A Cross of Memory
Legacies of Empire and memory in a church setting.
The painted wooden sculpture of Jesus on the Cross with Mary Magdalene was carved by Harry Hems (1842–1916), a celebrated Gothic Revival sculptor. This moving crucifixion scene was commissioned in memory of Lieutenant-Colonel John Anthony Spreckley, a gold miner and soldier who fought in Southern Africa during Britain’s colonial wars. He was a friend of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouts, who praised the Spreckleys as “heroes of the rebellion” against the Ndebele people. The sculpture’s inscription invites prayers for Spreckley’s soul, and includes a memorial to his wife as well. Spreckley died in 1900 during the Second Boer War. Today, the sculpture stands as both a devotional artwork and a reminder of the legacies of Empire woven into the fabric of Victorian churches.
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