On holiday last week, we visited Gloucester Cathedral, and got to see the amazing Whispering Gallery there. A whispering gallery is a gallery beneath a dome, vault, or enclosed in a circular or elliptical area in which whispers can be heard clearly in other parts of the building.
A whispering gallery is usually constructed in the form of an ellipsoid, with an accessible point at each focus. When a visitor stands at one focus and whispers, the line of sound emanating from this focus reflects directly to the dish/focus at the other end of the room, and to the other person. Circular whispering galleries may provide “communication” from any part on the circumference to the diametrically opposite point on the circumference.
You can see how high the gallery is from this photograph taken from high up:
Here’s the gallery itself. When you stand at one end, whispers can be heard by someone at the other end, even though they are around corners!
The plaque in the gallery reminds us that if we can hear the whispers, God surely can hear our prayers. That’s a reassuring thought!