Altar frontals
There are three working altars in the Chapel of the Nine Altars, dedicated to St Margaret, St Aidan and St Hild.
They each have decorated altar frontals, textile screens that cover the front of the altar facing the congregation. The frontals were all made by the Cathedral Broderers, a group of volunteer embroiderers who work on repairing and creating new textiles for use within the Cathedral.
History
St Margaret Altar Frontal
- St Margaret of Scotland was known for her piety and charity, and was already thought of as a saint before her death. Prior Turgot of Durham wrote the story of her life, and some of her relics were housed here at Durham Cathedral before the Reformation.
- The frontal on her altar was designed by Scottish textile artist Malcolm Lochhead and made by the Cathedral Broderers in 2005.
- The design includes several references to Margaret’s life. It includes a book, as she was said to always carry one with her; a crown, as she was a queen; and a heart, representing love and charity. It also includes a black cross, a reference to the ‘Black Rood’, believed to be a relic of the True Cross that Margaret had brought to Scotland on her marriage to King Malcolm.
- The set of kneeler cushions made to match the frontal feature the design of a flowing river, together with the names of three rivers particularly associated with Margaret. First the Danube, from her birthplace in Hungary, then the Forth, from her home in Scotland, and finally the Wear, here in Durham.
St Aidan Altar Frontal
- Known as ‘the Apostle of Northumbria’, St Aidan was an Irish monk from the community of Iona, who founded the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, becoming its Bishop.
- Designed by Leonard Childs in 1994, the frontal on the Aidan altar reflects the nature and wildlife Aidan would have seen on Lindisfarne. The overlapping panels are decorated with birds, animals, flowers and sea creatures such as anemones and shells.
- The two corners feature larger, more exotic creatures: a lion, based on the Sanctuary Ring on the North Door at Durham, and a wolf, together with smaller details taken from the Lindisfarne Gospels manuscript.
- Behind the altar, set into three of the wall niches, are panels that continue the themes in the frontal. The centre panel features symbols relating to Aidan’s life, such as his bishops’ crozier or staff, and a horse he gave to a beggar. The left side panel includes symbols relating to St Cuthbert, and the right side is decorated with symbols for the Venerable Bede.
St Hild Altar frontal
- Hild (or Hilda) is one of the region’s best known saints. The frontal on her altar was designed and made in the 1980s by the Cathedral Broderers. The pattern and colours mimic the sea and sky, while the design includes details taken from stories about Hild’s life and work, such as ammonites, the coiled shells of ancient sea creatures that are widely found as fossils on the coast at Whitby.
- Legend has it that they were originally snakes which had overrun Hild’s monastery. She prayed and they all curled up and turned to stone, then Hild and her nuns gathered them up and threw them over the cliff, where they can still be found on the beach today.
- Accompanying the frontal is a set of kneeler cushions that include the names of the three monasteries Hild founded: at South Shields, Hartlepool and Whitby. The design shows sections of the north east coastline, as if viewed from above, with the locations of the monasteries marked.
Things to look for
Pearls
- St Margaret was known as ‘the Pearl of Scotland’, and the heart on her altar frontal is decorated with pearls to reflect this. However, they are also a link with another queen, Elizabeth II.
- When the then Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress was made in 1947, it was decorated with 10,000 seed pearls. Some pearls were left over and the designer, Norman Hartnell, divided them between the seamstresses who had worked on the gown.
- One of the seamstresses gifted the pearls to the Cathedral, and later it was decided to use them on St Margaret's altar frontal. Some were also used for the St Aidan altar frontal, and the textile panel on the wall behind it.
Follow the guided tour
You’re in: The Chapel of the Nine Altars You’re at: Altar frontals Next stop: St Hild Icon
- Next to the Hild Altar is a framed artwork
- This is the Hild Icon