Cornerstone Summer 2016

FRIENDS of ARUNDEL CATHEDRAL

CORNERSTONE Summer 2016

Dear Friends I hope I will be forgiven for returning to a theme we’ve covered before (albeit almost ten years ago) in Cornerstone, the Corpus Christi carpet of flowers. The Cathedral hosts a number of high-profile events – Christmas Midnight Mass, the Chrism Mass and Easter Triduum, the Advent and Summer Vespers – but the event for which it is probably best known is the great floral celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi. So it seems particularly appropriate that it was on the morning of Corpus Christi that Fr Tony Whale, much loved parish priest of Arundel for eighteen years, and founder of The Friends of Arundel Cathedral, should have died.

Those of us who had the good fortune to have been members of Fr Whale’s flock, and whose friends outside the church held him in as high affection and esteem as his own parishioners, will remember him with the greatest appreciation. Our Chairman’s appreciation of Tony appears on pages 2 and 3.

The tradition of a carpet of flowers was instituted by Duke Henry in the 1870s, not long after the opening of his Arundel church. The inspiration came from a display seen in a village near Rome, and on his return to England the Duke could marshall his army of estate workers to carry out the necessary decorations. The tradition has continued with only a short break during the First World War, when presumably most estate workers were at the front. Over the years the work has been taken up by parishioners, with a large number of volunteers led by a core team of Mary Bagg, Mary Harding, Jim and Margaret Myerscough, and your Editor. A theme is agreed on soon after Christmas – for 2016 Pope Francis’s Year of Mercy - and designs drawn up, eventually in the form of large cardboard stencils from which the patterns can be drawn on to backing paper filling the central aisle.

The actual laying of the carpet and floral decoration of the Cathedral draws on a wide constituency of parishioners, friends from St Nicholas, and other flower-arranging enthusiasts, working together to provide a joyful setting for our magnificent celebration of the Eucharist.

Oliver Hawkins Editor

OUR LATE PROVOST TONY WHALE Just before this edition of Cornerstone was due to go to press we heard of the death of Tony Whale, a friend and pastor to very many in Arundel and in the surrounding villages. It was soon after he arrived in the parish of Arundel as Administrator of the Cathedral that he conceived the idea of establishing a separate fund to help defray the diocesan costs of running a cathedral which did not have a large parish to support it. He was able to bring a number of outstanding gifts to this enterprise: first, his own experiences in the financial world before he was ordained, and secondly his enormous popularity – evidenced not only by the fact that within eighteen months of having come to the cathedral parish he is said to have visited every house in the town, but also by how sorely he was missed by many when after eighteen years he moved, to continue his ministry in Farnham.

Our archives show that as early as 1982 he had begun to consider the idea with our (then) Bishop Cormac. He was helped by other members of the parish including some who are still, happily, part of our community such as Michael Winter and Jim Myerscough.

The deliberations were considerable and it was not until 1986 that the Friends of Arundel Cathedral was registered as a separate trust fund held within the Diocesan Trust by specially designated trustees, then including Bishop Cormac, Miles, Duke of Norfolk, Sir Philip de Zulueta (who lived at Eastergate) and

Father Whale himself. Provision was made in the constitution of what was then an unincorporated association for further members of the Council to be elected from amongst the members and approved by the Bishop.

In those early days under the guidance of the council led enthusiastically and percipiently by Tony Whale, guidelines were established for building up an endowment, as well as for making distributions to the Diocese to defray some of the costs of the Cathedral each year. Under the tutelage of Tony Whale and with the encouragement of Bishop Cormac membership and monies grew significantly and within two years it was noted that there were 766 members. By 1997 the exigencies of life and death had taken their toll and the total number of members was 536 including 83 patrons. Yet by 1997 the fund had grown to some £1,148,199 (a leap of nearly £160,000 since the previous year) and on 10th November 1999 the Association of the Friends was constituted as a separate registered incorporated charity with, again, the details of the constitutional provisions being pored over by Canon Whale and the members of Council.

Tony Whale would have been the first to say how much he owed to the expertise of others, but there is no doubt his own experience and expertise was invaluable in setting up the Friends and our objectives remain exactly as he first spelt them out in the early 1980s. He was indefatigable in maintaining the primacy of the original objectives of the Friends, which we still spell out every year in the Annual Report.

Even with substantial subventions having been given in the past few years to the repair of the fleche which crowns the Cathedral and the refurbishment of the Cathedral Hall, the amount of our endowment stands as an extraordinary memorial to the foresight and skill of Tony Whale and his fellow Council members in those early days. We are told that the existence of the endowment, almost unique in the Catholic world in England, is a source of considerable admiration and even envy on the part of other Deans of Cathedrals around the country – a lasting and tangible example of Tony’s constructive caring and creativity.

Patrick Burgess

CANON TIM’S REPORT Since the last report in the Autumn, the Cathedral has had joyous moments and poignant moments. The Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door by Bishop Richard has been a key moment in the life of the Diocese, moving from our diocesan jubilee year into a time of new beginnings. For the Cathedral, apart from keeping flowers secure around the Holy Door in storm-force winds (which we have done very successfully) we are now in the New Year and are beginning to see an upsurge in visits and pilgrimages.

So far, Rye Parish, a men’s group from St Richard’s Parish in Chichester, St Andrew’s Anglican Parish at Bishopstone (Seaford), a group from the Sussex Heritage Centre, Forestgate parish from East London. Numerous individuals have been on pilgrimage, as well as the ‘Day with Mary’ group from London and our own Cathedral Deanery. Various parishes from across the diocese and beyond are starting to book in for future visits.

Of the more poignant times as well as a number of parish funerals we have celebrated the Requiem Mass for our Provost, Tony Whale. Tony was the Administrator of Arundel Cathedral from 1983 to 2001, and was elected the Provost (head of the Chapter of Canons) on 2 November 2009.

Three of Tony’s greatest achievements while in Arundel were the cleaning of the interior stonework of the Cathedral in 1999, the erection of The Friends of Arundel Cathedral, and his devotion to the work of Christian Unity, which he carried on in his subsequent parishes. His funeral was attended by over 500 people and he was laid to rest by Bishop Richard and Cardinal Cormac in our cemetery next to the Cathedral Centre.

Maintenance works Maintenance of the Cathedral buildings continue. The re-leaded windows reworked under the First World War Centenary Fund unfortunately leaked during the severe adverse weather conditions in January. We called in the glazing contractors who did some remedial work but really couldn’t find any reason, and needless to say the windows haven’t leaked since. While the contractors were in the building they did one or two unconnected glazing repairs, and examined other windows in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and in the south side of the apse which have also started to leak. A plan was subsequently drawn up by the architect, using some of the money unused from the First World War Centenary Fund. This work began in the Spring and will be finished by the beginning of July.

Pigeon control measures are uppermost in our minds with the need to upgrade measures on the western frontage of the Cathedral and on the ledges near where the scaffolding was for the window repairs on the south side. The architect is planning to hire for half a day a cherry picker to survey the frontage and for use by the ‘pigeon man’ to look at re-netting and/or ‘firepots’.

Externally, the stone front bench which has now been damaged at least three times in the last year and a half has been repaired once again but thought is being given to redesigning it to stop future accidents. The gravel on the north side of the Cathedral where Bishop Richard parks his car has also been renewed to stop in the ingress of weeds.

A suitable design for the lamps on the gate posts beside the new front gates has finally been worked out (based on the original Victorian design) between the architect and contractors and these have now been put into production.

Other events In the life of the town, the community welcomed the new vicar, the Rev David Twinley to St Nicholas, at his induction which the Cathedral clergy team attended on Friday 5th February. The vicar has subsequently joined us for Stations of the Cross which is shared by the Cathedral and St Nicholas’ Church during the Lent season, and for other ecumenical events.

The Friends of Arundel Cathedral held a very successful Advent Vespers on Sunday 6th December. They cordially invite you to the Summer Vespers in the Fitzalan Chapel which will be followed by refreshments in the Priory Gardens on Friday 15th July. The music will be provided by the Lewes choir who led the liturgy a few years ago.

Other events recently celebrated is Corpus Christi on Thursday 26th May and naturally the theme was the Year of Mercy. The Jubilarians’ Mass was celebrated on Wednesday 8th June at 12 noon and on Tuesday 21st June, Arundel will host the Council of Priests’ Meeting. Bishop Richard will be hearing confessions for the Year of Mercy on Friday 8th July and again on Saturday 10th September which will coincide with his formal visitation to the parish on that weekend. He will again hear confessions on Saturday 8th October and will dine with the Catholic Cathedral Deans’ Conference of England and Wales on Monday 10th October in Cathedral House. The

Bishop will celebrate the solemnity of St Philip Howard on Sunday 16th October and this will be followed by the Friends of Arundel Cathedral tea and AGM. So altogether a busy year ahead, but one full of opportunity for the Cathedral and the Diocese.

With my best wishes Canon Tim Madeley, Cathedral Dean

H and C initials displayed in the carpet of flowers in honour of the marriage in the Cathedral this summer of Henry, Earl of Arundel, to Cecilia.

The Friends of Arundel Cathedral registered as a company Limited by guarantee and not having a share capital (No 3792834) Registered Charity No 1078149 The Friends’ Office, Cathedral House, Parsons Hill, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9AY Telephone: 01903 884567, Email: aruncathfriends@btconnect.com