Shrine to town saint goes under hammer (From Gazette)

Shrine to town saint goes under hammer

2:00pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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A GOTHIC shrine made for the Colchester Pageant of 1909 is expected to fetch nearly £1,000 when it goes under the hammer next week.

The model of a fictional church was designed by businessman Ernest Mason and was a shrine to St Helena, the patron saint of Colchester.

The pageant was held over six days in June 1909 and took residents two years to plan and finance.

The event told Colchester’s 2,000-year history and involved 100 speaking parts, 3,000 performers and audiences totalling 60,000 people.

Catherine Newley, assistant curator of community history at Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service, said: “The shrine was said to hold the relics of St Helena, which is why there is a statue of her on the top of it.

“In the months leading up to the performances, a lot of work was done to make all the props and costumes necessary to make the pageant a big spectacle.

“Ernest Mason, along with several others, put a lot of work into making the majority of the props.

“This shrine was made by him and, in a nice bit of symmetry, Ernest played the shrine’s maker in the performance.”

The giltwood shrine, which is 48ins high and 33ins wide, will be sold on Wednesday, March 24, by Gorringes, in Lewes, East Sussex. The guide price is £700 to £1,000.

The lot also includes a gold and enamel miniature of Mrs Helena Kitton, his daughter.

Hollytrees Museum, in High Street, Colchester, ran an exhibition last year to commemorate the pageant’s centenary.

The 1909 event was advertised widely, and rail operators organised travel packages to the town for the performances.