2
“
I am recusing myself from signing an oath upholding the
Act of Supremacy”). Recusants were subject to fines and
possibly torture by the state. Families like the Shireburns
hid Jesuits in hidey-holes behind wood paneling and
beneath oak floors. There are several priest-holes at
Stonyhurst.
It is ironic that Stonyhurst, so complicated in design
and so full of possible hiding places, became the English
headquarters of the Society immediately following
the Jesuit restoration in 1814. That bicentenary will
be celebrated at LUMA this summer through the
exhibition
Crossings and Dwellings
curated by Fr.
Stephen Schloesser, S.J. It will culminate in a conference
organized by Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Director of the Joan
and Bill Hank Center for Catholic Intellectual Heritage
(
October 16–18).
The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 allowed English
Catholics to openly practice their faith, and Catholicism
in England began to reclaim its heritage. Throughout
its long history, Stonyhurst has been a repository of
Catholic art treasures, exported from England to save
them from the recurrent bouts of government seizures
and religious iconoclasm that marked the English
Reformation, beginning with Henry VIII’s destruction of
the monasteries and medieval saints’ shrines in 1536.
Today, Stonyhurst holds some of the most precious
objects. They include beautiful illuminated manuscripts,
heavily embroidered
cloth of gold
liturgical textiles, and
a relic of Christ’s crown of thorns referred to as the
“
Holy Thorne” or “Mary Queen of Scots’ Thorne”—
originally purchased and given by the same Thomas
Weld mentioned earlier. The liturgical garments, the
copes, chasubles, and dalmatics are breathtaking in their
fine embroidery. There are also magnificent examples of
objects from the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas
that illustrate how far reaching the Society was as the
Jesuit fathers traveled far from Europe and England
performing their missionary work.
Stonyhurst’s Arundell Library collection was bequeathed
in 1837 by former pupil James Everard, the 10th Lord
Arundel. The collection consists of over 4,000 books and
approximately 400 Old Master prints including ones by
Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt. Other prized possessions
include Cardinal Wolsey’s
Book of Hours
(
ca. 1400–1420),
Assertion of the Seven Sacraments
by Henry VIII (1521),
Shakespeare’s
First Folio
(1623),
and the manuscripts of
Jesuit poet Gerard Manly Hopkins (1844–1899).
Walking up the ancient, narrow stairway to a tower
room in which some of the literary treasures are stored,
smelling the dampness of the wood and the outdoor fall
weather was truly an 18th-century experience. With a
building that has an environment based largely on the
19
th century, I realize that much work needs to be done
at the school to provide for modern collection storage
and display space. Graffius is now embarking on an
ambitious fundraising campaign, reaching out to alums
in many countries, to preserve the current buildings and
with a plan for a new museum facility.
The school grounds are open to the public at various times
throughout the year. If one has a driving or walking trip
planned in that part of England, Stonyhurst is a marvelous
destination. The day I was told to turn right at the black
sheep clearly told me I needed more than reading the
magazine
Modern Farmer
to find my away around.
I am greatly indebted to Graffius and her staff for their
gracious welcome, and it is my hope that our institutions
may collaborate on future projects.
As a parting literary
note to parallel my love of reading fiction, the fictional
character Lord Brideshead, or “Bridey” as he was called
in
Brideshead Revisited
,
is a Stonyhurst boy, but it is
with the impressive list of real-life saints, and martyrs,
theologians, actors, writers, and statesmen, who received
a Jesuit education at Stonyhurst, that makes the college so
resplendent in English history.
Pamela E. Ambrose
Director of Cultural Affairs
Loyola University Chicago
