On the right, behind a curtain protecting it from direct light, is a late 15th century medieval cope, converted for use as an altar cloth. It is made from green velvet with applied stars of silver thread and a pink or crimson border. Please have a look and then re-close the curtain.
Above this is the ‘Calling Window’ by Sophie Hacker, installed in 2020 to mark the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Turn around and walk in front of the High Altar to get a better view of the window. The window reflects a historical event in Nightingale’s life, at the age of sixteen, when she received a clear ‘call’ from God. Nightingale is seated on a stone bench in the grounds of Embley Park, her home near Romsey. As she turns towards a bright light breaking in between the twin trunks of a cedar tree, four words emerge, ‘Lo, it is I’. For Nightingale, these words summed up the essence of her Christian faith.
Return to the area under the window and find, just to the left, the picture of the medieval nunnery in a wooden frame. This painting by the Reverend E L Berthon shows his idea (now partially discounted) of how Romsey Abbey may have looked in the 12th century. A chaplain leads a procession of nuns. Their numbers at one time exceeded 100 but were greatly reduced by the Black Death in 1348 to 1349. In 1478 only 18 nuns were here.
Now retrace your steps to the High Altar.
