The Liberal Catholic Apostolic Church
An independent Catholic church in the liberal tradition

This page contains documents and photographs that relate chiefly to the Ancient Catholic Church and the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd in Clapton which it used for worship during the latter part of the +Nicholson era and for some years afterwards.

There is a number of high-resolution images on this page, so it may take some time to load fully.  Some of these images have been kindly provided by Mr Richard Hadingham of the Ancient Catholic Church/LCAC.

A photograph of the High Altar at the Cathedral Church, Clapton. The Clapton Cathedral is a very striking building, having been built in 1892 in the High Gothic style by the Agapemonites, using the finest of materials, and is now Grade II listed. Further information about the Agapemonites (a Victorian religious cult who are not otherwise connected with the ACC) can be found in the recent book "The Abode of Love - The remarkable tale of growing up in a religious cult" by Kate Barlow.



The elaborately carved pulpit in the Cathedral Church, Clapton. To its left is the Lady Chapel and the framed charter of the Order of S. Therese - The Little Flower.



Some programmes from organ and choral recitals at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd in the early 1990s, when Cyril Smith was organist. Click on a programme to expand it to reading size.



Detail of the stained glass by Walter Crane above the High Altar in the Cathedral Church, Clapton



Article on the Cathedral Church, Clapton, from The Spectator, 3 February 1956. Click to expand it to reading size.



The High Altar at the Cathedral Church, Clapton



Article on the Cathedral Church by H. Godwin Arnold from the Chapels Society Newsletter, June 1991 (Copyright, Chapels Society). Click to expand it to reading size.



I saw a windstorm coming out of the north - an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The centre of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire were what looked like four living creatures. Each of them had four faces and four wings ...

Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces ...

Then there came a voice from above the expanse over the heads of the living creatures as they stood with lowered wings. Over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man...

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel 1:4-5,10-11, 25-26,28.

This winged ox bull on the exterior of the Cathedral Church represents St Luke.



The organ in the Cathedral Church is one of the finest of Willis's instruments, though few if any executants can have heard or played it, and it has never been commercially recorded. It is perfectly balanced, with each stop having a highly distinctive character, and represents a perfect late nineteenth-century example of the organ-builder's art. There are two manuals and only a single 16' pedal stop, but this does not seriously limit the instrument's considerable power. The tracker action is very ably weighted, so that even at fortissimo the keys are not unduly heavy while giving the appropriate resistance. The organ is listed by BIOS as an instrument of historic importance.



Article on the Agapemonites by  Joshua J. Schwieso from the Chapels Society Newsletter, December 1991 (Copyright, Chapels Society). Click to expand it to reading size.



A sorrowful angel on the exterior of the Cathedral Church



Article on the stained glass in the Cathedral Church, Clapton, by  H. Godwin Arnold from the Chapels Society Newsletter, December 1991 (Copyright, Chapels Society). Click to expand it to reading size.



"The Ghost in man, the ghost that once was man
But cannot wholly free itself from Man,
Are calling to each other thro' a dawn
Stranger than earth has ever seen; the veil
Is rending, and the voices of the day
Are heard across the Voices of the dark"
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The front of the Cathedral Church in Clapton, February 2008. The aspect of the cathedral from its entrance in Rookwood Road suggests its inner mystery. Located in an unremarkable residential area, it was originally surrounded by open space but is now hemmed in by a bus garage on one side and blocks of flats on the others. High metal railings, bushes and trees hide the building from outside view, but its spire is actually visible from surprisingly far away.

The arch over the entrance bears the inscription "Love in Judgement - Judgment unto Victory". The porch is of Lebanon Cedar and leads into darkness, inspired by the cave which David entered to flee the pursuing Saul. The atmosphere of the Cathedral has been described as sombre and spiritually charged.



Extracts concerning the stained glass in the Cathedral Church from Isobel Spencer's definitive biography of Walter Crane, published in 1975. Click to expand to reading size.




Designed by Joseph Morris and his son Frank, the Cathedral features bronze statuary of beasts representing the four Evangelists supporting the spire. Although there is a tower, there are no bells; legend has it that the Agapemonites were having them transported from Italy by sea when the ship that was carrying them sank in the middle of the ocean.



Extracts from "Morris of Reading - A Family of Architects 1836-1958" by H. Godwin Arnold and Sidney M. Gold from the Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society (Copyright, Ancient Monuments Society). Click to expand to reading size.