maximus otter
Recovering policeman
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 13,981
The mem and I have just returned home after a thoroughly enjoyable week in Dartmouth, Devon. We're not ones for "organised fun" but - based on recommendations - we advance-booked a guided tour of Britannia Royal Naval College, the shore-based establishment where Royal Navy officers have been trained since it opened in 1905. It overlooks the delightful town of Dartmouth and the River Dart.
The college was designed by Sir Aston Webb, a noted architect who designed, among other buildings, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the facade of Buckingham Palace.
Our tour guide "Mike" (no last name given) was a fount of knowledge as you'd expect (he was an RN officer on the staff there in the 80s and 90s).
One of the longer stops on the tour was the chapel of the college. Please excuse the quality of the following photos, as lighting conditions were dire (3200 ASA!), time short and flash photography not allowed. Here is the reredos behind the altar:
In the centre you will see Jesus (behind the crucifix), his right hand raised in benediction.
At the opposite end of the chapel is this circular window with its cruciform decoration:
Mike told us that, many years ago, one of the staff officers of the college was in the chapel on 21st October, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It happened that the beam of sunlight from the circular window depicted above was moving across the reredos, almost like a caricature of the reticle of a telescopic sight. Becoming interested, the officer watched as it moved across the image of Jesus. He noted that it centred on Jesus' hand, raised in blessing, at 1616 hrs. According to Mike, that was the exact moment that Admiral Nelson died of his wounds on HMS Victory at Trafalgar. (Wikipedia gives it as 1630, but this might be an error of Mike's memory, mine or the records he consulted).
This so impressed the officer that he mentioned it to others. The commandant of the college was a photographer, so (we must assume next year), he stationed himself in the chapel at the material time and took a series of (not brilliant) photographs, one of which we were shown (and I managed to set down long enough to snap):
Interesting enough, you'd think, but read on:
This occurrence became quite a subject of debate: Was it a fluke, or had Sir Aston painstakingly designed the setup into the chapel as a private (?) joke/act of homage? Much research was done to no avail. The archivist of the college even requested a viewing of Sir Aston's (copious) papers, which were delivered to the college in a truck and pored over with zero result.
Mike left us with a genuine request: If anyone out there knows the answer one way or another, the college would love to have the mystery solved.
maximus otter
The college was designed by Sir Aston Webb, a noted architect who designed, among other buildings, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the facade of Buckingham Palace.
Our tour guide "Mike" (no last name given) was a fount of knowledge as you'd expect (he was an RN officer on the staff there in the 80s and 90s).
One of the longer stops on the tour was the chapel of the college. Please excuse the quality of the following photos, as lighting conditions were dire (3200 ASA!), time short and flash photography not allowed. Here is the reredos behind the altar:
In the centre you will see Jesus (behind the crucifix), his right hand raised in benediction.
At the opposite end of the chapel is this circular window with its cruciform decoration:
Mike told us that, many years ago, one of the staff officers of the college was in the chapel on 21st October, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It happened that the beam of sunlight from the circular window depicted above was moving across the reredos, almost like a caricature of the reticle of a telescopic sight. Becoming interested, the officer watched as it moved across the image of Jesus. He noted that it centred on Jesus' hand, raised in blessing, at 1616 hrs. According to Mike, that was the exact moment that Admiral Nelson died of his wounds on HMS Victory at Trafalgar. (Wikipedia gives it as 1630, but this might be an error of Mike's memory, mine or the records he consulted).
This so impressed the officer that he mentioned it to others. The commandant of the college was a photographer, so (we must assume next year), he stationed himself in the chapel at the material time and took a series of (not brilliant) photographs, one of which we were shown (and I managed to set down long enough to snap):
Interesting enough, you'd think, but read on:
This occurrence became quite a subject of debate: Was it a fluke, or had Sir Aston painstakingly designed the setup into the chapel as a private (?) joke/act of homage? Much research was done to no avail. The archivist of the college even requested a viewing of Sir Aston's (copious) papers, which were delivered to the college in a truck and pored over with zero result.
Mike left us with a genuine request: If anyone out there knows the answer one way or another, the college would love to have the mystery solved.
maximus otter
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