Oh! for a closer walk with God

A calm and heavenly frame;

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb! – Olney Hymns, I. [Walking with God] by William Cowper

Seldom does my breath get taken away from me in life, and, in particular, being an agnostic, does it occur within a chapel. Yes, I have seen Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and, yes, I was impressed by the master’s display of artistic genius, painting such a glorious spectacle of art on that ceiling, yet it did not make me go weak at the knees, nor did it totally take my breath away. However, eight months ago to the day, when my ancestral cousin took me to The Chapel of St Mary in Kensington Palace, after we dined in the House of Lords then walked around the Palace of Westminster, the beauty of that restored place of worship did take my breath away, and, indeed, I strangely felt weak in the knees as I absorbed every square inch of its artistry, design, and majestic decorations.

The Chapel of St Mary Undercroft was completed by King Edward I in 1297. It was further developed under Edward II and finally completed by Edward III around 1365. While St Stephen’s Chapel was the chapel of the Royal Family, the Court and the Royal Household worshipped at St Mary Undercroft. Oliver Cromwell allegedly used this solemn place of worship to store his horses, and, upon his removal, the divine chapel was used as a wine cellar (where one might surmise that a dram more than the blood of Christ was stored there). Sadly, the Great Fire of 1834 at Kensington Palace destroyed St Stephen’s Chapel; however, St Mary’s Undercroft survived the blaze, and it was restored between 1860 and 1870 by Charles Barry’s (the architect of the current Palace of Westminster) son, Edward. Now, St Mary’s Chapel is used as a place of worship by both the Lords and Members of the House of Commons, yet I was privileged to have the opportunity to walk through its ancient doors. This hyperlink leads to a lecture by Dr Elizabeth Hallam Smith FSA, providing a more detailed history of the magnificent chapel, so, as it is Friday, kick off those work shoes, and let the good doctor take you on a journey through history:

So, there I stood, my breath taken away, my knees feeling oddly weak, as I gazed upon the medieval decoration and vaulting in a neo-Gothic style. Art is created in many forms, and in St Mary’s Chapel, this old agnostic walked with the gods of art.