A History of Giggleswick School from its Foundation, 1499 to 1912

by Edward Allen Bell

THE CHAPEL EXTERIOR.

Every style of Architecture makes its own peculiar appeal to mankind. One kind of Church seems better adapted to the needs of Englishmen; Eastern peoples prefer a different style. Mr. Morrison proposed to take a distinctive feature of each and make them one. For the general building he chose the Gothic style because, though not native to England, it has imposed itself to an overwhelming extent on the Parish Churches and Cathedrals of the country, and to it he added a Dome. There is one feature that these two apparent opposites have in common. Gothic Churches vary greatly, but many of them are notable for their appearance of loftiness. The clustered columns seem to lead the eye upwards to the roof, as if men naturally went about the world cramped and confined, and were now bidden turn their gaze to the heights. A dome has a somewhat similar effect: it carries on the gaze and it gives an increased and unexpected vision. The bold union of the two has created a School Chapel, which satisfies every wish. It is suited to the surrounding country, it is possessed of great beauty, and it breathes the atmosphere of worship.

But there is another consideration. One of the most striking characteristics of boy-life is the feeling of personal possession. Everything that is of importance has a personal aspect. Whatever a boy sees belonging to his own School is at once invested with a curious sanctity and defended with all the armour of pride. It is of supreme importance that the side of school life, the religious side, which sometimes appeals to a boy with a greater force than any other, should have a building of its own. The Parish Church can never lay claim to the same devotion, and therefore can never exercise the same influence. A School Chapel develops a feeling of unity and brotherhood; such unity is less possible in a Parish Church.

Buildings and surroundings have a power to mould character. It is the big, silent things of life that often really move a man: the walls that he can learn to love and know, and invest with life and memory. These feelings are not recognized at the time, and it is well that they should not be. Emotionalism and probing self-analysis are dread dangers. But the memories of school in after life are not in the first instance memories of friends, but of the places where those friends were met and the friendships made. A boy's life is made up of moments and impressions, and many of the indelible impressions of his youth are formed in the School Chapel. Hence the gift of a beautiful School Chapel is the greatest gift a man can give. Boys at Giggleswick have at their right hand the natural glories of the Craven District, they have now also a supreme example of the architect's skill and courage and success. Environment is the keynote to the development of character. These boys have the twofold opportunity of profiting from Nature and from Art.

The mind must go back three centuries in the history of the School to find a parallel to this gift, and even then no individual example will stand comparison. The difficulties of the work were great, but were surmounted with complete success. The Chapel is a striking and beautiful landmark. The Building was begun in 1897, and the foundation stone was laid with some ceremony on October 7, by the Duke of Devonshire, and work proceeded for four years without interruption.

There are many interesting features about the building, and no expense was spared to get the very best material. In the interior all the fittings and seats were made of cedar wood imported direct from Tucuman, a Province in the Argentine. Two Bronze Statues, one of Queen Victoria and one of Edward VI were designed by Mr. George Frampton, A.R.A., and placed in niches over the west door. A cast of the one of Edward VI was given by the sculptor and placed in Big School. The main feature of the interior is one broad aisle in the centre, balanced on either side by two passage aisles, and the centre of the broad aisle is paved with black and white marble. At the West end are eight stalls with carved and pierced standards to the canopies.

The Organ was the last instrument built under the direction of Mr. Henry Willis—Father Willis—and its construction was superintended by Sir Walter Parratt. The outside pipes are made of spotted metal, and the organ has three manuals. The Pulpit was put in later standing at the North-West end of the Choir it is visible to the whole congregation.

The Dome was constructed in a way, hitherto probably untried in Europe, it was built without centering, on a principle of interlocking blocks of terra cotta. The outside is of timber covered with copper; inside on the lower part with a gold background are mosaics of sixteen angels. They are slightly over six feet high, and are represented as playing musical instruments; their wings cross one another and give a fine pattern of colour. In the pendentives are seated figures of the four Evangelists. These were all worked, not from the back as is usual, but from the face, and each was fixed on the vault bit by bit.

JAMES CARR.