The St John Family Polyptych is normally closed, and you can only see the outer panels; to see the inside panels, you would need to visit on St Mary’s open days such as the Heritage Days in September each year, when the polyptych is open for viewing.
So that visitors can see the detail of the polyptych whenever they visit, a smaller-sized accurate model has been made, and is mounted on railings in the Monuments area of St Mary’s. The model opens just like the real thing, and allows you to examine the replica St John family panels whenever you like.
In the short video below, tour guide Sue explores the Polyptych model and explains why it continues to fascinate.
