The Inner Chapel is where services of Christian worship are conducted, with the congregation and choir occupying the stalls lining both walls facing ‘inwards’ in ‘collegiate style’. On most weeknights in Full Term, the choir and clergy take seats in the central stalls on left and right, and surrounded by the congregation, sing Evensong, a service dating from the mid-sixteenth century.
The Inner Chapel was redesigned in the early 1830s by the architect Lewis Cunningham (1787-1847). His work is an example of the Victorian ‘Gothic Revival’: a style that attempts to mimic the aesthetic norms of the late medieval period.
Some features to note:
The altar
The original altar (containing the Foundation stone) was destroyed in the Reformation (late 1520s-1560s), and the current altar dates from the 1830s. It is the focus of the Eucharist (or Mass), the central act of Christian worship.
The Eagle Lectern and Marble Floor
The monumental eagle lectern (1633) and marble floor (circa 1635) are all that survives from a 17th Century restoration of the Chapel.
The Reredos & Painting
The elaborate stone work and sculptures behind the altar is called a reredos, and it dates from the mid-19th Century. The statues depict Old Testament prophets and kings, with the exception of a few New Testament figures: St. John the Baptist (centre) and St. Mary Magdalen meeting the risen Christ (at the apex). The rows of Old Testament figures and angels were fashioned by Thomas Earp in 1864, and the sculpture in the apex, entitled Noli me tangere (‘I do not wish you to touch me’ or ‘Touch me not’ ), is the work of Sir William Chantrey.
The original reredos was destroyed in the Reformation. In the early 17th century, the wall was plastered over and covered by a monumental painting of the Last Judgement, which remained in place until the early 19th Century refurbishment.
The current reredos frames the altar painting, a Spanish work of the mid-17th Century and presented to the College in 1745. Christ Carrying the Cross was possibly the work of a Sevillian painter, and in October 1719, it was acquired from a chapel in the coastal city of Vigo.
