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The Nave Ceiling: A unique pictorial ceiling

Look up, and you’ll see one of the church’s most extraordinary features: the painted nave ceiling, created by artist Daniel Bell (1840–1915). Known for his murals and stained glass in smaller London churches, Bell worked here with his brother Alfred, who is thought to have painted the chancel ceiling.

Before this, Bell had partnered with sculptor James Redfern, famed for Gothic Revival landmarks like the Albert Memorial. That dramatic, medieval influence shows in Bell’s breathtaking ceiling design: 72 saints and biblical figures arranged in twelve compartments, one for each month of the year, appearing in the month of their feast day. The ceiling even mirrors Victorian church seating customs: men sat on the north side, women on the south, and the saints above follow the same division. Bell painted the saintly faces on canvas and mounted them to the wooden ceiling, surrounding each with a dazzling background painted directly onto the boards. The flame-like shapes aren’t fire, they’re divine rays, symbolising holy light. In 2018, after more than a century of candle smoke, incense, and London pollution, the ceiling was carefully cleaned by a team of twenty conservators over six months, revealing its vibrant colours once again.