Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.
230, Bonney Street, New Bedford, MA 02744.
Telephone: 508-993-4704.
Fax: 508-991-5536.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Web-Site can be found
28 October, 2026
Zephyrinus Contemplates New Choir Stalls For The Private Chapel In Zephyrinus Mansion. Readers Are Invited To State Their Preference. Perkins (Chauffeur) And Jeeves (Butler) Refuse To Do The Wax Polishing.
Ely Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Illustration:
Rochester Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Text and Illustration: ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL
Charles Tracy studies the exceptional Early- 13th-Century Choir Stalls and associated timber furniture, with drawings and carpentry notes by Cecil Hewett. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1994-1995.
The survival of Choir-Stalls before the 14th-Century in Northern Europe is a great rarity. In Germany, there are
some 12th-Century Stalls at Ratzeburg, near Lübeck.
Such survivors from the Early-Gothic period, as there were
by the 18th-Century in France, Belgium, and Germany, were either replaced with Baroque furniture, or succumbed to the depredations of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.
Some of the fine Early 13th-Century Choir Stalls from Lausanne Cathedral still huddle inappropriately and uncertainly in the South Nave Aisle.
In France, one can only point to the Mid-13th-Century
Choir Stalls in the small Abbey Church of Notra Dame de la Roche, Le Mensil Saint Denis, South of Paris.
In England, a complete set of Choir Stalls of this period
survive at Salisbury Cathedral, and three Oak Columns with Stiff-Leaf Foliage, possibly from an Early-Gothic set of
Choir Stalls at Peterborough Abbey.
A complete set of Choir Stalls, albeit of almost entirely
18th-Century workmanship, and dating from as early
as circa 1227, is found at Rochester Cathedral.
Lincoln Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Text and Illustration: FLICKR/AIDAN McRAE THOMSON
Lincoln Cathedral has a strong claim to being England’s
finest Mediæval building, being one of the most ambitious
and beautifully designed and adorned Cathedrals in Europe,
a real masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
The Cathedral also boasts some of the finest Mediæval woodwork in the Country in its superb Choir Stalls, extensively carved with Canopies with Misericords
(though, sadly, the latter are rarely on show).
Bristol Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Illustration: HEATHER ON HER TRAVELS
Photo: 13 March 2008.
Source: Own work.
Uploaded by: NotFromUtrecht
Author:
Heather Cowper from Bristol, U.K.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia.
The three rows of Choir Stalls are mostly from the
Late-19th-Century, with Flamboyant traceried ends. There
are also twenty-eight Misericords, dating from 1515 to 1526, installed by Robert Elyot, Abbot of Saint Augustine’s,
with carvings largely based on Aesop's Fables.[62]
Salisbury Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Illustration: PINTEREST
Durham Cathedral Choir Stalls.
Text and Illustration: DURHAM CATHEDRAL
Bishop John Cosin commissioned the Choir Stalls
lining the North and South Walls of the Quire (Choir)
in the Mid-17th-Century.
After a Century of conflict and war, the Cathedral showed signs of damage. Most of the woodwork had been burned by Scottish Prisoners-of-War, trying to keep warm while imprisoned here in 1640.
In 1665, Cosin commissioned architect James Clement of Durham to design new Choir Stalls in a style that was unique to County Durham.
The design included Gothic Canopies, likely to be inspired
by the Neville Screen, nearby. The Columns that hold up
the Canopies are slender and decorated at the top
with Scroll shapes.
Some of the Stalls in the Quire (Choir) are reserved for senior members of the Cathedral Foundation and Latin inscriptions show where their seats are.
There are also Latin inscriptions along the base of the front rows, based on Psalm 150 and which link praising Godwith music: “Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness . . . Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs”.
The seats in the back rows have carved Misericords or “Mercy Seats” beneath. These provide a seating ledge, used for a quick rest from standing during lengthy Services.
Underneath the Misericords are detailed carvings, often depicting Religious scenes and stories or mythical creatures.
The only Mediæval Misericord at Durham Cathedral
dates from the 13th-Century, and shows the Eagle of
Saint John the Evangelist.
Maulbronn Monastery, Germany.
Text and Illustrations: MAULBRONN MONASTERY
Maulbronn Monastery (Kloster Maulbronn) is one of Europe’s most complete and best preserved Mediæval monasteries.
It combines a multitude of architectural styles,
from Romanesque to Late-Gothic.
The Gothic Choir Stalls are directly behind the
East Choir Screen, offering seating for ninety-two Monks.
Elaborate carvings adorn the Stalls, which originated in
the Mid-15th-Century. The Stalls were disassembled and
re-assembled during restorations in the 19th-Century.
The reliefs along the sides of the Choir Stalls warrant a closer look. The Master Carver responsible for this work is unknown.
Perhaps he was one of the Wood Carvers associated with famous Ulm Sculptor, Hans Multscher. There is other Carved artwork to be discovered on the Stalls: Several students from the Evangelical Monastic School have carved their names here.
The Abbot was seated on the Sedilia in the Choir, flanked
to the Right and Left by Deacons. This prominent Seat was considered part of the Choir Stalls and was reserved
for the most important members of the Monastery.
The Late-Gothic Seat is decorated with bands depicting numerous animals and mythical creatures. To either side
are Coats-of-Arms belonging to the Monastery Founders and the Monastery, itself. The tall Side Panels are adorned
with Fruit-Bearing Grapevines.
Choir Stalls, Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.
Stalles de la basilique Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venise.
Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari à Venise.
Photo: 19 August 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT
(Wikimedia Commons)
17th-Century Choir Stalls, Pontigny Abbey, France.
Stalles dans l’abbatiale de Pontigny, France.
Photo: 14 April 2013.
Source: Own work.
Author: Michel FOUCHER
(Wikimedia Commons)
Illustration showing 14th-Century Choir Stalls
at Andlau Abbey, Alsace, France.
16th Century (1856) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879).
This File: 13 January 2014.
User: Vieux têtard
(Wikimedia Commons)
Photo: 29 September 2016.
Source: Own work.
Author: José Luiz.
Attribution:
© José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro /
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Simon And Saint Jude. Apostles. Feast Day, Today, 28 October. Red Vestments.
unless otherwise stated.
Saint Simon and Saint Jude.
Apostles.
Feast Day 28 October.
Double of The Second-Class.
Red Vestments.
Saint Simon and Saint Jude.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: René de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.
Jude, or Thaddeus, had asked The Master, at The Last Supper, why He manifested Himself to The Apostles and not to the World. Jesus answered that He only manifested Himself to Souls who show Him their fidelity by observing His Commandments.
While Simon announced the Gospel to the peoples of The East, Jude wrote his catholic Epistle, which is still read in The West, and "which", declares Origen, "contains strong Doctrine in a few lines".
In the first part, he foretells the condemnation of heretics; he compares them to clouds without water, to Autumn trees without fruit, and to wandering stars, for whom profound darkness is apportioned for all Eternity. Like the rebel Angels, they shall burn for ever in avenging flames.
In the second part, he exhorts The Faithful not to be deceived by the seducers, but to remain firm in their Faith in God and Christ. ["My well-beloved, rising like an edifice on the Foundation of your Holy Faith and Praying by The Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God."
The Archangel Saint Michael, Saint Jude again declares, was established by The Most High as Guardian of The Tomb of Moses. Having, on this occasion, to fight with Satan, probably to hinder him taking possession of the Prophet's body, out of respect for his Angelical dignity, he left to God to condemn him Himself, saying: "May The Lord rebuke him."
The Church puts these very words on the lips of the Priests in The Prayers of Pope Leo XIII, which are said after Low Mass at the foot of the Altar. (Editor: The Leonine Prayers.)]
Mass: Mihi autem.
Creed.
Preface: Of The Apostles.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
According to Tradition, Saint Jude suffered Martyrdom, about 65 A.D., in Beirut, in the Roman Province of Syria, together with the Apostle, Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolises the way in which he was killed.
Their Acts and Martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude, that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, Bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple, Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the Saints.
Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a Crypt in Saint Peter's Basilica, which was visited by many devotees. Now, his bones are in the Left Transept of Saint Peter's Basilica, under the main Altar of Saint Joseph, in one tomb with the remains of the Apostle Simon the Zealot.
The Church puts these very words on the lips of the Priests in The Prayers of Pope Leo XIII, which are said after Low Mass at the foot of the Altar. (Editor: The Leonine Prayers.)]
Mass: Mihi autem.
Creed.
Preface: Of The Apostles.
English:
Church of Saint Simon and Saint Jude (Thaddeus),
Polski: Koścół z XIII wieku.
Date: 24 March 2006 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from pl.wikipedia to Commons.
Author: The boss at Polish Wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
According to Tradition, Saint Jude suffered Martyrdom, about 65 A.D., in Beirut, in the Roman Province of Syria, together with the Apostle, Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolises the way in which he was killed.
Their Acts and Martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude, that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, Bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple, Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the Saints.
Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a Crypt in Saint Peter's Basilica, which was visited by many devotees. Now, his bones are in the Left Transept of Saint Peter's Basilica, under the main Altar of Saint Joseph, in one tomb with the remains of the Apostle Simon the Zealot.
Saint Thaddeus (Jude), Saint Sandukht,
and other Christians in Sanatruk's prison.
This File: 14 December 2009.
User: 517design
Source: Armenian History in Italian Art -
Հայոց Պատմության Էջեր.
Author: Fusaro (19th-Century).
(Wikipedia)
27 October, 2026
TODAY MARKS THE 59TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF THE ABORTION ACT. OVER ELEVEN MILLION BABIES ABORTED.
“IT IS NOT THE INTENTION OF THE PROMOTERS OF THE BILL TO LEAVE A WIDE-OPEN DOOR TO ABORTION ON REQUEST” !!!
Illustration: VOICE FOR JUSTICE U.K.
THE VOICE FOR JUSTICE U.K. WEB-SITE CAN BE FOUND
IF I DO NOT SPEAK FOR THESE LITTLE ONES
. . . WHO WILL ?
“IT IS NOT THE INTENTION OF THE PROMOTERS
OF THE BILL TO LEAVE A WIDE-OPEN DOOR
TO ABORTION ON REQUEST” !!!
REALLY ???
WHAT WENT WRONG ???
ONE WONDERS WHETHER THE PROMOTERS OF THE BILL WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN WHAT WENT WRONG ?
OVER ELEVEN MILLION BABIES
DENIED THEIR CHANCE OF LIFE.
OVER ELEVEN MILLION BABIES ABORTED.
ONE WONDERS WHETHER THE PROMOTERS OF THE BILL WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAIN WHAT WENT WRONG ?
TODAY MARKS THE 59TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE PASSING OF THE ABORTION ACT.
ILLUSTRATION: RIGHT TO LIFE.
RIGHT TO LIFE WEB-SITE CAN BE FOUND
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
THE GOOD COUNSEL NETWORK WEB-SITE CAN BE FOUND
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN CAN BE FOUND
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Development And Character Of Gothic Architecture.
Notre-Dame de Paris.
Text, unless stated otherwise, from:
Development And Character Of Gothic Architecture.
By: Charles Herbert Moore.
Published: 1890.
Publisher: London, MacMillan.
Collection: Robarts. Toronto.
University of Toronto.
This Choir of Canterbury (above) (Fig. 71) is the real beginning of what Gothic there is in the Pointed Architecture of England.
From it, as the main source at least, is derived
what is commonly known as the Early English Style.
It is in five Bays, and is Vaulted with one Quadripartite and two Sexpartite compartments. These Vaults are provided with Transverse and Diagonal Ribs, but without Longitudinal Ribs.
The Transverse Ribs only are Pointed. The Vaulting Shafts correspond in number with the Ribs to be carried — there are three in the main group and one in the intermediate Pier.
The single Shaft in the intermediate Pier was probably derived from Sens Cathedral, where the Longitudinal Rib Shaft is carried on the Clerestory Ledge, rendering a single support
for the intermediate Transverse Rib all that is necessary.
We see that this single Vaulting Shaft subsequently became frequent in England, where, with little constructive propriety, it is made to carry three Ribs of Quadripartite Vaults.
The criticism which early Gothic façades, like the Cathedral
of Notre-Dame de Paris, sometimes receive, as wanting
in Gothic character, is not well founded.
The façade of Notre-Dame de Paris (Fig. 60, above) is
one of the most Gothic, as it is also one of the grandest
of structures of this kind.
It is certainly the most remarkable façade that had been erected up to its time; and for dignity, sobriety, and extreme beauty of details, it has hardly been surpassed.
Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen.
Photo: 8 February 2005.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence.
Author: Urban
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen, also known as Abbaye
aux Hommes (“Men’s Abbey”), by contrast with the
Abbaye aux Dames (“Ladies’ Abbey”), is a former
Normandy, dedicated to Saint Stephen.
It was Founded in 1063[1] by William the Conqueror and one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Normandy.
(Wikipedia)
The general scheme of design is still the same as in the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen; but such is the treatment of its elements that the Gothic spirit is manifest in every part.
Its large divisions are admirably proportioned and beautifully sub-divided. The Romanesque characteristics have completely disappeared from the Apertures, Arcades, and even from the Moulding profiles, while, in Senlis Cathedral, the Romanesque profiles are largely retained.
At Notre-Dame de Paris, three majestic Portals on the Ground Storey, above them a great Central Rose Window, flanked on each side by twin Pointed Apertures, and a Circle embraced by an encompassing Arch, a magnificent Shafted Arcade, sheltering twenty-eight Sculptured Statues, dividing these Storeys, an elegant, though gigantic, Open Arcade over all, and the two Towers, each pierced by coupled Pointed Openings, rising one Storey higher, make up a most impressive architectural composition.
Senlis Cathedral, Picardy.
Photo: 14 April 2015.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence.
Attribution: Photo by DAVID ILIFF.
Licence:
Author: Diliff
(Wikimedia Commons)
The magnificence, without extravagance, of the still-richer façade of Amiens Cathedral (Fig. 61) is, in some respects, beyond all praise.
Amiens Cathedral.
Illustration: INTERNET ARCHIVE
In addition to the leading features of Notre-Dame de Paris, Amiens Cathedral has Gables over its three vast Portals; these Gables are advanced, so as to be even with the outer faces of the Buttresses — an arrangement which adds greatly to the depth of the Archivolts, and converts the lower portions of the Buttresses into Doorway Jambs.
Beneath the Arcade of sculptured Statues, is an elegant open Arcaded Gallery; while the great open Arcade of the top Storey of Notre-Dame de Paris gives place, here at Amiens, to two superposed lesser Arcades connecting the Towers above the Cornice.
It is sadly to be regretted that the Great Rose Stained-Glass Window has lost its original Tracery — the existing Flamboyant Tracery wholly disagreeing with the spirit of the rest of the design.
In this façade, Wall - Spaces are everywhere in effect suppressed, and the Gothic character is everywhere strongly emphasised.
Indeed, this façade, like the Interior which it encloses, marks the culmination of Gothic art in its entirely normal condition.
Reims Cathedral.
Photo: 7 August 2022.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the
Share Alike 4.0 International Licence.
Author: Gennadii Saus i Segura
(Wikimedia Commons)
It is hard to speak critically of so marvellous a structure as the façade of the Cathedral of Reims. The period of its Foundation (1260) was a time when the vitality and spontaneity of the Gothic movement were, in great measure, spent; and the signs of waning life are not wanting in this monument.
It has qualities, however, which almost entitle it to a first place among Gothic façades.
The 1882 Queen Victoria £5 Orange Stamp. Acquiring The Holy Grail. The Queen Of Stamps.
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Illustration: STANLEY GIBBONS
Illustration: COLONIAL STAMP COMPANY
The following Text is from LINN’S STAMP NEWS
By David Alderfer.
The 1882 £5 Orange Queen Victoria High Value Stamp (Scott 93) is known to many collectors, who specialise in Great Britain Stamps, as The Holy Grail of British Stamps. In May 2015, I acquired an example of this sought-after Stamp.
When I began collecting Great Britain Stamps, more than thirty-five years ago, The £5 Orange Victoria was my ultimate desire. However, I believed that it was unlikely that I would ever possess one. Its cost, several thousand dollars for a used example, seemed prohibitive. A mint example was out of the question.
I am now retired. Major expenses of living, such as house, car, and retirement savings, are fulfilled. An inheritance from my father - also an avid stamp collector - finally made it financially possible for me to consider buying an example of this Stamp.
A trip to London in May 2015, to attend the Europhilex Stamp Exhibition, gave me an opportunity to shop and select from among about fifty used examples that dealers offered for sale. I found and purchased The £5 Orange Victoria, shown above, paying $2,370.
Before putting out that much money, I did research on my intended purchase. The definitive research, on The £5 Orange Victoria, is an award-winning 312-page, hardbound, colour-illustrated book, published in 2013 by Stanley Gibbons Ltd., entitled “The £5 Orange”, by John Horsey. It costs £75 (about $112).
Postage Stamp. In the 1880s, rates for some Overseas Telegrams were very high. Telegrams to Bermuda, for example, cost £1 4 shillings 4 pence per word.
A message of just four words cost more than £5, hence the need for a £5 Telegraph Stamp to receipt payments of high charges.
On 31 October 1881, the special series of labels designated to receipt payments of Telegrams was withdrawn from use. Thereafter, Postage Stamps were used to receipt payment of Telegrams.
Because there was no £5 Postage Stamp, and because high-cost Telegrams were still being sent, the Post Office decided to print its first £5 Postage Stamp, which could also be used to receipt Telegrams.
To save the cost of making a new design and plate, the Post Office took the plate that had been used to print £5 Telegraph Stamps and modified it to print £5 Postage Stamps.
The modification was to mill out the word “Telegraphs” over the profile of The Queen and make a second plate to print the word “Postage,” flanked by key pattern ornaments, to fill the wide space left by the deletion of “Telegraphs.”
Very few of the High-Value Postage Stamps were actually used to pay Postage. Horsey identifies and illustrates only three examples for which a “beyond doubt” Postal Use can be proven.
Of the 2,712 used examples he examined, only three were likely applied to heavy, registered parcels commanding High Postage.
Most used £5 Orange Queen Victoria Postage Stamps in the hands of collectors were used to receipt Telegrams after the Telegraph version was withdrawn from use.
These often bear Boxed Cancels, in addition to Circular Date Stamps of the Sending Telegraph Offices. Many examples of the Box Cancels bear the abbreviation T.A.B., which stands for Telegraphs Accounts Branch.
A second popular use of the Postage Version was internal accounting. The Stamps were used to receipt bulk mail payments, so customers could pay total Postage Due without having to apply individual Stamps to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of the same item.
According to Horsey, the Cancellation on my Used £5 Orange Postage Stamp, shown with this Article, indicates the Stamp was likely used to receipt the payment in Belfast of Excise Tax on Whiskey or Tobacco.
Serendipitously, I met Horsey in front of his five-frame £5 Orange Queen Victoria exhibit at Europhilex in London in May 2015. We introduced ourselves, and then he commented on noteworthy features of his exhibit.
Our exchange was most cordial, as often are conversations between fellow Stamp Collectors about their passions.
Horsey’s well-researched and illustrated book gives many interesting facts about this classic British Stamp. For example, only 246,759 Stamps were issued to Post Offices for use over its life of twenty-one years.
He estimates that around 8,000 are still in existence today. This is a relatively small number of surviving examples, which is one reason the Stamp commands high prices.
Most of these survivors were illicitly liberated from security waste paper scrap intended for destruction by pulping.
Acquiring The Holy Grail is a milestone. Acquisition brings with it a great deal of satisfaction and pride of place. But I also feel a dream, a lifelong challenge, has ended.
What now ?
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