AIM

The award winning re-ordering of the West Entrance of Chester Cathedral enables a journey to begin, starting at the new cast bronze and glass Pilgrim Porch, an innovative design that sees the Cathedral’s great oak west doors open and welcoming.

The journey continues down newly shaped steps and handrails to the restored 17C black limestone font. In this setting the font is at a significant crossing point of the Cathedral, drawing visitors to it.

The aspiration was to visually reflect the Cathedral’s height in its bowl of water, but the lightness in colour of the bowl and the degradation of the water made this unsatisfactory. The design solution was to create an insert that sat within the bowl, creating the desired mirror effect and importantly recycling the water to keep it fresh.

DESIGN

The bronze casting of the font insert picked up the style, colouring and shell motif of the Pilgrim Porch. It also contained an inscription in contrasting raised text - ‘For by one spirit we are all baptised into one body’

The engineering of the font insert enables the Cathedral Vergers to raise the bowl through a trapezoidal screw, winding up to reveal a power inlet used to charge an internal battery used to power the water pump.

MAKING

Working in the bronze, to create the textures, before the patina. Setting up the pump and testing the water flow.

CHESTER CATHEDRAL

It has been fascinating watching how visitors are immediately drawn to the font and captivated by the reflection and movement of water. It seems that a very simple object can offer something of real substance to the life and mission of the cathedral.