A MEDIEVAL altar has been reinstated in a new chapel in St Mary’s, Ecclesfield, in Sheffield — with an altarpiece that is a full-size print of a contemporary interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
The artist, Lorna May Wadsworth, who grew up in the parish, is known for a series of life portraits, including Margaret Thatcher’s, as well as this 2009 work. Twelve feet long, it was painted from life. The figure of Jesus is based on the black fashion model Tafari Hinds.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams admired the work at the time for its “tremendous vitality, but also really powerful tension between the agitation of some figures and the profound stillness and presence of others. All the faces would pay long looking. I love the finished piece. It moves and pulsates, in colour and texture and is a wholly remarkable work, I believe”.
The PCC also commissioned an icon of the Virgin Mary from the Revd Dr Richard Walton, a retired priest in the diocese, whose work has been widely displayed.
The Vicar, the Revd Dr Tim Gill, first saw the altar ten years ago and had wanted it to be reinstated ever since. “An archaeologist I spoke with recently said we have one of the most important heritages in South Yorkshire,” he said.
“There’s a long history of the artefacts based here, but they are used. This is not a museum: it’s a living building. In reinstating the altar, we are reinstating an ancient altar which has been out of use since the Reformation, so for roughly 500 years. We’re reinstating it in a new way; so it’s going to be used again for what it was originally created for: the celebration of communion, as a focal point for prayer and worship.
“It’s an ideal space, because it’s very much in public view, but is also private enough so that no one can hear what is being said if they have asked for some private prayers for them.”
The chapel will be consecrated by the Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders, at a patronal-festival service on 16 August.
