Memories - Gareth Powell
The Reverend Gareth Powell, who joined the University as Methodist chaplain in 1999, shares his Main story.
Having taken many acts of Remembrance in the Main Building over the years, it has always struck me that the building acts as a point of contact with the past.
The plaques on the first floor are a reminder of those members of the University community who served in the forces and lost their lives. Yet, the building remains busy – a hub of ongoing activity, so the past is placed in the context of a thriving, lively University community.
It’s interesting that the numbers attending the annual Remembrance Service have actually increased each year, and the Main Building remains the venue for the popular Christmas service, led by the School of Music, with the chaplaincy performing the important role of distributing the mince pies and sherry.
The sheer scale of the building suggests a permanence and stability, with each generation that passes through making its own contribution, under the watchful, benevolent gaze of the Viriamu Jones statue.
The fact that the statue is joined in the Viriamu Jones Gallery by contemporary panels of photographs and information about recent University achievements, just serves to emphasise the way this building connects the past with the present.
On a more mundane level, the building forms a useful focal point – always a handy place to arrange to meet a visitor or University colleague, and it’s also a kind of grand passageway between the University buildings in Cathays Park and those on Park Place.
Upstairs, the Council Chamber is equally impressive. The portraits of the succession of Vice-Chancellors and Principals remind us that each made their own distinct contribution to the University’s development, and without them, it would not be what it is today.
Outside, there are the carved representations of academic life on the front of the building, but I am always intrigued by David, the Patron Saint – looking down on the courtyard side of the building.
The story goes that he originally had a mitre, but there was opposition to overtly religious symbolism, so he was given a Canterbury cap, even though this was anachronistic. If true, this shows that arguments over the role of religion in education are nothing new!
Having developed such a fondness for the building, it’s perhaps odd that my first experience of Main Building was of the breakfast fry-ups in the refectory – maybe not the healthiest introduction, but a fine way to start the day with students and chaplaincy colleagues.
As the University’s Chaplaincy Co-ordinator, I had increasing reason to visit Main Building – for remembrance or other services, and sometimes for meetings with the Vice-Chancellor and others.
Now I am working part of the week in London as the Methodist Church’s Officer for Legal and Constitutional Practice, but I’m very pleased that I can retain a chaplaincy role at the University, and continue to enjoy this remarkable building.