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
Jeep Kincannon Carving a Grotesque – Photo Robert F Rodriguez
(This is an encore post following Robert F. Rodriguez’ article on the Kincannon brothers. – The original post appeared December 22, 2021 and was written by Joseph Kincannon.-RM)
Jeep, or rather D’Ellis Kincannon, started his apprenticeship in the stoneyard in 1980 after working in the Cathedral mail room for a year. He came to NYC to go to art school, but found it wasn’t for him. When the stone yard program started up it seemed a perfect fit, and it was.
He excelled as a banker mason. I think it’s fair to say that he and Jose (Tapia) were the top stone cutters. The Cathedral showcased their work for fundraising purposes. They were featured in multiple magazines and news publications.
Dean James Parks Morton reminiscing about the stunning pinnacle carved by D’Ellis Kincannon during a video inerview on Nov. 19, 2015 at the Interchurch Center in New York City. – Image Robert F. Rodriguez
The Banker Mason
Jeep was also one of the first few to apprentice under Chris Hannaway. He had the highest regard for Chris and was disappointed to see him return to England. He often made reference to Chris’ mastery in banker masonry and anything stone related. Jeep’s prize possession was an old mallet that Chris had given him from his early days in Liverpool.
D’Ellis “Jeep” Kincannon carves a sill skeleton bed mould base on April 13, 1981 – Photo Robert F. Rodriguez
Jeep Kincannon’s mallet, from Chris Hannaway -Photo Joseph Kincannon
Master Builder James Bambridge was impressed enough with D’Ellis’ work to once state that “his masonry is as perfect as if it had been poured into a mold”. It was obvious that this discipline was one that Jeep immediately embraced. He also had a gift for drafting and setting out. He was a natural at perceiving 3-dimensional intersections.
Jeep’s Pinnacle Carving, Image – Robert F. Rodriguez
To advance Jeep’s skills even further, the Cathedral sent him to the Bath School for Architectural Trades in England. This was very rewarding for Jeep as he completely immersed himself in the trade. Aside from the school, he was taken aback at finding himself in a city that the Romans had built, in part. He was also astounded that one of the local pubs had been in operation since the “Black Death”. This place became a regular haunt for Jeep and many of the other students.
After a year, Jeep returned to NYC and continued working as a banker mason. By this time, Alan Bird had replaced Chris Hannaway and the yard was humming along. Later Jeep advanced into the setting-out shop with fellow apprentice, Cynie Linton. He had real misgivings about leaving banker masonry. I remember him grumbling despite the promotion.
The Setting-Out Shop
Jeep and Cynie worked directly with James Bambridge transferring the original architect’s drawings into full-scale tower drawings that would later be numbered and patterned into various zinc templates for the banker masons’ shop. The masons used to laugh when he would step in to help an apprentice understand the complex templates. “Uh oh, Jeep’s got that look on his face!” This is not a look you wanted to see, as it usually meant an irretrievable mistake had been made in the stone work. If you had trouble understanding the templates he and Cynie were the ones to see.
Jeep Kincannon Setting-out templates for an Ornate Gablet. Image Smithsonian Magazine
As things slowed down in the setting-out shop, a new opportunity arose; a competition for the new carving apprenticeship under the tutelage of Nick Fairplay. Jeep scored in the top five. He served his three years and was later appointed as head carver. During this period, he contributed many celebrated carvings to the tower. Jeep continued on in that position for a year until he was positioned as the head of the drafting and setting-out department.
As Chief Draftsman, Jeep also worked on the tower with Master Mason Steve Boyle, for whom he had the greatest respect. Boyle was not one to embrace the limelight and Jeep ofter commented on how he was the unsung hero who quietly puzzled together the massive stones on the tower, a truly monumental task.
Working on the Tower
Jeep Kincannon with Angel Escobar up on the Southwest Tower. – Photo courtesy Joseph Kincannon
Steve relayed a story about how instrumental Jeep was in the setting of the first course of stonework:
“It should be mentioned that Jeep deserves credit for the tower actually fitting on the building. Delays in scaffold erection meant that the first stones that we laid were rather hurriedly positioned. The deadline for the installation of the Jerusalem Stone rapidly approached. The setting of this historic cornerstone included a well-publicized ceremony featuring high wire aerialist, Philippe Petit delivering a silver trowel to the Bishop of New York for the official blessing. Since the scaffolding was only partially in place, it hadn’t been possible to lay out all of the building lines as planned before Bambridge had to return to the UK.
This was alarming to me at the time as it meant this task might fall to me. Sure enough, as we began to set more stone it was clear that the first stones had been set too far over to the North resulting in the new stone overhanging by about a half inch. I called Bambridge in the U.K. and he told me I would have to do the setting out. He understood my uneasiness, but told me I could always rely on Jeep for help with this and he was right. Jeep had a thorough understanding of the whole project by this time and knew exactly what to do. Great thanks to him; everything ended up where it was supposed to be”
-Master Mason Stephen Boyle
Cathedral Stoneworks
In 1989, he stepped away from drafting to join the carving team working on the West Front. Work on the Central Portal statuary had recently resumed under the direction of Simon Verity. For Jeep, the carving ended too soon. The Jewish Museum awarded a major contract to the stoneyard. It was an early 20th Century Gothic Revival building on 5th Avenue. The drafting department was about to become a very busy place.
This was the beginning of a new era. A commercial venture was underway with the goal of replenishing the depleted Cathedral coffers by taking on independent projects. It was a good effort, but the partnership with Cathedral Stoneworks ultimately marked the end of the tower project and any dream of completing the Cathedral. Jeep continued working as Chief Draftsman until he left in 1993.
He Wore Many Hats
He was one of the few who wore most of the hats available in the Cathedral stone yard. Those hats included sawyer, estimator, banker mason, setting-out, stone carver and fixer mason (on the tower). He would laugh and say that the only job he didn’t do was to run the planer. That position belonged to Nelson Otero, and to only Nelson Otero.
D’Ellis often expressed his admiration for other modest people who produced great stone work for the tower. He often referred to Yves Pierre and Angel Escobar. He once said that “The very first time Angel picked up a chisel, he knew what to do with it. And, it was a little unnerving.” These guys were natural stone cutters, but not inclined to talk in front of the T.V. cameras.
Beyond the Cathedral, he would spend the next eight years teaching, designing, cutting and carving stone on large public and private projects with Kincannon Studios in Texas until his death in 2001. I can say that throughout this period, as busy as we were, he was ready to drop everything and return to NYC if the team reunited to finish the tower. There’s no doubt about that.
Dragon by D’Ellis Kincannon – Photo by Robert F. Rodriguez
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The author of this post, Joseph Kincannon, is the younger brother of D’Ellis “Jeep” Kincannon. Joseph is a teacher and architectural sculptor. Professor Kincannon is the Chair of Stone Carving at the American College of Building Arts.
As for the relief sculptures in video 1, the first one depicts Christ before Pilate (the bald guy). It is in the north portal. The Nativity shown in the film is more elaborate than the one Angel did for the south portal. It may be an earlier version of it, or perhaps a piece he did for a different project altogether.
The figure above St Lawrence seen in the video 2 is the sibyl Cimmeria. Sibyls were oracles, priestesses of Apollo who prophesied at holy sites around the ancient Greek-speaking world. Some of their prophecies were preserved and gathered into books. Christian scholars who studied the Sibylline Books during the revival of classical antiquity in the Renaissance imagined they had discovered prophecies of the New Testament in these pre-Christian writings, just as they found foreshadowings of the New Testament in the writings of the Hebrew prophets. Sibyls appear in Renaissance art, often accompanying the Hebrew prophets, most famously in Michelangelo’s frescoes for the Sistine Chapel.
Sybil Cimmeria with Horn
The upper rank of the north portal depicts eight of the twelve sibyls, identified below by their names and attributes and listed in order beginning with the panel above St Thomas Becket and proceeding clockwise to the panel above St Denis:
Cumaea (sponge) – Jesus given a sponge filled with vinegar while on the cross Europa (sword) – Herod’s slaughter of the innocents Agrippa (scourge) – the scourging of Jesus by Roman soldiers Libyica (torch) – Christ the light of the world Cimmeria (horn) – Jesus nursed by Mary (the horn was the baby bottle of the ancient world) Hellespontica (cross) – the crucifixion Phrygia (banner) – the resurrection Persica (dragon) – Christ’s victory over Satan, sin and death
Some of John Angel’s sibyls appear with the books of their prophecies.
Not depicted in the north portal: Erythraea, Samia, Tiburtina, Delphica.
The thing that attracts me the most to this layout by Heins and LaFarge lies at the corner of Cathedral Parkway (110th St) and Morningside Drive. It is a dramatic stairway leading from that corner to what would have become the South Transept entrance to the Cathedral. The idea was first floated that people strolling in the northern area of Central Park would look west and see the cathedral. They would then promenade down Cathedral Parkway and up the staircase, creating a natural connection between the two.
1903 Drawing in Colored Ink, Cathedral St. John the Divine, Heins & LaFarge Architects
Kudos to Steve Boyle for his sharp eye and his generosity in donating this valuable artifact to the cathedral archives. It is quite intriguing to see where H&L planned to put the auxiliary buildings. Synod House eventually wound up in the opposite corner of the Close. The Deaconesses Institute (the current Diocesan House) also moved from the north side to the south.
Most interesting is the grand staircase rising from the SE corner of the Close to the south transept. I’d guess that H&L anticipated that most visitors would travel to the cathedral via the 110th St station of the 9th Ave elevated train, one short block away. The el was the only mass transit serving the area in 1903; the Broadway IRT would not open until the following year and the 8th Ave IND until 1940, when the el was demolished. The staircase may also be a vestige of H&L’s 1891 design, which had the cathedral on a north-south axis with the main entrance on Cathedral Parkway.
Roger, I don’t know if you’ve gotten my past comments, so forgive me if I’m being redundant.
I wrote a while back to say I was employed at St. John from 1990-92. I am currently a full time fine-art sculptor. My Grandfather, Leopold de Christopher (de Christofaro) was a stonecutter from Italy who ended up in Philadelphia. He was from the same town as Eduardo Ardolino, Torre le Nocelle. It turns out I am cousins with Eduardo.
Using Pointing Machine and Model to Construct an Armature, From Previous Video
We hope you enjoyed the recent video showing the sculptor John Angel working on the statues for the Cathedral. In this post we have two more John Angel videos showing his work. They are digitized copies of original 16mm film taken between 1931 and 1938.
The first one is titled VTS 01 2. It opens with Angel sculpting the Apostle Paul. The finished statue is the trumeau of the South Tower Portal.
St. Paul Sculpture by John Angel, the Trumeau of the South Tower Portal
Next up on the video are two relief sculptures. The theme on the first one seems to be the birth of Jesus. The second one appears to be Jesus appearing before Pilate. They are shaped like they may have been intended to be tympanum above doorways. I do not know where these two ended up in the Cathedral. Perhaps one of our subscribers can shed some light on this.
To view video Click Here. Push back button to return to this post. The video says it is 20 minutes and 25 seconds but it is blank after 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
The Second Video
The second “more John Angel videos” is titled VTS 01 3. It opens with an assistant removing the waste mold from the plaster cast of the statue of St. Vincent (raven on his shoulder). Next, removing the waste mold on St. Denis, revealing the plaster cast. Angel is then seen sculpting the full size St. Catherine in clay and then St. Lawrence. Next, there is the sculpting in clay of the niche statue above St. Lawrence. I do not know which saint or person this is supposed to be. It ends with more waste mold removal on St. Denis.
To View Video Click Here. Push back button to return to this post. The video is 13 minutes and 8 seconds.
The plaster casts were then handed over to the stone carvers. The Piccirilli Brothers carved many of the West Front statues during this period. The Ardolino Brothers may also have contributed some of these carvings.
St. Paul trumeau at the South Tower Portal
Jamb Statues on Left side going in of the North Tower Portal by John Angel. Left to Right – St. Thomas a Becket, St. Catherine, St Stephen, St. Alban
St. Peter, Trumeau (Center Post) of North Tower Portal by John Angel – Photo Tyko Kihlstedt
Jamb Statues on the Right Side of the North Portal. Left to Right St. Lawrence,St. Vincent, St. Joan of Arc, St. Denis – Photo Robert F. Rodriguez
Four horsemen of the Apocalypse by John Angel
St. John by John Angel
We are grateful to Wayne Kempton, Cathedral and Diocesan Archivist, for providing the digital videos.
Tom Fedoreksays:
Wayne kemptonsays:
Tim de Christophersays:
