Recent Catherines

On a day when one of the greatest churches of Christendom burns, posting a few images of my patron saint recently discovered on my travels is a distraction. The first two come from St Nicolas in Guildford.

On the west wall, behind the great Gothic font cover, there is a mural of an array of saints. Very oddly, as you can see, it's painted directly onto the brickwork. Catherine's wheel is picked out in gold and the whole thing has a very amateur look to it - as with the church as a whole, I've yet to discover its history. That's St Agnes you can glimpse to Catherine's right, holding her lamb.

I knew about the mural, but on my visit was surprised to find a second depiction of the saint further along the church. 1890-1910 is my guess for this.

A couple of weeks ago I also found my way to All Saints' Carshalton (of which more on another occasion). Among a variety of amazing fittings, there is a sumptuous organ loft decorated with a frieze of saints, and Catherine can be found among them, too.