbrOne can only hope that the Hereford screen will return to the home that it was made for some day, "contemporary liturgical views" notwithstanding The various types of destruction that have occurred in Anglican and Roman Catholic churches since the 1960's in the name of trendy "renewal" has often been abysmal, bringing to mind what occurred during the Reformation
Comment from : @gunnarthorsen