Latest news with #CoventryCathedral
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Coventry Cathedral chair restorers praised for saving site £333k
A "super-skilled and fastidious" team of volunteers have been commended for their work restoring hundreds of chairs in a have renovated nearly a third of Coventry Cathedral's collection over the past 18 months, saving it about a third of a million pounds, according to a cathedral "care, craftsmanship and faith they pour into every chair" led to them being picked as runners-up in the Newgate Cathedral Volunteer of the Year awards."Their skill, commitment and spirit-led service have been vital to the continued welcome and comfort of all who visit the cathedral," a spokesperson said. The chairs, which have been seating visitors since the opening of the new cathedral in 1962, were coming apart and in urgent need of repair before the volunteers stepped in, according to the by property services manager Andy Shelley, the team restored a total of 600 chairs, preserving their heritage for congregations of the their help, the cost of replacing each chair would have been £555, the cathedral said. Volunteer manager Jackie Skipp added she was "so proud" of the people who helped out."The restoration team are super-skilled and fastidious in their attention to detail when repairing the chairs," she group was pipped to the post in the awards by a cafe project at St German's Cathedral on the Isle of Man. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Coventry's first female bishop installed at cathedral
Coventry's first female Bishop has been officially installed during a service at the city's Right Reverend Sophie Jelley, the tenth Bishop of Coventry, was welcomed by three young people from schools in the diocese as the service began on Saturday the Bishop of Doncaster, she has taken on responsibility for 201 parishes across Warwickshire and Jelley has succeeded the Rt Rev Dr Christopher Cocksworth, who left the diocese in November last year. The cathedral bells rang and a choir of children from eight local schools sang as dignitaries including MPs, council and business leaders assembled for the bishop, escorted by the Archdeacon of Canterbury, led the Litany of Reconciliation from the cathedral ruins before proceeding through the main building's doors, which were thrown wide open in welcome. During the service, Bishop Jelley took oaths of allegiance and obedience before receiving the Diocesan Crozier - a curved staff - from the High Altar where it was placed by her predecessor when he left in gave her inaugural sermon before enjoying a performance of Sing, written by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber, from the combined schools bishop was then presented with symbolic gifts representative of the diocese's heritage, including a jar of honey from a local farmer and a goose quill from Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The service finished with an episcopal Jelley, who is married and has three grown-up children, said on her appointment she looked forward to sharing "the story of God's love with the people of Coventry and Warwickshire". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Powys County Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Wool art exhibition celebrating VE Day unveiled in Wales
A wool art exhibition celebrating VE Day was unveiled for the first time in Llanelwedd last weekend. The Britain at War exhibition – The Longest Yarn 2 – was displayed at Wonderwool Wales, the premier wool and natural fibre festival in Wales, held at the Royal Welsh Showground. The exhibition consisted of nine panels at its launch, but will grow to 80 as extra panels are added during a tour of the UK over the coming months. The first nine panels include VE Day, Buckingham Palace, The Lorry on the Strand, The Street Party, The Conga at The Ritz with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, War is Declared, Coventry Cathedral is Bombed, Windows Taped up, The Few – Spitfire pilots with their dogs, and Lumber Jills. Founder Tansy Forster and her fellow knitters and crocheters are creating a new installation following the success of The Longest Yarn – an 80-metre, 3D wool art depiction of the D-Day landings in France on June 6, 1944 – which toured the UK last year and is now touring America. More than 1,000 knitters and crocheters from around the world contributed to the first project, which grew from Tansy's original idea of creating a display for a garden wall at her home in Normandy. Event director Chrissie Menzies said: "We were thrilled that Tansy and her group of fellow knitters produced the fantastic VE Day exhibition to be premiered at Wonderwool Wales. "The exhibition attracted huge interest and so many positive comments over the weekend and I am certain it will meet with the same response as it tours the UK." The Britain at War exhibition will be at Wells Cathedral until May 10, before moving to Gosport from May 12 to June 4, Plymouth from June 5 to 29, a venue to be confirmed from June 30 to July 21, Brecon from July 22 to 31, and Chiltern Open Air Museum from August 1 to 31. By September 3, at Southwell Minster, all 80 panels will be on display. The exhibition then moves to Stoke on Trent Minster in October, Sherborne Abbey in November and Leek in December. In 2026, the tour continues to Kilkeel, Northern Ireland in January, Enniskillen in February, Penrith in March, Belfast in April, Lichfield Cathedral in May, Peterborough Cathedral in June, Nothe Fort in Weymouth in July, Gosport in August, Welshpool in September, Wrexham in October and Chorley in November. Ms Forster, said: "Due to the positive reception and success we have experienced with the Longest Yarn, we are excited to further develop our initiatives to ensure these significant commemorations continue to be recognised. "Britain at War examines how Britain navigated the war from September 3, 1939 to VE Day on May 8, 1945. "Visitors to Wonderwool Wales were the first to see the start of 80-panel work we are currently working on. "When I first had my lightbulb moment, I really had no idea that it would lead to this incredible rollercoaster that I've been on for almost two years. "250,000 people have visited the first exhibition and raised the same in monetary terms." She explained that she hopes to double the £250,000 raised so far to help establish a halfway house for British veterans, while also supporting dog charities that assist people with disabilities and medical conditions. Ms Forster is also hopeful that The Longest Yarn will raise enough money in the USA to establish a halfway house for American veterans.
BBC News
03-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
World peace to be focus for new Coventry Cathedral canon
A former NHS doctor who has been appointed as a canon at Coventry Cathedral says she wants to create a culture of peace in a divided Canon Kate Massey is currently a vicar in Stockingford, Warwickshire, and will take up the role in June which will focus on the arts and said "in an increasingly polarised world" Coventry's "vocation to reconciliation is more timely than ever".The cathedral is well-known as a centre for reconciliation since the destruction of the city's Old Cathedral in World War Two. Rev Canon Massy added it would be a "joy and an honour to serve" as the team explores "ways to heal the wounds of history, celebrate difference and build a culture of justice and peace".Before she was ordained, she specialised in mental health and psychiatry when she was a doctor, a cathedral spokesperson would bring a "wealth of practical and pastoral experience" and was currently studying for a PhD on the reconciliation work of the cathedral, they Canon Massy follows the Right Reverend Mary Gregory who left the role in November when she was appointed Bishop of Reading. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
