St Mary
Reredos – Photograph (PWDRO 116/91, 244/4 & 244/5) Moore, Smith & Durrant architects; 1915
This beautifully carved and elaborate reredos, featuring Christ as King and four praying angels, is described as ‘undoubtedly, the outstanding feature’ of the church (Hastie, 1996 cited in hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk). The photograph at PWDRO depicts the reredos in its recently-carved state but ones available online (hertfordshirechurches.com) show it in its full glory, entirely coloured and gilded. It was presented in 1915 by the Longman family (of publishing fame) as a memorial to Arthur Hampton Longman and his wife Alicia. A label photographed with the reredos before despatch states that the architects were Moore, Smith and Durrant of London but there is no indication of how the commission was obtained.
Sources
PWDRO 116/91 Photograph. Apsley End. Reredos.
PWDRO 244/4 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.
PWDRO 244/5 Photograph Album. Various. Woodcarvings.