Hoots from the Archive - Items from the Archive - MGS Chalice and Paten

These items have been in the archive for many years, but a chance browse through Ulula These items have been in the archive for many years, but a chance browse through Ulula supplied the background to why the School has a chalice and paten. This is another example, amongst many, of the magazine giving us information that is not recorded elsewhere.

Here is the article, written by John Berry in 1970, explaining how and why these objects were made:

"Some three years ago the Rev. Patrick Miller instituted a School service of Holy Communion, open to all members of any Christian denomination, to be celebrated once or twice each term. On each of the occasions the services have been held we have had to borrow a chalice and paten from the Rector of Birch and we have been extremely grateful for the ready and gracious assistance which he has always given. It has been felt, however, that a school such as ours should have communion vessels of its own which would not only be used to fulfil their appointed functions but which would also be a visible and constant reminder of the ideals upon which the School was founded. Over the years, the constitution of the School has changed; we value as a real part of our community those of other religions and those (perhaps the majority of us) who, without personal commitment, seek the truth along their own avenues, exercising tolerance and understanding for each other. The Christian community within the School sees itself as a part of that whole and believes that it has truths and ideals to impart which can be of real value in our relations one with another. It is to keep such things in remembrance that the new chalice and paten are being accepted into the life of the School. 

There is, as far as we can discover, no record of the School ever having possessed such vessels, and if we ever did, it was almost certainly before the Civil War during which many school records and possibly communion vessels were destroyed. Now, four hundred and fifty-five years after our foundation that lack is eradicated. The intrinsic value of the chalice and  paten is greatly enhanced by the fact that they were made within our school by members of our community. They are an example of that community spirit which we so need to preserve. The design problem attendant upon such fine and delicate work was solved by the metalworkers of SVlii, and Messrs Poole, Cooper and Britton of the Handicraft Stalf were assisted in the actual production by R A Barker (iiMa), A J Chadwick (iiMa), D S Bielby (iiMy) and C Lumb (6T). As a layman in these matters I cannot write about the technicalities of the work but it can be said that real devotion and dedication have gone into these very lovely pieces of plate and the School owes a very real debt to these gentlemen.

Symbolic of the wider application of the life of the School and of the reliance we must place upon those outside our community, is the perfect engraving work on the vessels. After much thought, it was decided to use Greek for the actual wording and this, together with the Khi Rho sign and the School coat-of-arms was drawn out by Mr. Poole and reproduced in all its exact artistry by Ronald Pennel, FRSA, to whom we express our real appreciation

At four o'clock on the evening of Tuesday, September 29th, the chalice and paten were handed over to the High Master for safekeeping by Mr. Poole and dedicated by Mr. Berry, this occasion being followed by a service of Holy Communion in which the High Master and Messrs. Ross and Downes took part. It was a simple service yet, one felt, filled with meaning and rich with thoughts of the past while bringing to each of us the challenge of the future."

As Berry points out that, there is no evidence for School communion vessels, though he suggests that perhaps they might have existed before the Civil War. However, in the foundation deeds, the pattern of daily prayers for the souls of the founders is stipulated as to take place in the Collegiate church (what is now known as Manchester Cathedral). It is not stated that the Mass would be part of these services, though pre-Reformation it may well have been. However, even if these services did include Mass/communion, it would seem likely that the Collegiate church's own vessels would have been used. These early daily services gradually reduced in number, and post-Reformation, became services of Thanksgiving for the founders. They are the root of our modern annual Founders Day services, still held at the Cathedral.