Our Churches and Chapels: Their Parsons, Priests, & Congregations: Being a Critical and Historical Account of Every Place of Worship in PrestonAtticus
History
Our Churches and Chapels: Their Parsons, Priests, & Congregations: Being a Critical and Historical Account of Every Place of Worship in Preston
Atticus
Preston (Lancashire, England) -- Church history
The interior of the church wears a somewhat similar complexion; but
it improves by observation, and in the end you like it for its
thorough simplicity. No place of worship can in its internal
arrangements be much plainer than St. George's. If it were not for
three stained windows in the chancel, which you can but faintly make
out at a distance, nothing which could by any possibility be termed
ornamental would at first sight strike you. On reaching the centre
of the place you get a moderately clear view of the pulpit which
somewhat edifies the mind; and, on turning right round, you see a
magnificent organ which compensates for multitudes of defects, and
below it--in front of the orchestra--a rather powerful
representation of the royal arms, a massive lion and unicorn,
"fighting for the crown" as usual, and got up in polished wood work.
We see no reason why there should not be something put up
contiguously, emblematic of St. George and the dragon. It is very
unfair to the saint and unjust to the dragon to ignore them
altogether--The Ten Commandments are put on one side in this church-
-not done away with, but erected in a lateral position, very near a
corner and somewhat out of the way. One of the historians previously
quoted says that St. George's used to be "heated by what is commonly
called a cockle"--some sort of a warmth radiating apparatus, which
he describes minutely and with apparent pleasure. We have not
inquired specially as to the fate of this cockle. It may still have
an existence in the sacred edifice, or it may have given way, as all
cockles must do in the end, whether in churches or private houses,
to hot-water arrangements. The pews in St. George's are of the old,
fashioned, patriarchal character. They are of all sizes an
irregularity quite refreshing peculiarises them; there are hardly
two alike in the building; and a study of the laws of variety must
have been made by those who had the management of their
construction. Private interests and family requirements have
probably regulated the size of them. Some of the pews are narrow and
hard to get into--a struggle has to be made before you can fairly
take possession; others are broader and easier to enter: a few are
very capacious and might be legitimately licensed to carry a dozen
inside with safety; nearly all or them are lined with green baize,
much of which is now getting into the sere and yellow leaf period of
life; many of them are well-cushioned--green being the favourite
colour; and in about the same number Brussels carpets may be found.
There is a quiet, secluded coziness about the pews; the sides are
high; the fronts come up well; nobody can see much of you if care is
taken; and a position favourable to either recumbent ease or
horizontal sleep may be assumed in several of them with safety. The
general windows, excepting those in the chancel, are very plain; and
if it were not for a rim of amber-coloured glass here and there and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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