At the back of the Holy Table stands the Reredos, of richly-carved Bath
stone, the general idea of the sculpture being “the one great sacrifice
of our Blessed Lord,” made with blood-shedding upon the Cross,
represented in the Crucifixion. Examining the reredos more in detail, it
will be observed that the whole is divided into three sections of richly
canopied niches by slender buttresses, upon which are angel figures
holding shields carved with the emblems of the Four Evangelists. In the
central section our attention is first of all directed to the offering of
the Great High Priest of the “one oblation of Himself once offered on the
Cross.” The sculptor has succeeded in combining that which it is so
difficult to do, the true pathos of human suffering with the dignity of
the Divine personality of the Holy Victim. On either side of the
crucified Son of God are the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John, whilst in
the two smaller niches are the figures of the two Maries, Mary the wife
of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.
The reredos and the whole of the carved work throughout the chapel are
the work of Mr. Nathaniel Hitch, the well-known sculptor of Harleyford
Road, Vauxhall, who has been ably assisted throughout by Mr. Harold
Whitaker.