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The Chapel of St George and the English Martyrs

St George was a Roman solider, put to death for his Christian faith about 320AD. His cult was brought to England by the Crusaders, and King Edward III made him patron of England in the fourteenth century.


The shield of St George in marble and the rose motif mark this as the chapel for England.
In this Chapel, which awaits its mosaic decoration, we pray for England, and for those who have witnessed to their Catholic faith in our land.

In the centre of the floor is a rose, symbol of England; the rose motif is continued behind the altar and around the walls. Either side of the altar the red cross of St George is displayed on marble shields. Panels list servicemen who gave their lives in battle, and who are prayed for in the Cathedral.


The altarpiece by Eric Gill.
On the facing wall is a carving of St George, patron of England, by Lindsey Clarke. Above the altar is the last carving of Eric Gill. It portrays Christ on the cross, not suffering, but gloriously triumphant over death; to his left stands St Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, and to his right St John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. Both men were executed in 1535 for their refusal to deny the Supremacy of the Pope under King Henry VIII.


The reliquary of St John Southworth.
In a shrine by the grill lies St John Southworth, martyred in 1654 at Tyburn (now Marble Arch) for his Catholic faith. His body was brought to the Cathedral in 1930.

At the entrance to the Chapel is a mosaic representing Christ the Divine Healer, erected in 1952 in memory of the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Outside the Chapel, a new mosaic records St Alban, the first to shed his blood for the Christian faith in England. Alban was a Roman soldier who sheltered, and then changed places with, a priest. When arrested, he refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and was martyred. The mosaic, by Christopher Hobbs, was unveiled in June 2001.

Lord, we pray for England
And for all those who
witness to the Gospel in this land.
May all Christians work to heal
divisions within the Church,
So that together we may bear witness to Jesus Christ.


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The marble walls and floor were completed in 1931.


The life-size figure of St George takes its place
as chief patron of the Chapel.

 

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