The Reredos was designed by Temple Moore, and built by Thompson & Sons of Peterborough It was dedicated on 14th December 1905.

The Reredos contains in all 21 figures, of which 18 are men and women who in one way or another played a large part in the foundation or development of the Church in this part of England between the fourth and eighth centuries. Key to the figures in the Reredos:

Top Row 1 2 3 4 A 5 6 7 8
Middle Row 9 B 10 11 C 12
Bottom Row 13 14 15 16 17 18

Top Row 1. St. Chad, 2. St. Aidan, 3. St. Oswald, 4. St Ninian, A JESUS, 5. St. Columba, 6. St. Paulinus, 7. St. Oswin, 8. St Eata.

Middle Row 9. St. Hilda, B. St. MICHAEL, 10. St. Cuthbert, 11. St. Wilfrid, C. St GEORGE, 12. St. Etheldreda.

Bottom Row 13. Venerable Bede, 14. St. Willibrord, 15. Caedmon, 16, St John of Beverley, 17. Benedict Bishop, 18. Alcuin.

A. Jesus enthroned with His hand raised in blessing.

B. St Michael the Archangel. His great battle against the dragon, Satan, is described in Revelation ch. 12.

C. St George the Patron Saint of England. He was a martyr of the fourth century becoming highly popular as a soldier-saint after the Crusades.

1. St. Chad: a Northumbrian by birth, second Bishop of York, 664-669. He resigned his Seat to prevent further complications with the fiery St Wilfrid and became Bishop of Lichfie1d in 669. He died on 2nd March 672. St Chad is portrayed holding a model of Lichfie1d Cathedral in his hand.

2. St. Aidan: the Apostle of Northumbria. He came from Iona in answer to King Oswald's request for Christian teachers, after a former missionary named Corman had failed. St Aidan's exemplary character had won many converts to the Faith, and he established a Bishopric (which he held from 635 to 651) at Lindisfarne (Holy Island), for the kingdom of Bernicia, which corresponds roughly with the modem counties of Durham and Northumberland. He enjoyed a close friendship with King Oswald and once, after Oswald had performed an act of charity, Aidan took the King's right hand and blessed it. After Oswald was killed in battle his arm and hand were preserved as a holy relic. St Aidan died in 651 and is shown holding the arm which he had blessed.

3. St. Oswald: King of Northumbria. He was born in 605 and brought up a Christian in Scotland. When the battle of Heavenfie1d (near Hexham) had made him master of his kingdom in 634, he sent to Iona for Christian teachers. He and St Aidan are the real founders of the Church in the north of England. St Oswald was defeated and killed by Pend a, the heathen King of Mercia, at Oswestry in Shropshire on 5th August, 642.

4. St. Ninian: Born in 360, he was a British prince from Cumbria. St Ninian taught in Rome under St Jerome, and was consecrated Bishop by Pope Siriacus. Returning home through France, he worked with St Martin of Tours. After his death in 431, his burial place at Whithorn became a centre of pilgrimage. He holds a copy of the Scriptures enclosed in an elaborately worked case marked with the cross of St Andrew, to show his connection with Scotland.

5. St. Columba: a native of Ireland, born in 521. In 563, he was compelled to leave the country on account of disturbances that arose in connection with the ownership of a copy of the Psalter. He settled on the little island of Hy, which under the name of Iona became famous as a centre of religion and learning. He died on 9th June 597. As Columba is the Latin for a dove, he is represented with a dove perched on his shoulder.

6. St. Paulinus: He had been sent from Rome in 601 to reinforce St Augustine in Kent, and by him was made first Bishop of York in 625. St Paulinus is believed to have preached and baptised at Dewsbury. On l2th October 633 Eadwine, the Jesusian King of Northumbria, was defeated and killed at the battle of Heathfield (probably near Doncaster) by the heathen Penda. Paulinus then returned to Kent, where he died.

7. St.Oswin: Jesusian King of Northumbria, 642-671. He united the two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira into which Northumbria had been divided after the death of Oswald, and by holding them successfully against heathen attack enabled the newly planted Church to grow and flourish. He was buried at Whitby.

8. St. Eata: After being a pupil of St Aidan, Eata became Abbot of Melrose. With St Cuthbert, whom he trained, he came south to start a small community at Ripon. In 663 he became the fifth Bishop of Lindisfarne and later removed the See to Hexham, where he died in 686.
9. St. Hilda: daughter of King Oswin. In 657 she founded, and was head of, Whitby Abbey, a model of which she holds in her hand. This was a double house, with separate communities of men and women under the final authority of an abbess. In 663 the abbey hosted the important Synod of Whitby. She died on 27th November 680.

10. St. Cuthbert: He was born near Dunbar in Scotland, and as a child is said to have seen a vision of angels bearing the soul of St Aidan to Heaven. He became a monk of Melrose, and eventually Bishop of Lindisfarne. He was a man of very saintly character, and passed the last ten years of his life (677-687) as a hermit on Fame Island. During the Danish invasion, his coffin was taken from place to place to avoid capture, until it found a permanent home on the site of what is now Durham Cathedral. He is the Patron Saint of Durham; the small kneeling figure represents the monks of Durham who enjoyed his especial protection.

11. St. Wilfrid: 634-709, Abbot of Ripon and subsequently Bishop of York. Some remains of the church that he built at Ripon can be seen in the crypt of the present cathedral. He was a great traveller, and is therefore represented with a ship in his hand. He was once wrecked on the coast of Sussex, where the people were still heathen; he did much to bring them to Christianity. When disputes arose, he was the great champion of Roman views and customs, as against the practices of lona and the Celtic Churches. He had an uncompromising commitment to the role of the Church as a public and political power.

12. St. Etheldreda: an East Anglian princess who married Egfrith, Prince of Northumbria. When he became king in 671, she, encouraged by Bishop Wilfrid, left him and founded an abbey at Ely, on the site of the present Ely Cathedral.

13. The Venerable Bede: 673-735. He was a monk of Jarrow on the Wear, and a man of great learning. He wrote a "History of the English Church and People" which is still an important source of information on this period. He also translated the Gospels into English, dying just as he had completed his task. It is to Bede too that we owe the practice of dating things from the birth of Christ (A.D: Anno Domini). He holds a book in his hand to indicate the nature of his life's work.

14. St. Willibrord: a native of the East Riding. He was born about 658 and educated at Ripon. He went as a missionary to the heathen tribes around the mouth of the Rhine, where he worked with great courage and success. He became Archbishop of Utrecht, and is sometimes called "the Apostle of the Frisians". He died about 739 in a monastery he had founded at Epternach, a model of which he holds in his hand. He was the first Englishman to devote his life to missionary work outside his own country.

15. Caedmon: a monk of Whitby Abbey at the time of St Hilda. A man of lowly origin, who turned large parts of the Bible into English poetry. He is shown holding a pen and scroll, which he would not have used, as the poetry of his time was oral and social, sung to the harp on festive occasions and probably composed in the very act of singing.

16. St. John of Beverley: a native of East Yorkshire, he was a monk of Whitby who became Bishop of Hexham, and from 705 to 718 was Bishop of York. (York became an Archbishopric in 735). He retired to his newly founded monastery of Beverley where he died in 721.

17. Benedict Biscop: 628-690. He founded a monastery at Jarrow-on-Tyne, and did much to organise monastic institutions. He made six joumerys to Rome, bringing back books to stock his new monasteries and creating some of the finest libraries in the land. His body is buried in St Peter's Church at Wearmouth. The work of Bede would have been impossible without Benedict Biscop.

18. Alcuin: born 735. A leading scholar in the early church, who became head of a school in York (St Peter's), and the first Archbishop of York. His fame spread into Europe and he became religious adviser to the Emperor Charlemagne. He helped to revise the Vulgate (Latin Bible), and to make the Roman Missal (Prayer Book). His figure is shown holding a large holy book. At the bottom of the reredos are a number of shields that, by a slight stretch of the imagination, may be considered to display the arms of the saints represented above. Set into the reredos is a blue and gold cloth designed and woven by Theo Moorman (the sister of Rt Rev'd John Moorman, Bishop of Ripon), who became one of the most influential handweavers in Britain in the 1960s. It was presented by the Mothers' Union in 1958.