A good example of this recently came to light in the form of a small altar he designed for a very small Catholic chapel located in Wales.
First off, in the earlier Christian centuries, the Christian altar tended to be quite small in size. (Whether this was universally so is rather a point of conjecture, but this tradition carried on through into the Byzantine East where the altar is still typically much more compact by comparison with their Latin rite brethren where the altar has tended to adopt a more elongated form that is better suited to the Latin liturgical rites). Obviously in a small chapel, a smaller altar is a necessity of course, so this to would have driven this design choice, but I think it was quite ingenious of them to mix this practical need with a nod back to the first millennium of Christianity.
In addition to this, there are also the design elements used. Obviously there are the Corinithian like columns to either side, and then the palm fronds, but it is the two lambs standing each to one side facing a cross that really is the heart and centre of this altar's design.
This particular design motif is one that we can find in first millennium and later medieval Christian art and here are two medieval comparators for your consideration, the first from Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna, and the second from the basilica of San Clemente in Rome:
 |
| Apsidal mosaic of the basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna |
 |
| Apsidal mosaic of the basilica of San Clemente, Rome |
Obviously there are some differences as well, but the point here is simply that it is a familiar motif within the particular period of liturgical art that Martin Earle seems to take his design inspiration primarily from.
The altar also contains a niche within, designed with the purpose of displaying and containing a relic within a reliquary -- in this instance, a reliquary chest.
 |
| A closer look at the metalwork found on the altar niche |
The materials used here are appropriate to the budget likely available to a small chapel (and they've done very well on this front by making a little go a long way), but one can well imagine the potential for a design such as this which could not only be expanded in terms of the proportions of the altar, but also the materials. A bigger budget would allow for options like polychromatic marbles and other stones to be used in the altar's construction. To my mind, it is approaches such as this that were likely what was intended and envisioned when the Church began talking about "noble beauty" in the realm of liturgical altar in the mid-twentieth century.
