DOI Heft:
No. 66 (September, 1898)
DOI Artikel:A mortuary chapel
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21969#0273
A Mortuary Chapel
well-intentioned people wished that the trees might
be felled. In any case it seems almost a crime to
destroy a tree; but when, as in this case, an other-
wise not remarkable site is made picturesque by
their presence it seems marvellous that the
opinion could exist. To be buried beneath the
shadow of spreading branches has peculiar fitness.
The horror of a flat, treeless graveyard comes to
mind vividly as you pass through the lych-gate and
contrast it with this idyllic restful God’s acre, set
apart for the little village of Compton, whose old
Norman church is seen amid the red roofs of the
cottages across the fields to the north.
Although the first sight of the chapel suggests
Oriental influence, it does not jar on the English
pastoral scenery around it, its simplicity of mass,
aided by its simplicity of colour, help to prevent
that. Its style, recalling early Romanesque work
both by the round arches and the rich decoration
of the mouldings of the doorway, is only suggestive
of earlier work, but the details of the ornament
were evidently inspired by the interlaced work of
the Book of Kells and the old Irish crosses. The
essence of the whole, from its plan to the details
of its ornament, must be sought in symbolism.
But here again the symbolism is not based on any
accepted dogmas. Christian it is, but theological
it is not. This point needs insistence, because the
word “ symbolism ” is apt to suggest some narrow
creed, either orthodox or heterodox. As Mr.
Watts has taken the great fundamental truths of
Justice, Charity, Love, and the rest for the sermons
in paint which have formed
the greater part of his life-
work, so the ideas set forth
here are of the broadest.
It is true these all embody
the main teaching of the
Christian faith, but they do
so in a way that should
cause no offence to any of
the many sects that shelter
people who call themselves
Christians.
The idea which has
governed the building is
that it shall hold symboli-
cal lessons for the simplest
person to read, and also
greater intricacies for those
who are more imaginative
and better versed in the
old lore of teaching by
hieroglyphics.
The plan is based on the
circle — the world - wide
symbol of eternity and per-
fection—intersected by the
cross. The cross is formed
by the transepts without,
and by the crossing double
arches of the vault of the
interior; the circle is ex-
pressed by the walls con-
necting these transepts, and
the domed roof, broken by
the cross which covers
them. Unfortunately the
exterior view, here repro-
duced, fails to show the
CHIEF ENTRANCE TO MORTUARY CHAPEL DESIGNED BY MRS. G. F. WATT'S
236
well-intentioned people wished that the trees might
be felled. In any case it seems almost a crime to
destroy a tree; but when, as in this case, an other-
wise not remarkable site is made picturesque by
their presence it seems marvellous that the
opinion could exist. To be buried beneath the
shadow of spreading branches has peculiar fitness.
The horror of a flat, treeless graveyard comes to
mind vividly as you pass through the lych-gate and
contrast it with this idyllic restful God’s acre, set
apart for the little village of Compton, whose old
Norman church is seen amid the red roofs of the
cottages across the fields to the north.
Although the first sight of the chapel suggests
Oriental influence, it does not jar on the English
pastoral scenery around it, its simplicity of mass,
aided by its simplicity of colour, help to prevent
that. Its style, recalling early Romanesque work
both by the round arches and the rich decoration
of the mouldings of the doorway, is only suggestive
of earlier work, but the details of the ornament
were evidently inspired by the interlaced work of
the Book of Kells and the old Irish crosses. The
essence of the whole, from its plan to the details
of its ornament, must be sought in symbolism.
But here again the symbolism is not based on any
accepted dogmas. Christian it is, but theological
it is not. This point needs insistence, because the
word “ symbolism ” is apt to suggest some narrow
creed, either orthodox or heterodox. As Mr.
Watts has taken the great fundamental truths of
Justice, Charity, Love, and the rest for the sermons
in paint which have formed
the greater part of his life-
work, so the ideas set forth
here are of the broadest.
It is true these all embody
the main teaching of the
Christian faith, but they do
so in a way that should
cause no offence to any of
the many sects that shelter
people who call themselves
Christians.
The idea which has
governed the building is
that it shall hold symboli-
cal lessons for the simplest
person to read, and also
greater intricacies for those
who are more imaginative
and better versed in the
old lore of teaching by
hieroglyphics.
The plan is based on the
circle — the world - wide
symbol of eternity and per-
fection—intersected by the
cross. The cross is formed
by the transepts without,
and by the crossing double
arches of the vault of the
interior; the circle is ex-
pressed by the walls con-
necting these transepts, and
the domed roof, broken by
the cross which covers
them. Unfortunately the
exterior view, here repro-
duced, fails to show the
CHIEF ENTRANCE TO MORTUARY CHAPEL DESIGNED BY MRS. G. F. WATT'S
236