Ecclesiastical fashions on show in St Paul's

Two elaborately designed copes with connections to various Jubilee celebrations will remain on display inside St Paul’s until the end of July.

The Jubilee Cope
The Jubilee Cope was conceived as a project to mark the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977. It was designed by Beryl Dean, one of the foremost textile practitioners of the twentieth-century, and it was executed under her direction by needlework students at the Stanhope Institute. After a year of conservation work on the delicate gold and silver threads which depict the spires of 73 London churches, three Royal Peculiars and St Paul’s Cathedral, the Jubilee Cope and Mitre were also used by the current Bishop of London at the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service in June.

The Winnington-Ingram Cope & Mitre
The Winnington-Ingram Cope & Mitre were made in about 1905 for Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London (1901-1939). They were worn by him at the Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving Service for George V in 1935 and the Coronation of George VI in 1937. The cope is made of cream damask with orphreys of green, silk damask, decorated with two shields; one bears the crossed swords of the Diocese of London, the other the crossed keys of St Peter. Above the shields are two figures, St Paul and St Mellitus (who founded St Paul’s Cathedral on the site of the present building in 604AD). The hood bears a depiction of Christ in Majesty.

Once Bishop Winnington-Ingram retired he lent the mitre to a friend, John Poole-Hughes, who became Bishop of South-West Tanganyika and took the mitre with him to Africa. Poole-Hughes went on to become Bishop of Hereford and the mitre was put aside until his death, at which point his sister donated it to Fulham Palace, which has generously loaned it for this display.

The two copes and their accompanying mitres can be seen in the cathedral’s Minor Canon’s Aisle.

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