THE  REREDOS

Since, sadly, St.Hilda’s Church has not been blessed with benefactors who gave stained glass windows, the reredos is the focal point of the east end of the church and was given in 1916 by Edith Anderson in memory of her late husband, Charles Marmaduke Anderson who died in 1912.  As can be seen in the old photograph of the interior of the church found in the Short History, the reredos, picturing the scene of The Epiphany, was originally just varnished wood.

In 1970, Fr.Parker removed the reredos and then applied for a faculty to remove it and replace it with six wrought iron candlesticks.  However, there were objections to the grant of faculty and a Consistory Court hearing was necessary to resolve the issue.  The official judgement follows:

“JUDGEMENT of His Honour Judge R.H. Mais at a Hearing in the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Manchester of the Petition of the Vicar and Churchwardens of Saint Hilda Prestwich for a faculty to remove the reredos, to destroy the two side panels and to introduce six wrought iron candlesticks and a crucifix, and the objections to the grant of a faculty made by Mr. J.K. Horigan and Mr. G.T. Sanders, on the 7th day of November 1970.

“I do not propose to give a long judgement.  I take the view that the less said the better from a pastoral point of view.  I do not want to exacerbate the position.

I am bound to confess that I do not find this situation helped by the attitude of the Petitioners who, according to their representatives, take the view that Mr. Horigan and Mr. Sanders have conspired to undermine the best interests of the parish.  I do not believe this for one moment, and I do not accept it.  Anyone is entitled to raise objections to practices of which he does not approve.  Any parishioner is entitled to raise objection to the removal from a parish church of particular articles.  He is entitled to object to what is to be put in the church, and Mr. Sanders and Mr. Horigan are perfectly entitled to object to the removal of this reredos and the placing of the wrought iron candlesticks and the crucifix in the church.  There is nothing wrong or underhand in such conduct, and I only wish that in the ordinary way, people would take an interest in their churches rather than merely sitting back.

The position here is this.  In 1916 or thereabouts, Mrs. Anderson gave this reredos as a memorial to her husband.  It was designed by well known Manchester Architects and was placed in this church, and there it has remained ever since, but it is not for me to say whether I like or dislike the reredos.  The fact is that it was placed there by faculty in 1916 as a memorial, and it is quite wrong, to me, to suggest that because tastes today have changed and people like simpler things, that this reredos be removed.  If that was so, little would be left of the past and when fashions change and the position comes full circle, the church would be the poorer.  In my judgement it is wrong to remove articles from a church because tastes change.

Now this reredos was removed, although Mr.Parker does not like the word ‘removed’ but ‘taken down’.  It was removed.  It was interfered with.  It is suggested that it was done for cleaning purposes.  It was done with a view to seeing if the reredos, when it was removed and the wrought iron candlesticks and crucifix put in its place, would meet with the approval of the parishioners who attend the church so that a faculty could be obtained.  Mr. Parker and the Churchwardens knew that they were not entitled to remove the reredos from its present position in the east end of the church.  They were not entitled to have it removed and placed in a corridor in the church.  The procedure would have been to apply for a Chancellor’s Licence from me to see what the attitude of the parish would be, but this was not done in this case.

There is a good deal of dissension.  I do not propose to add any fuel to that dissension.  Mrs. Anderson has not been found.  The Advisory Committee, as I understand it, raise no objection to its removal but in any event the decision is mine.  This memorial was placed there under faculty and in my view it was wrong to remove that which had been placed there under faculty.  There must be good reason, and good cause, to order removal of that which is there by faculty.  In this particular case, I can find no good reason or cause and I pass no judgement on the wrought iron candlesticks and crucifix, save that if the reredos is retained, the wrought iron candlesticks and crucifix would be completely out of place, though I heard some witnesses say that they did not want the reredos removed, but would prefer the candlesticks.

I can find no case made for removal of the reredos and the introduction of wrought iron candlesticks and crucifix, and the Petition is dismissed.”

The objectors said that they did not intend to ask for costs.”

Fr.Parker left St.Hilda’s soon after this decision and then Fr.Croft was inducted in September 1971 to succeed him.  It was Fr.Croft who initiated the fundraising for the decoration and gilding of the reredos and the two standard candlesticks by Campbell Smith of Liverpool.  The reredos cost £1,000 and the candlesticks £100 each and the completed works were blessed by Fr.Croft on Low Sunday in 1975, by which time Fr.Croft had moved to St.Crispin’s in Fallowfield.

There is no doubt that the completed renovation adds some much needed colour to the chancel and provides a much needed focus for the east end of the church.