Finial
1862 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The great choir screen made for Hereford Cathedral is one of the monuments of High Victorian art, a masterpiece in the Gothic Revival style. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a leading Victorian architect, and made by the Coventry metalworking firm of Francis Skidmore.
A screen was essential to a medieval cathedral, the barrier which separated nave from choir, congregation from clergy. By the 19th century, most had disappeared. Sir George Gilbert Scott began to reinstate this medieval feature. Noted especially for building new churches, Scott began to restore old churches in the 1860s. He aimed to reintroduce a sense of architectural and spatial cohesion, and boldly added modern work to achieve this aim. His most impressive screens were largely iron, as at the cathedrals of Lichfield (1861), Hereford (1862) and Salisbury (1869-1872), and all were constructed by Skidmore of Coventry.
Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) was the leading architect of the Gothic Revival, a style inspired by the medieval buildings of Britain and Europe. In 1827 Scott began formal training in London with the architect, James Edmeston. The cathedrals, shrines and reliquaries Scott saw on his travels around Europe had a lasting influence in his work. His first Gothic building was the Martyr’s Memorial, Oxford, built in 1840. Scott was knighted in 1872 and the following year became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He died in 1878 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, an honour given to very few architects.
Frances Skidmore (1817-1896) started his career as a jewellery apprentice in Coventry, working under his father. In 1845 Frances registered as a silversmith at the Birmingham assay office. In 1850 he set up a company specialising in artistic and architectural metalwork in iron, brass and copper. From the 1850s onwards, Skidmore began making metalwork and plate to the designs of leading architects and designers. He was rated as one of the best English craftsmen working in iron. His most ambitious work was for George Gilbert Scott’s building and restoration projects. The Hereford Screen and the canopy of the Albert Memorial (1864-72) were both Scott-Skidmore collaborations.
A screen was essential to a medieval cathedral, the barrier which separated nave from choir, congregation from clergy. By the 19th century, most had disappeared. Sir George Gilbert Scott began to reinstate this medieval feature. Noted especially for building new churches, Scott began to restore old churches in the 1860s. He aimed to reintroduce a sense of architectural and spatial cohesion, and boldly added modern work to achieve this aim. His most impressive screens were largely iron, as at the cathedrals of Lichfield (1861), Hereford (1862) and Salisbury (1869-1872), and all were constructed by Skidmore of Coventry.
Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) was the leading architect of the Gothic Revival, a style inspired by the medieval buildings of Britain and Europe. In 1827 Scott began formal training in London with the architect, James Edmeston. The cathedrals, shrines and reliquaries Scott saw on his travels around Europe had a lasting influence in his work. His first Gothic building was the Martyr’s Memorial, Oxford, built in 1840. Scott was knighted in 1872 and the following year became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He died in 1878 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, an honour given to very few architects.
Frances Skidmore (1817-1896) started his career as a jewellery apprentice in Coventry, working under his father. In 1845 Frances registered as a silversmith at the Birmingham assay office. In 1850 he set up a company specialising in artistic and architectural metalwork in iron, brass and copper. From the 1850s onwards, Skidmore began making metalwork and plate to the designs of leading architects and designers. He was rated as one of the best English craftsmen working in iron. His most ambitious work was for George Gilbert Scott’s building and restoration projects. The Hereford Screen and the canopy of the Albert Memorial (1864-72) were both Scott-Skidmore collaborations.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted wrought and cast iron, brass, copper, timber, mosaics and hardstones.
The basic structure of timber and cast iron is embellished with wrought iron, burnished brass and copper. Much of the copper and ironwork is painted and the arches and columns are decorated with polished quartz and mosaic panels.
All the figures – which look as though made from cast bronze – are made from electroformed copper, then a revolutionary technique, and much cheaper than casting bronze. Electroforming was a way of making metal objects by using electricity – a plaster pattern or model was immersed in a suitable liquid, and an electric current was passed through it, which resulted in a metal coating over the plaster. The electroformed figures are finished with matt, red oxide paint to resemble terracotta. |
| Brief description | Finial from the Hereford Screen, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, made by Frances Skidmore, Coventry, 1862. |
| Physical description | Victorian metalwork choir screen in the Gothic Revival style. The screen has a timber and cast iron structure and takes the form of sharply-pointed arches made of brasswork, surmounted by the figure of Christ and angels, with painted ironwork and colourful mosaics. Passion flowers in many forms are dominant motifs on the screen and symbolise the suffering of Christ upon the cross (the Passion). The bearded figure of Christ is the focal point of the Screen. On either side, angels play musical instruments, welcoming Christ’s Ascension to Heaven. The back of the screen – the side facing the altar- has no figures but simply the monogram ihc (for Jesus). The figures, made of electroformed copper, recall late 13th century Tuscan sculpture, and their positioning resembles Italian cathedral facades like Siena. The appearance of the screen reflects Sir George Gilbert Scott’s passion for the ‘Reformed Gothic style’ based on the painted interiors, stained glass and delicate tracery of 13th century French architecture and medieval shrines. |
| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry |
| Object history | Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott for Hereford Cathedral. Made in 1862 by Francis Skidmore of Coventry and displayed at the International Exhibition, London before installation in the Cathedral in 1863. Despite its ornate appearance, the screen took just five months to make. The screen was a star piece in the International Exhibition of 1862, held in London, before its installation in Hereford Cathedral in 1863. A contemporary described it as ‘one of the most important works, not only for its size but for the care with which it had been executed, and the successful endeavour to treat what is in fact a large architectural subject in metal alone.’ In its profusion of ornament and colour, the screen is one of the finest examples of the Gothic Revival style. Celebrated in the 19th century, the screen fell from favour in the 20th century. It was held to form an unacceptable barrier between the congregation and the chancel area. For much of the 20th century, the Gothic Revival style was unfashionable and Scott’s work was neglected, some of his work was sold for scrap. In 1967 the Hereford screen fell victim to the fashionable anti-Victorian prejudice. Despite a national outcry and the protests of John Betjeman and Nikolaus Pevsner, the screen was dismantled by the Cathedral authorities and sold to Herbert Museum and Art Gallery in Coventry. In 1983 the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery gave it to the V&A. The screen was installed in the Ironwork Gallery in 2001, following a large-scale conservation project, supported by funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, as well as private individuals. Work was undertaken to clean, paint and reassemble the screen over a period of 13 months. |
| Association | |
| Summary | The great choir screen made for Hereford Cathedral is one of the monuments of High Victorian art, a masterpiece in the Gothic Revival style. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a leading Victorian architect, and made by the Coventry metalworking firm of Francis Skidmore. A screen was essential to a medieval cathedral, the barrier which separated nave from choir, congregation from clergy. By the 19th century, most had disappeared. Sir George Gilbert Scott began to reinstate this medieval feature. Noted especially for building new churches, Scott began to restore old churches in the 1860s. He aimed to reintroduce a sense of architectural and spatial cohesion, and boldly added modern work to achieve this aim. His most impressive screens were largely iron, as at the cathedrals of Lichfield (1861), Hereford (1862) and Salisbury (1869-1872), and all were constructed by Skidmore of Coventry. Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878) was the leading architect of the Gothic Revival, a style inspired by the medieval buildings of Britain and Europe. In 1827 Scott began formal training in London with the architect, James Edmeston. The cathedrals, shrines and reliquaries Scott saw on his travels around Europe had a lasting influence in his work. His first Gothic building was the Martyr’s Memorial, Oxford, built in 1840. Scott was knighted in 1872 and the following year became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He died in 1878 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, an honour given to very few architects. Frances Skidmore (1817-1896) started his career as a jewellery apprentice in Coventry, working under his father. In 1845 Frances registered as a silversmith at the Birmingham assay office. In 1850 he set up a company specialising in artistic and architectural metalwork in iron, brass and copper. From the 1850s onwards, Skidmore began making metalwork and plate to the designs of leading architects and designers. He was rated as one of the best English craftsmen working in iron. His most ambitious work was for George Gilbert Scott’s building and restoration projects. The Hereford Screen and the canopy of the Albert Memorial (1864-72) were both Scott-Skidmore collaborations. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic reference | George Gilbert Scott, Personal and Professional Recollections , edited by Gavin Stamp, Stamford 1995, pp. 291,479, 486 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.251:3-1984 |
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| Record created | June 7, 2017 |
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