The Transept

The Transept, or Crossing of the church, was the earliest part of the building to be completed, being opened in 1882. Huge temporary screens blocked off the site of the future choir and nave while the congregation looked northward to what was then the high altar and sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. This explains the rather generous proportions of an altar

whose elaborate carvings, gradins, tabernacle and exposition throne are somewhat out of place in a side chapel.

The eight main panels of the reredos in finely carved stone represent biblical events related to the eucharist from the Old and New Testaments.

In the window above the altar are depictions of a number of Benedictine saints who were important figures in the growth of Christianity in this country (e.g. St Dunstan, St Benet Biscop). They are depicted in scenes associated in some way with the Blessed Sacrament.

The major feature of the transept is nowadays the shrine of St Oliver Plunkett. He was Archbishop of Armagh and became the last martyr under the penal laws following the Reformation. He was executed for being a Roman Catholic priest at Tyburn, London, in 1681, and his relics are contained in the gilt-oak casket in the chapel.