What Is The History Of The Altar?

Church altars were originally free standing and made from wood until about 509 AD. After that, large stone slabs tended to be used and these were often placed above the remains or relics of a saint. The lower stone had a cavity into which the remains were placed.

The altar of the church stood to the east end of the chancel on a raised step and was covered by a decorative cloth or a carved and painted panel.

In 1505, Edward VI passed an Act of Parliament that said that all altar stones had to be removed and destroyed. This was an unpopular move with the clergy but was probably done as a massive outward sign to the public that the King had power over them. Most of the stones were hidden away by the then totally Catholic Church (Protestantism did not emerge until later in the 1500s).

When the reformation did occur, the riches of the churches was stripped down and, generally, altars have been much more simple since, going back to being wooden tables covered with a cloth.