Building a Chapel OUf Lady 'and St Edmund

St. Edmund's School is a Roman CatholicSchool, built in the district known as Land-port, at the centre of the City of Ports-mouth. It is surrounded by demolition andre-building - shops, offices, roads, and thenew Civic Offices - and additions, altera-tions and extensions have been and are beingmade within the boundaries of the Schoolitself. The latest addition to the range ofschool buildings is in many ways remarkable,because the whole School Community,pupils, parents and teachers, with the co-operation of the Governors and the Edu-cation Authority, have worked together tobuild a Chapel. Although worship can be,and is, carried out throughout the schooland in all kinds of ways, a Chapel shouldhave a special significance for a school likeSt. Edmund's because, as well as aspiring tobe a Christian School, it was established toprovide a Catholic education for the childrenof Portsmouth, and at the centre of Catholiclife and belief is the Sacrifice of the Mass.

When St. Edmund's was opened in 1963,a small room was provided as an extensionto the Assembly Hall to serve as a Chapel. Asthe school grew, the limitations of theChapel became apparent. It was very small,it did not have a Chaplain's room suitablefor interviews, it was ill-lit and poorlyventilated. As the Assembly Hall came to beused for Music, Drama and Movement duringlesson time and for School Meals at lunch-time, the Chapel could not be maintained asa quiet place for Mass, Confessions andprayer. A chapel should be a very obviouscentre of the School, easily accessible yet ina quiet area. It should be properly lit andventilated, it should be equipped for Mass,Confessions and private prayer, and it shouldoffer the Chaplain proper facilities for coun-selling members of the School. Many Staffhad long felt the need for facilities such asthese, and after generally sounding outopinion, the Headmaster, at a Governors'Meeting on 14th March, 1972, outlined thissituation and secured their approval for a

proposal that we should try to raise, byvoluntary effort £3,500, the estimated costof a pre-fabricated Chapel to be erected on asuitable site.

The proposal was still-born. At a StaffMeeting called by the Headmaster on 19thApril, 1972, to discuss the proposal, Mr.George Ferguson, Head of MetalworkDesign, expressed his stern disapproval of "apre-fab Chapel at inflated prices", and volun-teered to organise and lead the building of aChapel by members of the School at anestimated cost of £2,500. Those who attri-buted his offer to the heat of the room werereadily understood! Mr. Ferguson has, never-theless, been as good as his word. Today, wehave our Chapel, thanks to him and all whohave helped him

Mr. John Wingfield, of W. H. Saundersand Co., Architects, drew up plans, despiteconstructive and obstructive ideas thrown athim from all sides, gradually overcame theofficial aversion to white bricks and securedplanning permission. The lawned area nearthe Dining Hall and fish pond was chosen asthe site. At the enl:! of May, 1972,"footings" were marked out and soon thequadrangle was alive with boys wieldingpicks and shovels, pushing barrows full ofearth, breaking bricks and mixing and layingconcrete. In the process, the remains ofHereford Street, dating from long before theSchool was thought of, were uncovered,including an old church-warden pipe. As thetrenches deepened, even the History Depart-ment became involved, conducting im-promptu lessons in archaeology. As theirdiggings threatened the trench walls withcollapse, Mr. Ferguson's bellows drove thebudding Woolleys and Schliemanns from thesite. Digging through slabs of re-inforcedconcrete and the remains of post-war demo-lition, many of the boys have never seemedso alive, before or since. With the aid of ananc[ent cement mixer, the basewas laid, andnone too soon. As the bricks arrived in theirthousands, without warning and every

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27 second taken up in unloading them addingprecious seconds to the bill, it was "all handsto the chain". Columns of neatly stackedbricks quickly appeared, and only fiveparents complained of dusty clothes.

The "professionals" got to work on thebricks. As the walls rose, Mr. Jefferies andMr. Anderson, with the woodworkers, werebusy making window frames, door framesand doors. The roof girders, over a ton inweight, were rolled some forty yards andhoisted into place by six members of Staff,Mr. John Darmanin, a builder-parent, not aIittle wit and rivers of perspi ration. Thescoffers said it would never be done, butbetter this way than spending £50 to hire acrane, and all are still alive to tell the tale.

The roof was vital as winter approached,and Mr. Ferguson and the fourth year boysset to work, measuring and fitting joists,fitting sheets of chip board and covering thewhole with roofing felt. It was a job for thededicated, although some of the boysactually took delight in the job. Most ofthem managed to keep the sticky, bitu-mi nous "goo" on the felt; only one pair oftrousers had to be replaced ..

Over weekends, yard upon yard of .elec-trical cable, all the electrical power points,the wall heaters and lighting were installedby Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Jenkins, an elec-trician who volunteered his help. The set ofmatching light fittings was achieved at an"Army surplus" price of 50p each!. Thewater supply was laid on and a wash basinfitted into the Chaplain's room. Mr.Ferguson, Mr. Anderson and a group of boysthen set to the task of fitting a thousand feetof tongued and grooved knotty pine to makethe ceiling and the wall behind the altar.Girls and boys joined forces to apply threecoats of varnish. Meanwhile the doors werefitted and varnished. The same "team" laidthe wood block floor, sanded it, and gave itthe now legendary "three coats". All thatremained of benches discarded from the oldchanging rooms (the rest were used else-

where in the building) was transformed intoa luxurious skirting board. The total cost ofthis operation was £100, a third of theestimated cost had it been done by con-tractors. Mr. Hayward kindly donated andlaid a handsome red carpet around the altarand also suppl ied and laid the carpet in theaisles.

The work of fitting out the Chapel nowbegan, although much of the preliminarywork had already been done. Pupils wereinvited to submit designs for a tabernacledoor and for an altar. The design for thetabernacle submitted by Jane Brickwood ofthe Fifth Year was accepted and worked inbrass; the tabernacle itself was constructedfrom steel plate. The design represents thesun of St. Edmund, enclosing three inter-secting circles which represent the Trinity. Itrecalls the badge of the School which istaken from the arms of St. Edmund ofAbingdon, the School's Patron, and is basedon the legend of the vision which Edmundreceived. After several designs for the altarhad been received, a compromise wasreached, and the altar has been made by Mr.Steve Jeffries, Head of Woodwork, frommahogany, inlaid with bands of sycamore.The candlesticks are the work of Mr.Jeffkins, some Sixth Form girls, under theguidance of Mrs. Hayter, have made the altarcurtains, Sister Mary Bernadette has beenhard at work on the altar linen, and Mrs.Kelly has been busy over a long periodmaking vestments.

The windows on each side of the altarhave been designed and made by Mr. D.Wylie, Head of Art. They consist of twosheets of glass, bonded together with a clearresin. The design is painted onto the insidesurface and sandwiched with the resinbetween glass sheets. The windows portraythe Crucifixion and Death of ,Christ and Hisglorious Resurrection. The colour sequencesused show the pain and agony of crucifixionand the eventual conquest of death by theResurrection. The images are largely sym-

bolic and rely on colour impact rather thanmore formal composition. Mr. Wylie alsodesigned the large cross, made by Mr.Ferguson from polished aluminium tube.

The Chaplain's room has been furnishedwith storage cupboards and book-shelvesmade by Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Stearn, theworkshop technician, and a carpet and fire-place donated by Mrs. E. Long, Mr. Oar-manin laid the entrance steps, and the areaaround the Chapel has been prepared withthe willing co-operation of the City ParksDepartment and planted with trees, shrubsand flowers. It is now tended by members ofthe Gardening Club.

Finally, on November 23rd, 1973, only-eighteen months after work had begun, theBishop of Portsmouth, the Right ReverendDerek Worlock, solemnly blessed and openedthe Chapel, celebrating the first Mass withtwelve priests representing all the CatholicParishes of Portsmouth, and with a con-gregation made up of all those involved in itsbuilding. Led by the Lord Mayor and LadyMayoress of Portsmouth, the congregationrepresenting pupils, staff, parents, neigh-bours, the Education Authority, theParishes, the Catholic Primary Schools, otherChristian clergy, the Governors and archi-tects, all gave thanks for the completion ofone task and the start of another.

The building was complete. Although thework had called for many and varied skills,Mr. Ferguson and Members of Staff haveinvolved a surprisingly large number of boysand girls of all ages and abilities, and notmerely as navvies. No one has sufferedacademically; in fact, in some cases, it hasproved to be a valuable education. TheMaths Department has been seen calculatingarea, volume and measurement (How manybricks are needed ... ?), local history andarchaeology even threatened to bring abouta withdrawal of labour! The craft subjects,inevitably, have been more obviously in-volved. At the same time, all have gainedsomething which only an enterprise such as

this can offer. Pupils and staff have workedside by side to produce something of use, ofvalue and pride which is of and for theSchool which surrounds it.

Throughout the whole undertaking thework of fund raising has been equallyimportant. Fayres, Jumble Sales, Bazaars,have played their part, with the sale ofbricks, personal donations and collectionsmade by Counselling Groups in the School.Those who arranged our initial loan made itpossible for the work to begin. Members ofthe Parents Committee have given a greatdeal of time and effort of money raisingactivities. There have been many donations,large and small, from former pupils andfriends of the School throughout theDiocese of Portsmouth. Two years afterbuilding commenced, it has been paid for infull, at a total cost of £2,500.

The work of furnishing the Chapel com-pletely now begins. Apart from the altar andcarpet, the Sanctuary lamp given by theReeves family in memory of Jane Reeves, apupil of the School, and a Madonna andChild, the gift of Fr. D. Mahy, the Chapelneeds to be furnished in keeping with itsstyle and purpose. This will be a gradualprocess, as the need arises, as funds permit,and as the talents of pupils and staff can beused. We have completed one project, inbuilding a real centre of the School wherepresent and future members can come to-gether to worship in Christ. It has been arare opportunity for ~I who have helped tobuild our Chapel, the craftsmen, designers,technicians, staff accountants, labourers,secretaries, fund raisers and supporters,pupils, staff and parents alike. If the Chapelis to fulfil its purpose, the second projectmust begin, because the purpose of theChapel is to show to the whole School thattheir worship is the inspiration and the goalof their life and work.

Trench Digging

Preparing the Foundations

The Footings

Bricklaying

Roof Girders in Position

The Completed Chapel