St Thomas’s Altar, Salisbury
A new altar for St Thomas’ Church in Salisbury.
The church is a summation of the contribution of each generation: a manifestation of centuries of love as care. I was keen to reflect that love and support by contributing our times in an unashamed but not confrontational way.
The concept of the altar is very simple: all things spring from one source. The design is a metaphor for that straightforward premise.
The altar emanates from an explosive centre, directly beneath the dais that supports it. From this notional centre, expanding upwards and outwards, seemingly spring 1,152 pieces of English oak, which I refer to as staves. The staves emerge from the dais at the base of the altar, in the form of a rectangle of only 480mm x 240mm, each visible stave being 10mm wide at this point, 48 front and back and 24 on each side. They continue to reach towards the altar’s surface until each is 40mm wide/square. Here they culminate as the altar’s surface.
The story
It is with immense pride we bask in the glow of glory effected by the Ecclesiastical Architects’ and Surveyors’ Association (EASA) awarding a project we worked on its 2021 President’s Award.
This has been given in recognition of the work at St Thomas’s church in Salisbury, where the re-ordering of various areas of the church included the incorporation of new benches and chairs, new lighting, a new entrance lobby and restoration of the famous ‘Doom painting’ above the chancel arch.
The whole venture was overseen by St. Ann’s Gate Architects and our part was designing and making a new altar as a centrepiece for the project.
The Association says: ‘The key new liturgical element is the nave altar table designed by… Matthew Burt of Hindon. His design takes the form of an inverted pyramid, with narrow staves of oak exploding outwards from a notional central point at floor level. This is a metaphor for the church, with many members originating from one point, bound together in one mission. On the mensa of the altar, the staves resolve into a myriad of end-grain squares, resembling a butcher’s block – a striking reminder of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.’
We have a model of the altar at our Studio but do go and have a look at the real thing next time you’re in Salisbury.
You can read more about Matthew’s vision for the altar here .
