Reflecting on church brass

click photo to enlarge
It's customary for Anglican churches to have a raised pulpit and a separate reading lectern from which sermons and readings take place. Pulpits have an inclined shelf that traditionally holds The Bible, a prayer book or any other document that the officiating clergy wishes to use. The reading lectern is a humbler (and usually lower) affair, often a simple wooden post with feet surmounted by the inclined shelf. However, in many churches the material is brass rather than wood, and the piece often dates from the Victorian or the Edwardian period. In these cases the shelf is frequently decorated with foliate or cross patterns, and many are pierced. I've photographed such lecterns before because the reflective glow of the brass in the darkness of the church makes an attractive subject for the camera.

The other day we visited a Lincolnshire church, one very near the border with Leicestershire, a building that we'd not been in before. It had a rich and fertile interior for a passing photographer. But, despite the fine tombs, interesting woodwork, unusual font and column capitals and much else, my eye was once again drawn to a brass reading lectern. What caught my attention on this occasion was the reflection of a south aisle stained glass window in the polished surface of the brass. The shelf had a quatrefoil design, each leaf filled with a flower stem with two leaves, and in the centre, a cross. These raised brass shapes were emphasised by black paint or lacquer and the out of focus colours of the window gave the yellow brass a jewel-like glow, inviting the close-up shot that I post today.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 52mm (78mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f4.8
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO:250
Exposure Compensation: 0. EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Eagle lecterns

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Visit any church and you will invariably find a lectern. These pedestals with an inclined tray at the top are designed to hold an open Bible from which a reading may be made during a service. In Church of England buildings these are usually free-standing, are placed on the other side of the chancel arch from the pulpit, and are based on one of the only two designs that have found widespread favour down the centuries.

The most basic form of lectern is a simple column made of wood or metal (usually brass) on top of which is a rectangular tray with a lip to prevent the Bible slipping from it. This tray may be plain or ornately pierced. The other model for the lectern - and by far the most popular - features a column, sometimes with clawed feet or small lions at the base and a ball at the top. Standing on the ball with outspread wings to form the inclined tray is an eagle. These too are made of wood or brass, with the metal version being most common. Many brass eagle lecterns are Victorian designs and may feature a dedicatory inscription noting the date and donor's name. The example shown in the smaller photograph is at Swineshead, Linconshire. It has as inscription of 1898. The elaborate red cover protects the Bible when it is not in use. Some eagle lecterns remain from the medieval period. These are the originals on which the Victorian restorers based their models. You can often work out the age of a metal eagle lectern by the degree to which the magnificent bird is accurately represented: the more it looks like a parrot, the older it is likely to be!

But, whilst lecterns have tended to follow these two basic designs, every now and again I come across one where the designer has sought to break free from this straight-jacket. One that immediately springs to mind is in the church of All Saints at Harmston, Lincolnshire. This has an angel with upstretched arms holding the inclined shelf above her head, Atlas-like. Today's photograph shows a detail of an example of the most common lectern design in the church at Folkingham, Lincolnshire.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 67mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/50
ISO: 3200
Exposure Compensation:  0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Eagles, angels and lecterns

click photos to enlarge

Go into any English parish church and the chances are that somewhere below the chancel arch, on the south side of the nave, you'll see a lectern holding a Bible. It's the place from which extracts are read during services. In the vast majority of churches the lectern will take the form of three footed base supporting a column with a ball on top, on which stands an eagle with outstretched wings. The inclined plane formed by those wings forms the surface on which the Bible rests. In most instances the whole of the lectern will be made of brass, and will date from the nineteenth century.

That being the case, it is quite refreshing to go into a church and find a variation from this dominant design. Sometimes I come across seventeenth or eighteenth century versions, occasionally made of wood, with an eagle that looks more like a parrot. More often I find a simpler design with a column holding a decorated, inclined shelf. Today's main photograph shows a detail of one such lectern that I saw a few days ago. The brass shelf had been designed (in 1897) with a very pleasing fretwork pattern, and I felt motivated to capture this close-up that shows something of the intricate leaves, swirls and central cross. A couple of weeks earlier I'd stumbled upon an altogether different take on the lectern. The church of All Saints, at Harmston, Lincolnshire, has an angel with upstretched arms holding the usual inclined shelf. It has something of the Art Nouveau about it, and I guess it dates from somewhere between 1890 and the beginning of WW1. It is not without its attractions, and as far as symbolism goes has just as much to commend it as an eagle perched on a ball. But, I have to say that I find it a touch disconcerting, perhaps because the slender figure holding that  large weight in such an awkward pose for eternity makes me feel decidedly uncomfortable. On the other hand it could be that, to me, the figure looks a little too worldly for its setting, and might be more appropriate in a town hall, opera house or grand hotel.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1 (Photo 2)
Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 5.1mm (24mm/35mm equiv.), (10.2mm (48mm/35mm equiv.))
F No: f2 (2.8)
Shutter Speed: 1/20 (1/40)
ISO: 400
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 (-0.66) EV
Image Stabilisation: On