Back

Newsletter to Friends of Wardour

2nd May 2023

 

Dear Friends

It has been a busy and productive few months for the community of All Saints Chapel at Wardour.

We have been fortunate and blessed to have the support and guidance of our three priests from St Osmond’s, Salisbury, to celebrate Mass at Wardour on an alternate basis. Fr Anthony Paris (our Parish Priest), Fr Joseph Meigh and Fr Jonathan Creer are now very much part of the parish, ably supported by Deacon Michael Hughes. We are thus able to continue to celebrate Mass at Wardour each Sunday at 11am and each Tuesday at 9.30am. During the term time, the children and parents of Wardour School come to this Tuesday Mass.

The Bishop of Clifton, Bishop Declan Lang, visited Wardour Chapel on the fourth Sunday of Lent and joined the wider parish for lunch at the Hinton Hall. It was a special occasion and a joyous opportunity to welcome the Bishop to such a well-attended event.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum began with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Sacred Heart Church, Tisbury.  The Blessed Sacrament was then brought in procession to the Altar of Repose at Wardour, erected in the north transept, and the Chapel remained open until midnight for parishioners to watch at the Altar of Repose.  The Passion of Our Lord was celebrated at 3pm on Good Friday.  On Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil began at 8pm outside the Chapel with the blessing of the Easter Fire and lighting of the Paschal candle.  All then processed into the Chapel for the singing of the Exultet and the seven readings from the Old Testament, all by candle light, until the Gloria was intoned – when the lights came on, the bells rang and a great fanfare from the organ signified the drama of the resurrection.  Easter Sunday saw one of the largest congregations at the 11am Mass for many years. 

The trustees are enormously grateful to the clergy and all who worked so hard to enable such a fitting celebration of Easter.  A particular thanks to the altar staff and the choir who contributed so much at this time.  The altar was adorned with wonderful flowers at Easter Sunday Mass.

1 Maundy Thursday Altar of Repose

A picture containing indoor, living, fireplace, room Description automatically generated

2 Good Friday

A picture containing indoor, fireplace, living, room Description automatically generated

3 Easter Sunday

In further news, it has been decided that we will alternate between a Solemn Mass and Sung Mass at Wardour each Sunday. Details will be in the Parish Newsletter (see Home ) and on the notice board in the vestibule at Wardour.

 

Events at Wardour

We invite as many Friends as possible to join us for drinks after 11am Mass on 4th June.

Tickets and more information can be found at www.cherubimtrust.org.

 

Please note, the guidance sheets for Weddings and Funerals at Wardour Chapel have been recently updated and are available here

 

Progress of the Planned works for the Dome

The trustees commissioned and received a formal Quinquennial Inspection (QI) surveyors report on the state of the whole building which was found to be structurally sound although there are some aspects of the building which need attention.  Of most importance is the repair of the dome above the altar which is showing cracks in the plaster work.  We have been researching what is required to effect these repairs and they are as follows:

  1. Design the scaffolding with the help of a structural engineer
  2. Install the scaffolding
  3. Mend the dome
  4. Paint over the repairs
  5. Redecorate or touch up the result
  6. Gild and/or clean existing gold

We anticipate that the above works will take approximately three months with the scaffolding erected over the winter months of early 2024. Mass will continue to be celebrated at Wardour throughout the planned works.

Clearly we will need a major fund raising programme to raise what will be a large amount of money.  We will keep you informed as this project unfolds.

 

Other works

Some Friends may have noticed the hole in the ceiling in the vestibule which partially collapsed in January. Further investigation has revealed a series of slow leaks in the pipeworks above. Repairs are underway to make good the affected area.

 

Please pass on this newsletter to anyone you think may be interested and also encourage them to join up as a Friend of Wardour Chapel Trust.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for Mass and drinks on Sunday 4th June.

 

Best wishes

Richard Arundell, Lord Talbot and the Trustees of Wardour Chapel