Cathedral Treasures of England and Wales: Deans' Choice (Director's Choice)

Product Information

The Spire, by William Golding (Faber & Faber, 1964), tells the story of one man’s vision – the construction of an enormous spire onto a medieval cathedral (loosely based on Salisbury Cathedral) without foundations The windows are rich in painterly detail andcolour – particularly red, gold and blue. They were made using traditional methods, with two layers of glass that Denny then painted and scratched colour away from.

The more likes and engagement each treasure gets each day will count towards its popularity for the final competition to find Britain’s favourite cathedral treasure from the top ten most “liked” treasures. The Dean of St Davids, Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, says, “Wales is richly blessed with an abundance of treasures in its churches and particularly in its cathedrals. Many have been cherished and preserved over centuries by past generations, and have become part of our sense of culture and identity. Often, the building itself which is the treasure.

Leave a review!

The campaign revels in this latest illustrated volume by Janet Gough, a lecturer and advisor on historic churches and cathedrals, which tells the story of the treasures from 44 Church of England cathedrals and six cathedrals from the Church in Wales – each one chosen by the Dean or senior clergy of the cathedral featured. You can buy the book here. One treasure will be revealed every day for 50 days and will end with the launch of a competition to name Britain’s favourite cathedral treasure to coincide with Heritage Fund’s Heritage Treasures Day. Read all about the campaign here. The histories and architecture of our cathedrals have been documented and described in many ways by many people over the years in books of all shapes and sizes. But here their stories are revealed afresh in the voice of the cathedral Dean who treasures it.” It is a unique survival from Anglo-Saxon times and is made of a tablet of silver, with a cap and chain of gold and a separate gold pin. The cap is decorated with interlacing; its end is formed as the head of a beast and the chain and pin are also finished with beasts’heads. Two of the heads still have tiny gems for eyes. Abbreviated names of the month in Latin are inscribed in pairs in three lines on the broad faces of the tablet. Around the sides the words‘Health to the maker. Peace to the owner’are incised in Latin.

Cathedrals aren’t just buildings – they are treasure houses. So why are they overlooked as museums?’ Amidst the beauty of the architecture are some hidden treasures: medieval games. Boards are scratched into the surface of the seating on the far side of the cloisters. They were used for two medieval games: fox and geese and nine men’s morris.

The public will then be invited to vote for their top three and three members of the public who vote will receive a free copy of Janet’s publication – chosen at random. Canterbury Cathedral was founded in 597 by St Augustine who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to evangelise Anglo-Saxon England and regularise the English church. Canterbury became and remains the seat of one of two Archbishops of the Church of England (the other being York). A beautifully illustrated new book tells the stories behind 50 artefacts from the cathedrals of England and Wales. St Deiniol founded his clasor monastic community at Bangor – now Bangor Cathedral – in 525. It is one of at least two of the six Welsh cathedrals that predate the English cathedrals as places of continuous Christian worship. In the neighbouring diocese, St Asaph’s Cathedral has a copy of William Morgan’s first Welsh Bible 1588, authorised by Elizabeth I. Also in 2022 the manuscript known today as Textus Roffensis (‘the Rochester book’), compiled circa 1123 - and comprising Anglo-Saxon laws and early charters for the foundation of the priory that became Rochester cathedral - was added to the UNESCO memory of the world UK register.

Chelmsford Cathedral The Tree Of Life, Mark Cazalet, 2003-4, detail from painting showing the redeemed Judus. This painting was one of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s first major commissions. He chose as his subject the Nativity of Christ. The title emphasises Christ’s descent from David, who is depicted on both wings of the triptych: on the left as a shepherd boy and on the right as a king. The centre panel shows that Christ can be worshipped by rich and poor, shepherd and king, while a shepherd’s crook and a crown are laid at his feet. The infant Christ holds out his hand to be kissed by a poor shepherd and his foot by a king, showing the superiority of poverty over wealth.While Rossetti chose as his subject the Nativity of Christ, the title emphasises Christ’s descent from David, who appears on both wings of the triptych: on the left as a shepherd boy and, on the right, as a king. Janet’s latest volume, Deans’ Choice: Cathedral Treasures of England and Wales tells the story of the treasures from 44 Church of England cathedrals and six cathedrals from the Church in Wales, each one chosen by the Dean or senior clergy of the cathedral featured.

This book is a testament to the work of generations of skilled craftspeople who have created and maintained the stonework, the wood carvings and the embroidery - including the kneelers stitched, mostly by women, at Guildford cathedral – that are so much a part of what we see in cathedrals today. The Brougham Triptych (1515–20) is a carved and painted Flemish oak altarpiece depicting the birth and Passion of Christ in intimate contemporary detail. It stands as the altar reredos in the Chapel of St Wilfred in Carlisle Cathedral. We are blessed with an abundance of treasures in our cathedrals. These are a vital part of our heritage and an integral part of our culture, our social history and our identity. In their diversity ultimately each of them is a symbol of what our Cathedrals stand for, to proclaim the glory of God and God’s love for all creation. It is made up of 57 lozenge shapes each filled with a painted figure, from the Lamb of God to Luna (the moon) and St Peter – after whom the cathedral and town are named.The vibrancy of the panels is remarkable. I love the detail of those 16th-century glasses on the priest carrying out the circumcision. The face and costume of every figure portrayed is individualised – carved and painted with great skill and with an empathy and imagination that gives the triptych an exceptional communicative power. Together the treasures span over 1,000 years of history with the earliest treasure, Ripon Cathedral’s ancient crypt of St Wilfrid established in 672 AD, the oldest building of any English cathedral still in use today, to the newest, the Newport Cathedral Rood, a modern work of art by Singaporean artist Tay Swee Siong that was installed in 2020.