A guide to the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the city of New York / Fifth Edition

by Edward Hagaman Hall

The Ambulatory

The Ambulatory ([12-12-12]) is a passage about 20 feet wide leading entirely around the Choir and giving access to the seven Chapels of Tongues, the Sacristy, and other environments of the Choir. Some of the features have already been described. The symbolism of the earthly life in the pavement, before mentioned ([p. 51]), is noticeable in the large areas of clay-red tiles with borders of grassy green serpentine and green marble from Pennsylvania. The beautifully colored wainscoting between the great pillars is of Grecian marble from the island of Scyrus. The Ambulatory is entered through elaborately wrought steel gateways, 30 feet high, in the archways on either side of the great arch of the Choir. The gates, made by Messrs. Warren & Wetmore, were presented by the Cathedral League and the Diocesan Auxiliary. In the south Ambulatory gateway is a white marble tablet, showing in relief two angels and two portrait medallions of Mr. and Mrs. Levi P. Morton, and bearing the following inscription:

“To the Glory of God ‖ and ‖ in Enduring Memory of ‖ Levi Parsons Morton ‖ 1824-1920 ‖ Vice-President of the United States ‖ Governor of the State of New York ‖ and ‖ of His Wife ‖ Anna Livingston Morton ‖ 1846-1918 ‖ Whose Gifts Made Possible the ‖ Building and the Furnishing of ‖ the Choir of this Cathedral ‖ Yea saith the Spirit that They ‖ May Rest from Their Labours ‖ and Their Works do Follow Them.”

THE FOUNDER’S TOMB

The Founder’s Tomb, containing the remains of Bishop Horatio Potter, sixth Bishop of New York,[31] in the Ambulatory between the fourth and fifth great pillars opposite the entrance to St. Saviour’s Chapel, is a beautiful example of an “altar tomb” such as are seen in many English churches. Its position, immediately behind the High Altar, is that traditionally reserved for the Founder of a cathedral. It is designed in the English Gothic style of the 15th century after studies of the tomb of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey. The sarcophagus, the recumbent figure of the Bishop and the figures of the five ornamental niches of the front are of Indiana limestone. The figures, from left to right, are those of (1) Edward the Confessor, with crown, scepter and orb; (2) St. Remigius, with cup and scourge; (3) St. John the Divine, with pen, book and eagle; (4) St. Isidore, with miter, pallium and crozier; and (5) St. Theodosius of the Eastern Church, wearing a coronet with cross, holding a staff and reading from a scroll. Above the niches is a decorative moulding of oak leaves and acorns[32] with little squirrels at the ends. On the edge of the slab on which the Bishop’s figure rests is inscribed:

“Horatio Potter, D.D., D.C.L., Oxon. ‖ Sixth Bishop of New York, Founder of this Cathedral. Died 2d Jany. 1887, Aged 85 Yrs.”

On the rear of the sarcophagus is inscribed “St. John’s Day ✠ Anno Domini 1921,” the day on which the Bishop’s remains were transferred from Poughkeepsie to this tomb. Above the tomb, reaching to a height of 15 feet above the pavement, is a canopy of American oak with richly carved frieze and cresting, supported on corbels springing from the great granite columns on either side. A narrow stairway behind the columns and the tomb leads to a landing which permits a closer view of the figure of Bishop Potter. The architect was Mr. Thomas Nash of New York and the sculptor of the figures was Mr. Isidore Konti of Yonkers, N. Y.

The Brownell Memorial Tablet on the wall of the bay at the entrance to the Chapel of St. Ansgarius reads as follows:

“In Memory of ‖ The Right Reverend ‖ Thomas Church Brownell, S.T.D., LL.D. ‖ Born 1779 Died 1865 ‖ Third Bishop of Connecticut 1819-1865 ‖ Presiding Bishop 1852-1865 ‖ and ‖ in Grateful Remembrance of the Foundation of ‖ the Bishop Brownell Memorial Fund for the ‖ Endowment of the Cathedral by His Daughter ‖ Frances Johnston Holland.”

The Choir Boys’ Stone on one of the piers of the Ambulatory near the Chapel of St. Ansgarius, is the bust of a boy of the class of 1911, carved by Mr. William Scott. It represents the choir boys’ contribution to the building of the Cathedral.