THIS elegant notice-board was made in the workshops of
Wakefield Prison for the historic Chantry Chapel
on Wakefield Bridge. It has a good provenance, for the frame for
the board is made of oak from the Victorian pews that were removed
from Wakefield Cathedral during the cathedral's renovation a couple
of years ago.
The Chantry Chapel, which forms an integral part of the bridge
across the River Calder, was first licensed in 1356, and, together
with the bridge, is classed as an ancient monument. Kate Taylor,
who chairs the Friends of the Wakefield Chantry Chapel, tells me
that it has had no exterior notice-board for at least 60 years,
but, with permission granted, it has been erected at the end of the
medieval bridge.
It is hoped that it will attract more of the visitors to the new
Hepworth Wakefield art gallery across the road to come and look at
the chapel.
The Chantry is in the care of the Dean and Chapter of Wakefield,
and the notice board was blessed by the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt
Revd Stephen Patten, just before Christmas.