St Stephen's Church, Skipton

Virtual Tour - Reredos

The reredos is a carved screen that stands behind the altar as a kind of iconostasis (icon screen). It may be painted or carved. In this case, the reredos is carved from Caen stone. It was erected in 1853 to a design by the famed A W N Pugin and it is quite typical of his work.

The iconographic scheme of this reredos is the life and martyrdom of St Stephen, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. Scenes to the left of the tabernacle show St Stephen preaching the Gospel to the people of Jerusalem. The final scene on the right of the tabernacle shows St Stephen being stoned by those who opposed his message of salvation in Christ Jesus.