WAR CHAPEL

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 85, 4 January 1919, Page 8

WAR CHAPEL

MEMORIAL TO OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS SYMBOLIC ADORNMENT ~ [Contributed.] ' ' The plan provides that the. building to bo especially raised by Uβ in honour of our heroes fallen in this war shall, be attached to and form a structural part of the new Wellington Cathedral; for it is felt that such a building should be interwoven with a Christian temple, in which shall be constantly heard the pra,yers and praise of the multitude. • In addition to the Military Chapel,' the rest of the cathedral will give ample space and great facilities for dignified means of recording national history and incidents of the future as well as of tho past, and of accommodating many' memorials expressed by art of our grcateet men and women for many years to come. Tho primary purpose of the Military Chapel is to provide ample spaces for monuments to those who have'fallen in this war; and the chiefest of these, in diie order, will be 'accommodated', in .-a series-of projecting bays; which, together with other recesses and 'some ■ gallery spapes will also hold full,. records of the war in various other forms with interesting relics.of all kinds, some of which will have belonged, it is hoped, to those who have fallen or served. . The chapel must nlso.be furnished to be used, for especial religions festivals, and for all services like the cathedral and the rest of the chapels.' The chapel will, end in . a polygonal apse to contain ah . elevated altar and reredos. Scale and colour will be carefully considered, the. proportions being those of loftiness and sublimity rather than of great area,' with, in addition, clear views from- the adjoining transept and presbytery. Its decorative features will, as far as possible, contain actual records (and it will possess features distinguishing this'memorial from those of all other wars). The adornment will be symbolically expressive. The Decoration.., In the decoration, without stint, the best and richest material will- be' employed, and the highest quality of art craftsmanship. In the, general interior, full play -will be given.to marbles of ■various. shades and beautiful markings, rich jaspers of black,'; red. or green and splashed with gold, porphyry and argillites and stones of ' brown and purple. There will , be appropriate carving l>x .the best craftsmen in. wood- and stone, chaste; metal work and . painting and stained glass by the -best -acknowledged artists, all conceived and employed in ■tho richest harmony, and the ceiling of the barrel vault will gfttter with' Venetian mosaics. Pictorial art will; depict in many places scenes and incidents connected with the war and its localities, and on the marble , walls within clear view ehall.be writ, in letters of gold the names of all who have died for their country. . >' ■Externally, as well as internally, the oliapel'wiU have a series of canopied and pedestalled niches containing figures of those most prominent leaders': of- the Empire, soldiers and • martyrs, during itswar stress; and there will' be a etory 'running -through each scheme in connection with all painting, sculpture/ and carving. . The Site. The "cathedral' site on the east and south is bounded by the green permanent playing- fields of the Wellington College, and on the west by the main road, beyond which are the grounds of the Basin Reserve; on the north is garden ground. The fabric will stand upon a plateau with a slight fall in its length from the east to the west front, but. from thence the site drops sharply -30 feet to the main street' level, in/a distance of 70 feot or thereabouts, an admirable circumstance, for ; there results the feature if a forecourt, or "place" open to the road, with wide flights of steps and terrace formations, including a central rostrum , or out-of-door pulpit. The west front, with its upper flight of steps running the full length, will boldly rise above the road 30 feet to the floor level, and be set upon gaining much dignjty and added height this heavy base as upon a "podium," Hiereby. Those who cannot mount the steps will find convenient curved - slopes to the lateral entrance doorways through the garden or "close." These terraces, banked with greenery and flowers, will have offsets, bastions, and ramps which can fitly accommodate symbols and embellishments such as pedestalled statuary and other works of art, singly or in groups. So will its setting be worthy of tho etructure.