Monday Fellowship
Unfortunately, due to the thick ice in and around the Cathedral grounds in early January, the first Monday Fellowship talk of the year, by Elaine Appelbee, had to be cancelled; Elaine will now speak about her Camino Journey in November. The group met in February for an interesting discussion led by Canon Revd. Ned Lunn, about arts in cathedrals, and Mary Carroll spoke movingly about the work of the Bradford Court Chaplaincy Service at the March meeting. On the 14th April, Revd. Duncan Milwain will lead a reflection for Holy Week. All are welcome at Monday Fellowship, whether you wish to attend monthly, as a one-off or from time to time. All talks are followed by refreshments and a chance to chat with others.
Tours for adult groups
There have been a number of these taking place in 2025:
- 18th January – Historical Son et Lumiere evening pilgrimages around Bradford Cathedral (29 people)
- 1st February – Ecclesiastical Textiles’ tours (51 people)
- 13th February – Tour for Wilsden Women’s Institute (15 people)
- 22nd March – William Morris & Co. stained glass tours (52 people)
A sample of feedback from the adult tours:
- “Very much enjoyed the tour. Felt very welcoming. With warm friendly atmosphere”
- “Absolutely fascinating… I would highly recommend others to attend the tour. Well worth a visit. Especially as Bradford is City of Culture this year, it’s a friendly and convenient place to visit.”
- “We all enjoyed the tour and were thrilled to be able to see your altar frontals and hear about their history from your very knowledgeable expert.”
Visitors’ Book
Comments in the Visitors’ Book January- March have come from visitors from all over Bradford, Leeds and many other parts of Yorkshire, including Beverley, Hull, Sheffield, Guisborough and York.
We have also had visitors from all over the country, including: Manchester, Stockport, Burnley, Blackburn, Wigan, Rochdale, Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland, Carlisle, Nottingham, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Newark-on-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent, Grantham, Lincoln, Leicester, Newmarket, London, Hertford, Surrey, Sussex and Dorset. Visitors are also recorded as visiting from Northern Ireland, Poland, Spain and the Philippines.
There were so many lovely comments. Here is just a small selection from the last 3 months:
- “Lovely cathedral- one of the best.”
- “A revelation! Most interesting and a very welcoming guide.”
- “Love the history of Christian worship on this site. Love the peace and quiet space to reflect and pray. Love the presence of God.”
- “Lovely and peaceful. You can feel God’s presence.”
- “A warm welcome to a very interesting cathedral. A great mix of old and new in a spiritual place.”
- “Wonderful. Only took me 11 years to get here! (from Baildon). Beautiful. My favourite things were the angels, the model and the art display. Lovely volunteers.”
- “What a beautiful undiscovered gem. Very approachable human space. Stunning!”
- “Love the windows! Thank you to our lovely guide for all the information. Stunning building. We’ll be back!”
- “Beautiful, with a lot of history. Amazing windows. Will tell all my friends and family at home that they have to visit the cathedral in Bradford.”
- “Drawn in by promise of Dante Gabriel Rossetti windows and treated to an informative talk from a staff member and friends of the Cathedral. Beautiful space supported by kind people. Will be back for organ recital…”
- “Wonderful cathedral. Doesn’t aspire to the gothic splendour of Ely or Canterbury but has a lovely inclusive community atmosphere.”