🇬🇧 SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL, GAIA, Spectacular floating sculpture of Planet Earth accurately depicts the Earth's surface as it would be viewed from space.
Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. It has been a place of Christian worship for more than 1,000 years, but a cathedral only since the creation of the diocese of Southwark in 1905.
Between 1106 and 1538 it was the church of an Augustinian priory, Southwark Priory, dedicated to the Virgin Mary (St. Mary's – over the river). Following the dissolution of the monasteries, it became a parish church, with the new dedication of St Saviour's. The church was in the diocese of Winchester until 1877, when the parish of St Saviour's, along with other South London parishes, was transferred to the diocese of Rochester.[2] The present building retains the basic form of the Gothic structure built between 1220 and 1420, although the nave is a late 19th-century reconstruction.
The cathedral is also known for its resident cat, the first one being Doorkins Magnificat, a brown female cat who began visiting in 2008 as a stray looking for food and shelter. She later made the cathedral her permanent home and was often found curled up beneath a radiator or prowling the aisles. She became known as a local celebrity and met both the Mayor of London and Queen Elizabeth II on formal visits to the cathedral. Doorkins features in the specially-written children's book, Doorkins the Cathedral Cat, and in 2018 was immortalised with her very own stone gargoyle which is positioned inside the cathedral. The death of Doorkins was reported on 2 October 2020.[48] A memorial service was held at the cathedral on 27 October 2020, something apparently unprecedented for a cat and reported in the national press.[49]
Cathedral staff and visitors missed having a cat in their midst, so a local rescue organisation, Catcuddles, recommended a cat who was looking for a new home. Hodge, a black and white tuxedo cat, was formally adopted on 6 December 2020. Like Doorkins, Hodge has become a celebrity in his own right with various souvenirs available in the cathedral shop,[50] and his own social media accounts.
The cathedral's main organ was built by Lewis & Co. of Brixton, and completed in 1897. It was inspired by the Schulze organ of Doncaster Minster. Thomas Christopher Lewis, the company's founder, was renowned for building instruments that had a bright, vibrant tone which, in part, was due to his use of low wind pressures. Consequently, he was somewhat out of step with the trend at the time, which was tending towards high wind pressures and rather thicker tone. The instrument's action was, and is, electro-pneumatic with slider chests, and the main case was designed by Arthur Blomfield.
Apart from routine maintenance, the instrument remained untouched until 1952, when Henry Willis & Sons undertook a major rebuild, during which the wind pressures were increased. The balanced swell pedal and the hitch-down solo pedal were replaced by Willis's Infinite Speed and Gradation pedals. The choir organ – which had been housed in front of the swell – was relocated to the north side, and a new console was installed adjacent to it (the original console was on the south side). The choir organ's Flauto Traverso was replaced by a nazard, and a tierce was provided on a new slider. A number of new couplers were also provided and the violon unit (32'-16'-8') was extended by 12 pipes to create a Viola 4'.
Some years after the rebuild it was thought that the Willis changes, though well intentioned, detracted too much from the original concept, so it was decided to restore the instrument to the Lewis specifications. The Durham-based firm of Harrison and Harrison was engaged, and the work was carried out in two stages. In 1986, the electrics were renewed, and although the Willis console was retained, it was given a solid state action with eight memory levels for the combination pistons and four for the crescendo pedal. Also, the Willis swell pedals were replaced by balanced pedals
#gaia #southwark #southwarkcathedral
