STATUES UNVEILED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23070, 22 June 1938, Page 7

STATUES UNVEILED

CEREMONY AT NORWICH RESTORATION OF CLOISTERS QUEEN ELIZABETH'S SPEECH [from our correspondent] LONDON, June 4 Queen Elizabeth went to Norwich, from Sandringliam, to um#jil statues of the King and herself in the restored cloisters of the cathedral. The beauty of the Caen stone has been obscured for years by soot and grime. Tho restoration work took four years. Ihe Queen herself was responsible for the restoration of one bay. Prior to tho cathedral ceremony, the Queen took luncheon at tho deanery with the Dean and Mrs. Cranage. Table napkins used when the first Queen Elizabeth dined in 1578 in the north cloister were lent by Mr.'and Mrs. Blofield, in whose family they have been preserved for many years. A dozen were made for the original occasion, but after the departure of Queen Elizabeth only 11 could be found, an early souvenir hunter having appropriated one. They are larger than the modern napkin, and are in a conventional ludor damask design, now worn to a velvety thinness, but still showing a crown on each. After luncheon, the Queeri walked to tho cathedral, outside which she inspected a guard of honour of 200 ex-ser-vice men. Members of tho Voterans' Association sounded a fanfare, and after various presentations at the gate and the west door of the cathedral the Queen took her place in the procession at the nave, her flag behind flown from the top of tho spire. Maximilian Throne At the service the Queen sat on the throne, believed to have been made for the Emperor Maximilian in 1512, which had been placed beside the bishop's throne. Afterward sho walked in procession from the great west door to the throne with the bishop, Dr. Pollock, the dean and chapter, and other officers of the cathedral. The Maximilian throne is made of sandal wood, inlaid with pearl and ivory. The bishop's throne, of stone, is part of the original church built by Herbert de Losinga. It is claimed that there is no such throne in Europe north of Venice. The throne dates from the time when the bishops sat behind the high altar. During the singing of the hymn "Jerusalem tho Golden'* tho Queen passed through the south transept and the prior's doorway into the cloister, supported by the bishop and dean, and followed by the robed clergy, the Lord Mayor and corporation, and the subscribers. Queen's Speech In the south-west corner of the cloister the dean asked the Queen to declare tho cloister open and unveil the statues of herself and the King. For these miniature figures in white Portland stone the King and Queen, in their Coronation robes, gave a number of sittings to Mr. Gilbert Ledward, R.A. They are about 2ft. 6in. high, the King's statuo being slightly higher than that of the Queen. Tho statues were given by Sir Henry Holmes, who also restored the bay -in which they are placed. Tho dean declared the cloister open and Queen Elizabeth replied: "It is a very real pleasure to me to visit this great cathedral, the mother church of tho dioceso in which our homo at Sandringliam lies. I rejoice to see the ancient cloisters restored to their old beauty, and I congratulate tho dean and chapter on tho work which, aided by many friends of tho cathedral, they have accomplished so successfully. I am proud and glad to unveil these statues of the King and myself, and to open I the beautiful old cloisters once again I to tho glory of God and for tho delight of many generations yet to come." The Te Deum had been composed for the occasion by the cathedral organist. Dr. Heathcote Statham, and a copy bound in red leather was placed on the Queen's desk. Toast in Mead In the north walk to tho bay restored by Lord Leicester, high steward of the cathedral, a small table had been arranged, on which one of the precious Elizabethan napkins was laid and a salver with a decanter of mead and some 18th century funnel-shaped port glasses from tho dean's house. The Queen had expressed a wish to taste mead, and Lieutenant-Colonel Purely, of Aylsham, who makes it, was there to explain tho old drink dating from Saxon times. The Queen drank tho dean's health and expressed herself delighted with the smooth, silky liquor. Colonel Purdy, wlio began to keep bees on his return from the war, has his own recipe for mead. He boils 41b. of honey in. a gallon of water, with the rind of two lemons. This is strained and casked; when at the proper temperature brewer's yeast is added. It is bunged up and left for six months beforo bottling. Tho mead served to tho Queen was about 12 years old.