Latest news with #cathedrals
Times
02-08-2025
- Times
My tour of England's glorious cathedrals produced a clear winner
I am not religious. I have only a passing interest in architecture. But I've always been fascinated by cathedrals: the elaborate vaults and arcades, the clash and contrast of clerestories, the stained-glass windows and ornate organs. Cathedrals possess an aura that compels us to touch their walls. They make us feel small. Cathedrals are seldom humble, often humbling. But I'd seen very few English cathedrals and little of England, my experience largely limited to European celebrities: Sagrada Familia, Notre Dame, Santa Maria del Fiore. Always up for a challenge, always a glutton for self-imposed deadlines, I decided in June last year to visit all 42 of England's Anglican cathedrals in the space of a year. I do not own a car, and trains require mortgages, so I often relied on family and friends for favours. My partner drove us three hours from our London flat to a log cabin in Ledbury, accompanied by our year-old whippet. I planned to start strong: three cathedrals in three days. Hereford felt homely, much like the city, and Gloucester hosted the most striking cloister I'd ever seen. But Worcester proved the favourite, not for the Norman crypt, certainly not for King John, but because it welcomed dogs. Our whippet pulled at the lead, dragging me past a well-behaved collie and timid dachshund, itching to reach a statue with an outstretched hand. The highlight of the trip: our usually quiet puppy, bark echoing across a silent nave, desperate to play with a marble Bishop Philpott. June, July, and August consisted of low-hanging fruit, day trips to cathedrals near London: Portsmouth, Chichester, Chelmsford, Guildford, Rochester and St Albans. All remarkable places with unremarkable cathedrals. My brother and I travelled to Salisbury to see a building that John Ruskin described as gloomy and profound. I found the exterior gloomy, the interior profound. Salisbury is full of surprises: the font, designed by William Pye in 2008, delivers streams of water over black marble, and an intricate Chapter House hosts Magna Carta. Salisbury proved an early favourite. It remained so for only six days. I visited Ely on the most crowded day of the year: the October harvest festival. Throngs of people ate toasties and bought trinkets by the truckload. A storm arrived at the nick of time, detaining me inside the great nave, where I joked with stallholders, selling farmhouse cider and autumnal reefs, about the Great British weather. Ely provided the coldest toastie and the warmest welcome. I can't remember much of the architecture, such were the joys. I had to squeeze in several cathedrals each time I ventured north. Leicester, Nottingham, and Sheffield proved vibrant and fascinating places, let down by their cathedrals. Then came Lincoln. If I ever tire of London, you'll find me in Lincoln. I climbed the Steep Hill, cheered on by hardened locals, and stumbled breathlessly upon the mighty façade. Lincoln Cathedral lends itself to romance, presenting the perfect marriage of complexity and size: it was once the world's tallest building, until its central spire collapsed during a storm in 1548. Every architectural feature seems enriched with armies of gargoyles or fields of carved foliage. Something captures your attention with every glance. The cathedral represents its city: self-assured, punching above its weight. I visited Winchester in January with bookish friends. Its cathedral commands attention: the endless nave, the soaring arcades, Gormley's sculpture in the perma-flooded crypt. We stumbled upon Jane Austen's grave, started discussing books, as we often did, and spent the rest of the day on the Austen trail, visiting her old stomping grounds. A few weeks later, I went to another great literary cathedral, the oldest cathedral in England, Canterbury, host to Chaucer's pilgrims and Edward, the Black Prince. My mum and I, after a few midday wines, stared at Becket's shrine and slurred about British history. The climax of Canterbury is its stained glass, the best I've seen: the south window seemed never-ending, showing off the most ancient glass in England. Canterbury is a marvel. My mum and I left feeling giddy, perhaps because of the wine, more likely because of the windows. Cathedrals are not designated by size, age or style. Function alone defines their status. A cathedral is the principal church of a diocese, a geographical area overseen by a bishop and distinguished by the presence of the bishop's cathedra, the Latin word for seat or throne. Cathedrals were once linked to the granting of city status, which explains why relatively small places such as Ely, Wells and Salisbury are cities, while larger places such as Reading and Northampton are not. As I ticked off the places close to home, places I'd been before, I noticed new details. St Paul's is an exercise in symmetry, an exposé of mathematical precision, a work of architectural genius. Or so I'm told. My memory of that day belongs largely to a Chinese tourist, probably mid-thirties, clinging to the rails, afraid to move near the top of the dome. She laughed nervously. She could not speak a lick of English, but managed to hold out a hand. I looked over my home town, standing proud in the jewel of its skyline, staring out at the Shard, the Tate and Thames. I'd been saving one cathedral, hoping to make it my last: Durham. The best view comes from the train. Legend dictates that John Betjeman pleaded for the stationmaster job because of that view. The cathedral watches over the city, the Wear protects the cathedral. I rushed over cobbles, heading down and climbing up, until I found its feet. The inside of Durham matches the beauty of the outside: the gigantic nave, rib-vaulted ceilings, the scale of Norman ambition. I spent two hours strolling with neck craned. You could spend a lifetime in Durham and barely scratch the sandstone. I saw the miner's memorial on my way out, two angels holding up a coal-black slate. The last colliery closed in 1993 but the memorial stands as a testament to Durham's history: the cathedral and the pits, two symbols of a stoic city. Durham challenged Lincoln but fell just short. My story does not have a happy ending. Time seemed to slip away and so far I've visited only 36 of the 42. I missed out on some apparent unsung heroes: Bradford, Carlisle, Ripon, Truro, Wakefield and Wells — a delight, so I'm told. I plan to visit them soon. It's nice to know there's always more to see. In England's Cathedrals, Simon Jenkins writes that, in the course of building, 'masons reflected the lives of the communities around them'. I found that many cathedrals represented their people: St Paul's felt prodigious, a little arrogant; Lincoln seemed self-assured and proud; Durham proved complex and stoic; and Worcester was welcoming to humans and dogs. But that sentiment felt unfair to other places: the people of Rochester, Bristol, Coventry, Newcastle and many other towns and cities, unlike their cathedrals, remain remarkable. The joy of visiting English cathedrals is visiting England, spending time with its brilliant characters.
Times
01-07-2025
- Times
Seven of the most atmospheric UK cathedrals to visit this summer
Pilgrims travelling to religious sites around the globe were some of the world's first tourists and Gen Zs are following suit with an April YouGov survey showing a significant rise in church-going in the under-25s. Visiting one of Britain's soaring cathedrals is a chance to switch off, admire some of the country's best architecture, tap into a sense of community, listen to music (the acoustics are often superb) or even attend a service. Here are seven of our favourites. St David founded this monastery in Wales's smallest cathedral city in the 6th century, making it one of the oldest religious sites in the UK. Treasures today include the 16th-century carved oak ceiling in the nave and a striking stained glass window created by the William Morris Company (open daily, free; There are plenty of superb options for strolls nearby including the short Wales Coast Path to St Non's Chapel, with a well thought to have healing properties. St Davids Cross Hotel has been a landmark for centuries; it now has 16 stylish bedrooms, with a popular bar and restaurant but is also close to the medieval ruins of the Bishop's Palace (£6.80; Details B&B doubles from £135 ( The sandstone St Magnus Cathedral — the oldest in Scotland — was founded by Viking invaders in 1137 (open daily, free; The hub of the Orkneys, Kirkwall sees ferries travelling to the outer islands, including the neolithic remains at Rousay while boat trips also visit the shipwrecks at Scapa Flow. The Kirkwall Hotel, a quick stroll from St Magnus, has 37 comfortable rooms that nearly all look out onto the harbour. Details B&B doubles from £133 ( • The most beautiful places in Scotland Founded in AD597, this cathedral is enshrined in literary as well as religious history, as the destination for the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. On July 5, the city's annual Medieval Pageant will bring Canterbury's history alive with a trail featuring costumes and references to Chaucer. Inside the cathedral itself, you can see where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 along with the tomb of Henry IV and his wife Joan of Navarre, all surrounded by Britain's most beautiful collection of Norman ecclesiastical architecture (open daily, £18; Built in the grounds, Cathedral Lodge has 34 snug rooms and guests get free access to the cathedral as well as access to its gardens before they open to the B&B doubles from £115 ( • Discover our full guide to Kent Dominating this city in the northeast, Durham Cathedral has a history that stretches back to AD995 (open daily, free; This July, for the first time in eight years, all three copies of Magna Carta held here will be on display but you'll also be able to see the cloisters where Ron Weasley vomited slugs and Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration in the Harry Potter films. On the other side of the River Wear, the very glam 40 Winks guesthouse has rooms with views of the cathedral, and a luxurious, gilded ambience that would have appealed to some of the most worldly past Durham bishops. Details Room-only doubles from £170 ( Thanks to the staunchly Catholic Dukes of Norfolk, Arundel's cathedral, consecrated in 1873, is one of the largest and most beautiful Catholic cathedrals in Britain (open daily, free; It's surrounded by streets stuffed with independent shops and restaurants, plus there are also paths by the River Arun to wander (open daily, free; Arundel Castle, where the Norfolk family still lives, has paintings by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Canaletto and 38 acres of gardens famous for their roses (£16; Close to both, the Norfolk Arms has evolved from a Georgian coaching inn into a 39-room hotel with its own craft pub serving Sussex beer and Room-only doubles from £90 ( Surrounded by some the city's oldest and most beautiful houses, woven through with public gardens and a path that leads to the River Wensum, Norwich Cathedral has Britain's only surviving medieval altarpiece as well as a font made from two copper bowls that were once used to make toffee at Norwich's former Rowntree Mackintosh factory (open daily, free; A range of organ and orchestra concerts by candlelight take place here throughout the year. Parts of the Maids Head Hotel, next door to the cathedral, date from the 15th century, but the foundations are much older; Norwich's first bishop's palace was built here in the 11th century (open daily, free; Room-only doubles from £117 ( • Best hotels in Norfolk While most cathedrals have a strong music tradition, this small Somerset city shows off its own specialist music school; there are both boy and girl choirs who perform with adult choral scholars as well as weekly lunchtime organ recitals open to the public. It's often considered to be the most beautiful English cathedral, with its gothic architecture dating from 1175. Tours take in the West Front façade with its 300 medieval sculptures, the 14th-century stained-glass Jesse Window and a Romano-British burial chamber (open daily, £15; Pilgrims and travellers have been seeking succour at the Swan Hotel, a three-minute walk away with an excellent restaurant, since B&B doubles from £140 ( • The most luxurious hotels in Somerset Where else do you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below
Wall Street Journal
19-06-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘From the Vault: Collecting Tapestries at the Worcester Art Museum' Review: Woven Worlds
Worcester, Mass. Sumptuous, large, heavy and used in centuries past to warm the walls of Europe's great stone castles and cathedrals, tapestries conjure a long-ago world. They tell expansive tales of courtly life, love, war, myth and more in copious details and rich colors. But these once-hardy specimens, made to last many lifetimes, are sensitive to light, temperature and gravity. Often very fragile, they need to rest, lest their condition worsen. Plus, they demand enormous spaces. They spend a lot of time rolled up in storage.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cello pilgrim to perform special Meditation at Bradford Cathedral
A cellist will perform at Bradford Cathedral as part of a 2,000-mile pilgrimage. Kenneth Wilson, 66, has set himself the task of cycling to all 42 Anglican cathedrals in England - in 40 of which he will give a performance of his specially-written 'Meditation on the Seven Last Words.' The Meditation combines Mr Wilson's short poems with Bach's solo cello music, and is an evocation of Jesus's last hours on the cross. Mr Wilson said: "It's more than a religious work, though. "The Meditation offers music and poetry that has meaning well beyond that. "Even if you've never been in a cathedral before, I hope the meditation – as well as the journey – will speak to you." The 'Pilgrim Cello' pilgrimage will begin on May 18, and Mr Wilson will perform at Bradford Cathedral on Friday, May 23, at 3pm. On his journey, Mr Wilson will also be carrying with him seven paintings by abstract artist Gillian Lever, which illustrate the Seven Last Words. Entry to the Bradford Cathedral performance is free, with a retiring collection, and interest can be expressed at More information about the wider tour is available at
