I came back from Holy Trinity with the shots I wanted and then experimented with the layout. When I had it right, I knew what shots I needed from the Westminster Cathedral. I've photographed the cathedral before, for special reasons, so in fact three of the pictures were obvious to me. Getting the fourth shot was a matter of looking for the shot that would mean most to me. I recommend this tactic - you see many things you would otherwise miss.
The Cathedral was built, between 1895 and 1903, on a reclaimed marsh, known originally as Bulinga Fen and reclaimed by Benedictine monks. There was a prison on the site from the seventeenth century until the church acquired the land in 1884. Dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the cathedral was designed in the Early Christian Byzantine style by the Victorian architect John Francis Bentley. One hundred years later, the interior is still being completed, but that doesn't prvent the place being beautiful.
As Sir John Betjeman said, "From the outside you do not expect what is the greatest surprise of all, that the Cathedral looks larger inside than it looks from the outside".The view from the main door is dominated by the large crucifix that hangs between the nave and the sanctuary. Working outward from the nave one encounters the pillars that support the roof, then the two side aisles, and the many chapels against the north and south walls. Most of the south side chapels are complete, but some on the north side are still under construction.
Affixed to the pillars are the fourteen Stations of the Cross, by the sculptor Eric Gill, are world-renowned. The statue of Our Lady of Westminster was placed under the thirteenth station in 1955. The Lady Chapel, beyond the Madonna figure and to the right of the sanctuary, contains some fine mosaicscompleted in the 1930s, with a striking image of Mary, but the candle altar is nonetheless by Our Lady of Westminster.
Each of the chapels has its own unique character and as you walk around there's a huge variety of mosaics and marble floors and walls. Looking for my fourth image, I photographed many of them, but couldn't find a shot that really worked for me. This was in October 2001 and I'd noticed that Holy Souls chapel had been returned to its former state. Things must move on. But further up the North Aisle is a chapel for prayers for world peace. The Peace Cranes wreath was there, together with a beautiful flower arrangement with a candle-rack in front of it. That sums it up for me: the enduring image is the most ephemeral.