cathedrals – Season Images

Cathedrals of England: E-Book Published

I have arranged and published, through an Internet Publisher, the first copy on a 90 page book entitled “Cathedrals of England” which contains images and some introductory information on all 43 Anglican English cathedrals. The E=Book can be browsed through this link.

What next?

The next step will be to have discussions with various parties including the Church and publishers to see if we can take the project further. Producing one-offs is very expensive. Of course, if there is going to be a commercial aspect to this we will need clearance from each Cathedral to include images of their property.

Watch this space – You may be able to order a copy soon.

All 43 English Anglican Cathedrals Photographed

The first Cathedral I photographed was the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington DC. Then I attended a multi-faith meeting on water representing the World Bank which was held in Salisbury Cathedral in England in July 2009, and I visited the Cathedral of Bath and Wells in Somerset where I have family roots. I was overawed by these magnificent buildings and the idea dawned to set about photographing them all – which I completed yesterday (3 March 2011) when I flew to the Isle of Man and photographed the Peel Cathedral (see Blog post –Peel Cathedral, Isle of Man – the Friendliest Cathedral in all England). A selection of the images taken at each cathedral can be seen in the Season Images Gallery.

The purpose

The cathedrals of England hold a tension, an irony, being at once places of devotion and contemplation as well as representing wealth and power from a past era. A tension runs right through most elements – a warmth and a coldness, the familiar with the alien, minute detail overshadowed by vast lines and cavernous spaces. My purpose in these images is to explore these tensions, seeking not to create an architectural record but to capture unique perspectives to be reflected upon and contemplated over. A very real contemporary tension is how these sacred buildings, which have priceless historical value, recreate themselves to hold real significance in the largely secular, urban, 21st century contexts in which they find themselves and remain true to their primary function as places of Christian worship. My hope is that in a small way these images can bring to life again the dedicated creativity of centuries of artists, architects, builders and masons.

A list ….

The most inspiring and my favorite is Wells Cathedral.
The most striking font is in Salisbury Cathedral.
The friendliest was Peel Cathedral on the Isle of Man.
The most informative and amenable guide was in St Alban’s.
The most awesome for sheer size was Liverpool.
The cross-of-nails in Coventry was thought provoking.
The most picturesque surroundings – Lichfield Cathedral.
The most expensive was …….. – £120.00 per hour. (Fill in the gaps)
The least attended was …….. – I spent an hour there and did not see anyone.
The most unsteady – ……… Cathedral did not let me use a tripod.
The least friendly – in …….. we had a run in with very rude University Proctors although the volunteers in the Cathedral were friendly.

Peel Cathedral, Isle of Man – the Friendliest of all Church of England Cathedrals

Peel Cathedral

Yesterday (3 March 2011) I had the privilege of visiting the most recently hallowed Cathedral in England – St German Cathedral Church in Peel on the Isle of Man, Cathedral of the Diocese of Sodor and Man. (See the images on the Season Images Gallery) The church of St German was hallowed as a cathedral in 1980 – the church was consecrated in 1893 to replace the ancient church of St. Peter, in the town centre, which had become too small for Peel’s growing population.

The Dean and the Church Warden were warm and welcoming – I flew to the Isle of Man for the day from Gatwick and was collected at the airport and made to feel very welcome with a cup of tea. Although St German’s is the most recently hallowed Cathedral in the Church of England, it is very much a living, worshiping community and could teach some of its more ancient brother / sister (??) cathedrals a thing or two. If you ever get the chance to visit the Isle of Man, you must visit Peel and you must visit the Cathedral.

1DB_2843 — Sanctuary - the heart of a living cathedral

1DB_2877 — Menorah made from spent rocket casings

1DB_2861 — Prayers for all impacted by conflict and injustice

Peel town

Spring was definitely in the air and after photographing the Cathedral I strolled down to the promenade and enjoyed the sun and the seaside.

7 more Cathedrals Photographed

Northern England

During Half-Term (20-26 February 2011) Karen and I traveled to northern England to photograph 6 more cathedrals: Ripon, Bradford, York Minster Cathedral, Durham, and Newcastle in the east, and Carlisle in the west. We braved a range of weather with one brief glimpse of the sun. This makes 42 of the 43 English Cathedrals now photographed – I photograph the last English Cathedral on 3 March – Peel Cathedral on the Isle of Man.

Carlisle Cathedral was a challenge as when I arrived I was told that I could not use a tripod. As I shoot at a low ISO value with typical exposures of 20 – 30 seconds, I had to do some creative thinking. Carlisle is the only cathedral out of the 43 in England which had this restriction but no doubt for good reason as they said images of the cathedral had been used inappropriately – if I had known this before hand I could probably have made an arrangement.

Wales

We visited St David’s Cathedral in west Wales which is the first Welsh cathedral I have photographed. St David’s is the smallest city in the UK because of the cathedral. There are 6 cathedrals in Wales altogether: St David’s : Llandaff : Bangor : Newport : St Asaph : Brecon. This now makes for a new target – the Cathedrals of England and Wales!

5 More English Cathedrals photographed

I used the period between Christmas and New Year (and the thaw from the recent ice and snow!) to go with Karen (my wife) to the English midlands and photograph a further 5 cathedrals. There are 43 Anglican cathedrals in England and with the recent 5, (Manchester, Liverpool, Wakefield, Blackburn and Sheffield) I have now reached 35.

Manchester Cathedral

We traveled to Manchester first – construction of the church which was the predecessor of the cathedral began in 1215. The church became a cathedral in 1847. It has been through a long history of restoration and reconstruction, it was bombed in World War II and by the IRA in 1996. It is a somewhat brooding building. See the Manchester Cathedral Images here.

Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool is the largest cathedral in England and the largest Anglican cathedral in the world – it is truly amazing. It is a 20th century cathedral – designed by architect Giles Gilbert Scott, who was 22 years old when he won the commission. Begun in 1904, it was completed in 1978, 18 years after Scott died. The bells of Liverpool Cathedral are the highest and heaviest ringing peal in the world and the organ is the largest in England with 10,268 pipes. The whole experience is one of audacious magnificence at scale! See the Liverpool Cathedral Images here.

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