The Compass Rose is located on the pavement of the Choir. It is the official emblem of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. This iteration of the emblem in stone and brass was designed by John Barton in the late 1980’s. John was an architect at the Cathedral and received his Masters in Religion from Yale University.
Various similar Compass Roses are installed in many churches including the Cathedral Church of Christ Canterbury, England and in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Paul (National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C. The center of the Compass Rose contains the cross of St. George. The text surrounding the central cross is in Greek. It translates as: “The truth will set you free.” The points of a compass reflect the spread of the Anglican Christianity throughout the world. The mitre at the top indicates the role of Episcopacy and Anglican Order that is the heart of the traditions of the Churches of the Communion. The emblem was originally designed by Canon Edward West of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York.
Canon Edward West
Canon Edward West
The Rev. Dr. Edward Nason West (1909-1990) was a theologian, an author, an internationally known iconographer, an expert in the design of church furnishings, and an authority on liturgical art. As Canon Sacrist he presided over and organized all ceremonies large and small for more than 40 years. His ashes lie below the Compass Rose. The Archbishop of Canterbury dedicated the Compass Rose on September 20, 1992.
“At the service, Dean Morton told a story about the time he asked Canon West where he’d like his final resting place to be. West, who served under five different bishops at the cathedral, replied ‘Just put me where the bishops can still walk all over me.’ So there he lies where the grand liturgical processions he was so skilled at orchestrating do, in fact, walk all over him.”
– Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide
The Pavement
Choir Pavement – Compass Rose now in center
Unique stones from around the world make up the Choir pavement. The risers of the steps leading from the Crossing to the Choir are of yellow Numidian marble (Algiers and Tunis) and the treads of green Pennsylvanian marble. The style of the pavement of the Choir is Romanesque and Byzantine. It contains inlays with Numidian, Swiss and other marbles and Grueby Faience tiles. The steps to the Presbytery are marble from Hauteville, France.
In the center of the floor of the Presbytery is a beautiful mosaic “rug” of tiles and stones. It is 32 1/2 feet long and 10 feet wide with smaller patterns at the ends. Black Belgian marble surrounded by Italian violet marble created the central oval. This is now the placement for the Compass Rose. Grueby tiles of many colors and Grecian, red Numidian and other marbles form the rest of the design.
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John Barton, AIA
New York Times, Jan 5, 1990, Edward West, Retired Canon And Author, 80
Guide to the Cathedral, Hall, 1928
Tom Fedorek, Senior Guide, Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Evans & Tombs crew on location in St.Paul, MN, Circa 1889. John Evans can be seen in background, seated at a small table.
John Evans (1847-1923) was born in Caernarvon, Wales. He trained as a stone carver under his father in England before arriving in New York in 1872. After a year in Chicago after the big fire he returned to the East. He settled in Boston in 1873. Initially Evans worked out of his house and studio near Copley Square. In 1880 he moved to a studio/shop on Huntington Avenue and joined in business with carpenter and wood carver Richard J. Tombs. The company initially known as Evans and Tombs became the John Evans & Company in 1890. Later the firm became John Evans & Son. His reputation as the finest carver of his time was widespread. Evans became one of the country’s leading wood and stone carvers and modelers. As a result, the firm specialized in ecclesiastical commissions. His services were in demand by the most prominent architectural firms of the day.
The architect Ralph Adams Cram knew well of Evans’ firm. Evans had a professional partnership with Henry Hobson Richardson from 1873 until Richardson’s death in 1886. Richardson’s successor firm continued to use the John Evans Company. Cram valued craftsmen who could carry out his designs whether in stained glass, stone, wood or textiles.
Synod House
The firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson finished the design for Synod Hall in 1912. This was to be the first of the Cathedral’s auxiliary buildings. Furthermore, the building’s site had a prominent position facing Amsterdam Avenue like the Cathedral itself. The auditorium would provide seating for over 1,000 and the building would house committee and conference rooms as well as Bishop’s offices.
The Gothic Revival style Synod House is clad in a unique quartzite from Kingwood, West Virginia. It also features a steeply pitched roof covered in slate. Buttresses flank inset arches pierced by doors and windows, lancet-arched windows, turrets, label lintels, and a central gabled section having monumental arches. Cram indicated he…
” wanted to make this Hall the most beautiful thing in New York…with a color combination that would be unique, and at the same time strikingly beautiful.”
– Ralph Adams Cram
A train load of the Kingwood Antique Yellow Quartzite for the new Synod House of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine – Image Stone Magazine, 1912
Evans’ Carvings
The Synod House front facade is elaborate and highly ornamented. The projecting Gothic arched entrance portal’s carvings are the work of the John Evans & Company.
Synod House Entrance
The archivolts contain three ranges of 36 figures that illustrate the progress of civilization and Christianity. Accordingly, the Apostles of Christianity, the arts and sciences, and crafts and industries are portrayed. In the tympanum are relief figures of Christ sending his disciples to preach. Flanking the entrance doors are seven figures of famous Christian rulers, including George Washington in the center.
Synod House Entrance Figures Explaned
The “Architecture” archivolt uses Ralph Adams Cram as the model.
Detail of Archivolts at the Entrance to Synod House Carved by the John Evans Company – images by Tyko Kihlstedt
The official completion of Synod house was May of 1914.
The Potter Memorial Pulpit
The pulpit, designed by Henry Vaughn, is near the entrance to the Choir on the Crossing. The dedication took place on Sunday, September 10, 1916. The John Evans Company carved the marble as well as the quarter sawn oak canopy. The stone is Tennessee Marble, “an uncrystalline limestone favorable for very fine work”.
The Potter Memorial Pulpit Carved by John Evans and Company – Image courtesy Wayne Kempton, Cathedral Archives
This description is from STONE, Sept. 1916…
“The structure has six sides, and is eleven feet high and fifteen feet long and six and one-half wide. On the upper part are carved these scenes from the life of Christ, enclosed in Gothic portals: The Nativity, Christ questioning the doctors, The Crucifiction, The Resurrection and The Supper at Emmaus. The backgrounds are in bas-relief and depth and space are given to the subjects. Single figures of saints and ecclesiastics stand in small niches at the angles.
On the base between the slender flowered pillars are the symbols of the Evangelists: The angel, the lion, the ox and the eagle. The central column is formed by five flat Gothic portals. The shield of the church and the sacred flowers ornament the lowest part of the base. Statues of St. John the Baptist and Isaiah stand on the posts of the balustrade of pierced tracery. The faces of all of the figures have an animation which is not often found in modern church sculpture. The sounding board is carved in exquisite Gothic ornaments.
Side View and Rear View of Potter Memorial Pulpit
Amidst the grandeur of the Cathedral, this intricately carved pulpit is worth a close-up look.
The Historical Parapet
The Historical Parapet or Choir Parapet is at the entrance to the Choir. John Evans & Co. carved the figures. Symbolically, it represents outstanding characters of the 20 centuries of the Christian Era. Cram & Ferguson designed the Parapet. Installation occurred in 1923.
Febo Ferrari (1865-1949) modeled the first 19 figures. Ferrari was born in Italy and later studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Turin. He worked in Paris and Buenos Aires until he came to America in 1903. He had a studio in New Haven, Conn.
It is in two sections, one on each side of the steps leading from the Crossing to the Choir. Each section of the Parapet is 18 1/2 feet long and 4 feet high. The main stone used is Champville marble from France. The overall style is French Gothic.
Columbia University Libraries
Columbia University Libraries
The 20th stone remained uncarved until the end of the Twentieth Century. Eventually, the committee chose four individuals to represent the most recent century. Chris Pellettieri was to do that carving.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Susan B. Anthony, Mahatma Ghandi. Carving by Chris Pellettieri
The Open Air Pulpit
The Open Air Pulpit stands in the midst of the Cathedral Close. Specifically it is an open work Gothic spire 40 feet high. The pulpit carving is of Daytona Stone. The usual symbols of the four evangelists appear on its four sides. It is purported to be a work of the John Evans Company. No installation date is available.
Open Air Pulpit Carved by the John Evans Company
John Evans – Carver, Modeler, Teacher
Evans’ architectural sculptures in stone are numerous, including many in granite. He worked in wood as well as being one of the very few names associated with carved brick. By the mid 1880’s his time was eventually spent in modeling works that would be executed by others in his employ.
Over his career Evans employed a large number of young craftsmen in his studio. Without doubt he was a strong supporter of the apprenticeship system. He worked to spread his craft outside the studio as well. In 1877 he became director of the School of Modeling and Sculpture at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art, teaching both men and women. Twenty years later he would go on to oversee a system of workshops for the first Society of Arts and Crafts in America. He and his partner Richard Tombs were both founding members.
For nearly five decades, Evans engaged in stonework on hundreds of buildings in the East and Midwest. Those of national importance are, of course, St. John The Divine as well as Washington Cathedral and Trinity Church, Boston. Upon his passing, many acts of personal kindness were noted by the local union’s Corresponding Secretary. This is recorded in the Stone Cutters Journal.
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Stone Cutters Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1
STONE magazine, Sept. 1916
American Architect, Dec. 17, 1913; April 3, 1912
Architecture and Building, Synod Hall, Nov., 1913
Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and the Cathedral Close, Designation Report, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Feb 21, 2017
Charitably Speaking, Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, MCMA History – John Evans, Author-John Moriarty, December, 2013
John Evans (1847-1923) and Architectural Sculpture in Boston, Ann Clifford, 1992
