On Saturday 10th May, Bradford Cathedral will be opening its doors for a pair of Ecclesiastical Textiles' Tours where you’ll be able to discover more about the beautiful textiles on display in the Cathedral, as well as those that are rarely seen. Being held as part of Bradford 2025, the UK City of Culture year, the Ecclesiastical Textiles’ Tours are the perfect chance to discover more about the history of Bradford Cathedral through its collection of beautiful, intricate and historically significant ecclesiastical textiles. These include altar frontals and other textiles designed by Morris & Co., the Leek Embroidery Society, Bradfordian artist Ernest Sichel and renowned Bradfordian embroiderer, Louisa Pesel, who designed an altar frontal that was worked on by shell-shocked soldiers during World War One. There are also contemporary textiles designed by Polly Meynell. Maggie Myers, Bradford Cathedral’s Director of Education and Visitors, says:“Join us as we tour the Cathedral, seeing these stunning textiles in situ - some of which are rarely on display - and hearing the fascinating stories behind them. "The Cathedral is such a lovely building, with so many wonderful features and stories. This is a rare opportunity to focus on its fascinating textiles and to get up close to them in order to appreciate them fully." Tickets (£7 each + booking fee) for the 11:30am tour can be booked at https://ecclesiastical-textiles-may-2025-1.eventbrite.co.uk/ and for the 1:30pm tour at https://ecclesiastical-textiles-may-2025-2.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Airedale Stitchers will be exhibiting their ‘Our Bradford’ exhibition in Bradford Cathedral during the UK City of Culture year. The exhibition, which is based on the theme of what Bradford means to the group’s members, will run from Monday 12th May – Friday 20th June 2025, as part of that season’s ‘Weaving Stories’ season running until September 2025 at Bradford Cathedral. This season of events, demonstrations, tours, and exhibitions will help you to explore the rich heritage of Bradford through the historic threads of the wool trade that go back to the Cathedral’s foundations 1,400 years ago, and that bind the global city together." The exhibition will see thirty-five works hanging from the pillars in the Cathedral, each capturing a place or feeling from the Bradford District, each styled in one of many different types of stitches including applique, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, and patchwork, Interpretation boards and a guide will reveal more about the works on display, and locations captured in stitches will include the Bingley Five Rise Locks; the Wool Exchange; Ilkley’s Cow and Calf rocks; Haworth Moor; and, of course, Bradford Cathedral. A launch event will be held on Thursday 15th May from 2-4pm. Helen Barnes, a member of Airedale Stitchers, says:“Our starting point was thinking about what makes Bradford home for us. Our ideas were diverse, memories of growing up and working in the area to the love of the landscape and consideration of the historical industrial heritage. The connecting thread throughout our thoughts is the wool industry from fields of sheep to the silhouette of the city outline and the people living and working in Bradford. “Working in large hoops our members have used a variety of textile techniques including embroidery and applique, mixed media, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, patchwork and quilting. “We hope visitors will enjoy looking at our work in the beautiful setting of the Cathedral and the images portrayed will resonate with people while they reflect on their own memories of living or visiting the area.” The Revd Canon Ned Lunn, Bradford Cathedral’s Canon for Intercultural Mission and the Arts, says:"Our 'Weaving Stories' season seeks to promote, teach and encourage engagement in the heritage wool crafts that have been the foundation of our city and district for 1,400 years. The Cathedral community has stood at the heart of that history on our site for all that time and we are excited to welcome everybody to hear the rich and diverse stories that have made Bradford what it is today. “The Airedale Stitchers exhibition will kick off this season of work and will set the tone for all that will follow. Come and be inspired by how others experience life in our beautiful district and maybe create your own expression of love for all that makes us Bradford." Alongside the exhibition, you’ll be able to see photographs of the stitchers and their pieces on the Bradford Cathedral website, and across their social media, as well as learning more about their inspirations in creating them. ENDS ‘Our Bradford’, by Airedale Stitchers, will be on display at Bradford Cathedral from Monday 12th May – Friday 20th June 2025 with the launch event taking place on Thursday 15th May from 2-4pm. You can book your free place(s) at https://bradfordcathedral.churchsuite.com/events/mlxjdzqj You can see the exhibition during the Cathedral’s regular opening hours of 10am – 4pm Monday – Saturday, and around services and events, but please check the website ahead of time for any changes to this. For more information, please visit bradfordcathedral.org.uk/bradford2025
In this edition of ‘Notes from an Organist’ we discover more about them, and what to expect from their recital, including weaving some local references into an international programme; starting up new choirs; and how the Blackpool Tower Ballroom has influenced their playlist!Could you introduce yourself, how you got into music / become an organist and your musical journey to where you are today?Hello, my name is Robert Poyser, Director of Music at Beverley Minster since 2009. I was a chorister at Gloucester Cathedral under John Sanders and my time there inspired me to do what I do now. The sound of the Gloucester organ was unique (a deliberate past tense as there is a new organ under construction there now) and I couldn’t wait to play it! After leaving school, I was organ scholar at Beverley Minster whilst doing my degree at Hull University, then organ scholar at York Minster. I was Assistant Organist at Chelmsford Cathedral for 5 years, then Director of Music at St Mary’s Church Portsea and then to Beverley.What can people expect from your recital at Bradford Cathedral?A mixture of all sorts! Hopefully entertaining, varied, fun, serious and all places in between. I have chosen music that Reginald Dixon would have played at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool as well as 16th Century English music and some fabulous Bach. My particular favourite part of organ playing is improvisation and my recital finishes with a four movement improvised symphony.Why do you enjoy playing the organ?I enjoy the challenge of treating the organ and acoustic like an orchestra in an ever-changing environment. Sounds that work in one space on one instrument would be completely different in the next space. Bringing this all together is a great challenge.Do you have a particular favourite piece out of those you are playing?Blaze Away! It is so cheering and vibrant. The Bach is a great piece with a wonderful mix of technical challenges and changes of mood.This season’s theme is Bradfordian Organ Music – music from composers with a connection to the City and District. How are you reflecting this in your programme?Sorry – a very international flavour to today’s programme! Listen carefully to the improvisation for some more local references!What are your hopes or plans musically for the rest of 2025?Survival. I’m playing a few more recitals but other than that managing a really busy music programme at Beverley Minster is an all-encompassing enterprise!You started a girls’ choir and then a junior choir at Beverley Minster – how have they been going?Well! We now have over 100 singers involved in music-making at the Minster on a weekly basis. Our girls choir has now been split in to two, Girls (aged 8-13) and Consort (aged 13-18) and our Junior Choir has over 20 members (aged 4-8) and has become our most reliable source of new trebles for our Boys and Girls Choirs. I couldn’t manage the Junior Choir without the amazing leadership of its Director, Rachel Dent who has a knack of choosing entertaining and fun things for them to sing.You’ve recorded several CDs of organ music; what makes for a good compilation of pieces?As much as possible, an absence of dullness. A variety of styles, sounds, emotions and volume!Outside of work you enjoy travelling – where has been your favourite place to visit?I am a huge fan or railways and I travel to Wick and Thurso on the Far North Line from Inverness every Summer. Finally, how would you sum up your upcoming recital at Bradford Cathedral?It is a privilege to come and play at Bradford Cathedral. I am looking forward to getting to know the organ and building again and I hope that you all enjoy the concert.You can join us on Wednesday 7th May at 1pm to hear Robert’s organ recital, with an optional £4 buffet lunch beforehand at 12:30pm.You can discover more about our organ recital season on our dedicated page.
Bradford Cathedral will be open for visitors on Bank Holiday Monday (5th May) from 10am – 4pm where you can explore the building and find out more about its history and heritage. As part of the day the Cathedral will also be running two tours, at 11am and 1pm. Maggie Myers, Bradford Cathedral’s Director of Education and Visitors, says:“As part of our Bradford 2025 activities, we are offering a series of tours of Bradford Cathedral during the course of this year. “If you have always wanted to learn more about this beautiful building, its history and its treasures, this is your opportunity! “There is no other location in Bradford where you can learn about a history stretching back almost 1,400 years, and tour a beautiful medieval building with Saxon fragments, Victorian and 20th century extensions, stunning Morris & Co. and other stained glass and many historic and contemporary features.” Tickets for the tours cost £5 (plus booking fee) and can be booked on Bradford Cathedral’s Eventbrite page, or via their website. Also on Monday 5th May the Cathedral will be welcoming in walkers who have taken part in that weekend’s Yorkshire Heritage Way, as well as members of Bingley Walkers are Welcome. You can book your place on the tours by going to https://tour-may25-11.eventbrite.co.uk/ (11am) or https://tour-may25-13.eventbrite.co.uk/ (1pm). For details of all upcoming services and events at Bradford Cathedral – including future general, ecclesiastical textiles, and Morris & Co tours – please visit https://bradfordcathedral.org.uk/featured-events
