Ronald Emett Church Furniture

Featured project: St Mary's Church, Beaminster, Dorset

The latest group of ecclesiastical furniture that I have made for St Mary's Beaminster is the new nave altar and a pair of tall candle stands, completed in 2015. For many years St Mary's has had a nave altar on a carpeted dais, but the heavy wooden altar was getting so rickety and worm-eaten that it eventually had to go.

The decision was made to replace the old nave altar with a more portable version, lighter in both colour and weight. The new one is hand made in maple wood, its arched legs reflecting the structure of the Edwardian oak choir screen behind it. Concealed in the base of each leg is a wooden roller. These allow the altar to be moved sideways very easily, but not forward or backward (which restriction is a comfort to many a celebrant).

This altar is designed not to have any frontal or other covering, except of course for 'a fair white linen cloth' for the communion service. Purity exemplified!

Accompanying the altar are two tall candle stands, turned in maple with a couple of decorative details in deep blue lacquer and gold leaf.

These latest pieces are designed to complement another two candle stands I made a few years back: a Paschal candle stand and an Advent candle stand. The Paschal stand is quite tall but the Advent stand is purposely low, so that young children can light the candles with ease on each Sunday during Advent, then finally on Christmas Day. The decoration is again in deep blue lacquer and gold leaf, the candle holders being made of bronze.