a task for tasker

...having said that we wouldn't see any of the white stuff here in Purbeck, it was a delight to see that the west end of the Purbeck Ridge, from West Creech to East Lulworth, was cloaked in a thin veil of snow.

We were back over at Lulworth Castle, this morning, which gave me an opportunity to capture the Chapel of St Mary's that stands in the castle grounds. In 1786, Thomas Weld appointed the Catholic architect, John Tasker, to construct a chapel, adjacent to the castle. John Tasker was born in London in 1738, and was involved in the building of Mortimer Street and Cavendish Square, where he based his business. King George III gave the Weld family permission to "build a mausoleum and you may furnish it inside as you wish".

The architecture of this Catholic chapel is Georgian. The significant thing is that, although the work was started in 1786, it was not until 1791 that Catholics were, by law, allowed public worship services in England. In 1789, the king and queen Charlotte visited the chapel and gave it their approval. This was the first free-standing Catholic church to be built, in England, since the Reformation.

In 1790, John Carroll, the first Roman Catholic bishop and archbishop in the United States - where he served as ordinary of the Archdiocese of Baltimore - was consecrated here. Carroll is also known as the founder of Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in America.

Internally, there is a very beautiful painted ceiling and a fine organ made by Richard Seede of Bristol in 1785. The organ was originally destined for the castle but was installed in the chapel instead. The altar and candlesticks were designed by Giacomo Quarenghi and made in Rome.

Tomorrow, we have to be over in Devon, so my image will not be a Purbeck one...