Examples of chasuble embroidery at St Augustine's Church, Kilburn, London NW6. The church's collection of chasubles and other clerical vestments is outstanding, A chasuble is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "An ecclesiastical vestment, a kind of sleeveless mantle covering the body and shoulders, worn over the alb and stole by the celebrant at Mass or the Eucharist." [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
When the Ecclesiological Society of St Paul's visited the church in 1884, the members were shown "some dalmatics and chasubles embroidered with delicate-coloured silks and gold on white satin" ("St Augustine's, Kilburn"), and were most impressed. Such rich vestments were worn by Catholic priests, or were (as in this case) a mark of High Church ritualism, consequent on the Oxford Movement. Gold, like white, would be worn at times of celebration, especially for Christmas and Easter.
Photographs by John Salmon, with thanks to StAugustine's Church; text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit John Salmon and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Related Material
Bibliography
"St Augustine's, Kilburn." The Building News and Engineering Journal Vol. 46: 663. Google Books. Free Ebook. Web. 27 April 2021.
Created 26 April 2021