THE HIGH ALTAR
The Credence Table, at the right (south) side of the High Altar, is supported by a shaft composed of three stones from the ruins of the ancient Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, England, in which the Barons met on November 20, 1214, and swore before the altar to secure from King John the liberties which they embodied in Magna Charta. These relics are of Caen stone, and may be recognized by their gray color. They were given to the Cathedral in 1922, with the consent of the Abbey authorities, by the Marquis of Bristol through Dr. Raphael Constantian of New York. Near the shaft is the following inscription:
“The Adjoining Shaft ‖ Was Once a Part of ‖ the High Altar of the ‖ Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds ‖ Upon Which on ‖ November 20, 1214, ‖ the Barons Swore Fealty ‖ to Each Other in Wresting ‖ the Great Charter ‖ from King John. ‖ It is Placed Here ‖ as a Symbol of ‖ the Community of ‖ Political Tradition, ‖ Laws and Liberties, ‖ Which is the Inheritance ‖ of the English Speaking ‖ Commonwealths ‖ Throughout the World.”
Credence Table with Shaft made of Magna Charta Stones
The Eight Great Columns standing in a semicircle around the Sanctuary and forming seven interspaces opposite the seven Chapels of Tongues, are among the marvels of the Cathedral. They are approached in size only by those in St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Petrograd. The shafts of light gray granite from Bear Island, near Vinal Haven on the coast of Maine, were quarried as monoliths and turned on a special lathe which cost $50,000. When the first two were subjected to the pressure of polishing they broke, and the contractor then obtained permission to make the shafts in two pieces. The lower stone in each shaft is 38 feet high and weighs 90 tons, and the upper stone is 17 feet high and weighs 40 tons, the total height between base and capital being 55 feet and the weight 130 tons. The octagonal capitals of pierre de Lens by Mr. Post represent singing angels. The columns were given as memorials of the men whose names are carved on the bases seen in the Ambulatory (south to north:) “Alonzo Potter,[26] Bishop of Pennsylvania, 1800-1865;” “Colonel Richard Tylden Auchmuty, U. S. V., 1831-1893;” “Harry Manigault Morris, 1817-1892;” “Eugene Augustus Hoffman, 1829-1902;” “John Jacob Astor, 1763-1848;” “John Divine Jones, 1814-1895;” “Josiah Mason Fiske, 1823-1892;” and “Joseph Lawrence, 1788-1872.” Each column cost $25,000, not including the expense of erection. They were made by Mr. John Pierce of Vinal Haven, Me.