Lancaster Priory is delighted to announce that Don Gillthorpe has been appointed the Priory’s Director of Music.
Don is also Director of Music and Performing Arts at Ripley St Thomas Academy.
A strong field of candidates was interviewed but he was the unanimous choice of the interview panel.
We look forward to working with him in the coming years on many exciting musical projects at Lancaster Priory.
The last Choral Evensong of the choir year: Sunday 17 July
In 70 years of life and 40 years of priesthood, I’ve had quite some surprises, though none like Sunday 3 July when it was my privilege to be among you all, and with our American visitors, around the altar, sharing our celebration in the presence of God among us, on mu birthday and anniversary.
The generous gifts of books and wine, the scrumptious cake, the fizz, the @Happy Birthday’ accompanied by the mighty Wurlitzer – all of these were completely unexpected and I and very touched by your kindness. I feel humbled by your companionship these past 15 years and at the Priory as we have been shaped together into the Body of Christ. Thanks to you and thanks be to God!
Members from St James Episcopal Church Lancaster, Pennsylvania visited Lancaster Priory as part of their pilgrimage.
Lancaster Priory welcomed 26 members of the congregation from St James Church Lancaster (Pennsylvania) over the first weekend in July 2016, including the Rector, Fr David Peck and Associate Priest.
The group stayed with members of the Lancaster Priory congregation and attended Sunday services at the Priory, which included a special celebration and barbeques in the morning and Fr Peck preached in the evening.
On Monday morning, July 4, the travellers were welcomed to Lancaster Town Hall by the Mayor of Lancaster, Cllr Robert Redfern. The Mayor was presented with a letter from Lancaster’s Mayor, and gifts were presented. They were entertained to a visit of the Town Hall and heard of some stories from Lancaster’s past, including the tale of Buck Ruxton who murdered his wife in Dalton Square in the 1930s and was hanged for the crime.
The American visitors were thrilled to receive such warm hospitality from their British cousins, and were very impressed that the Priory flag of St George was flying to welcome them – and even the sun was persuaded to come out and shine on them.
While in Lancaster they also enjoyed fish and chips in Morecambe, and a trip to St Peter’s Heysham, and the ancient chapel of St Patrick. A group from the Priory congregation is hoping to pay a return visit in the near future.
For more information about their visit, please click here
Our June meeting was the Branch Festival, our Vicar, Chris Newlands, presided at the Eucharist.
The Branch festival supper followed, prepared as usual by members led by Joan Harding – to all of whom – many thanks!
The Honorary Architect to the Priory for 30 years, Charles Wilson said farewell at the morning Eucharist on Whit Sunday. He and his wife Judith have moved to Bristol, to be close to their daughter and granddaughters.
Chris presented Charles with a beautiful engraved glass plate to mark the occasion, and thanked him for his work on the fabric of the Priory. Charles responded by remarking that his contribution of 30 years was but little compared to the 600 or so years the current building has existed or 1200 years that Christian stones have occupied the Castle Hill location.
As well as preparing a number of quinquennial survey reports, Charles has been associated with a number of developments and improvements.
In the early 1990’s a major re-ordering was achieved involving the creation of more space in the Nave by removing pews to the front and rear, removing the old internal porch and installing new external doors, re-lighting, removing the riddle posts and painting surrounding the high altar, lowering the floor level to create additional space, and proving a seating area along with a new credence table around the high altar. Plaster was also removed from the 4 bays in the choir and sanctuary, and the roof painted to reveal its beauty – previously it was a dull brown. Canon Maurice Bartlett instigated this work.
In the early 2000’s work was carried out to improve accessibility and associated facilities. Canon Peter Cavanagh suggested we should aim to ‘provide access from the M6 to the high altar without steps’. This has nearly been achieved and most parts of the building can now be accessed without steps, through gentle slopes involving the removal of a number of steps. An accessible toilet and baby change along with additional storage accompanied these works.
The main recent project during the incumbency of Chris has been the installation of the new organs replacing the Makin electronic instrument which had reached the end of its life. Significant structural alterations were required in the west gallery to support the new instrument, without impinging on the appearance of the gallery structure, the superstructure of which was in poor condition.
Along with the main projects, there has been constant activity with a variety of projects such as the cremated remains area, installing the new flag mast incorporating the mobile phone transmitters, new bells in the ringing chamber, the canopy and soundboard to the pulpit, [largely designed by Stephen Gardner who has done so much working with Charles], keeping an aged heating system going, attending to numerous leaks, new vicars board, votive candle stand, welcome display boards etc.,etc.
Charles feels very privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute to this very special building, and to the life of the Priory community. Even the bureaucracy associated with the faculty jurisdiction system has not diminished his enthusiasm for the place! He will miss it all, but hopes that the new church – Architect Elaine Blackett-Ord – will enjoy her involvement as much as he has.
For some time the Music Trust has been advocating an association for current and past choristers. A small group of current choristers has now launched such an association.
Visit the music section of this website for more information.
In Christian Aid Week, Christians across the denominations join annually in a great act of ecumenical Christian witness – collecting money. In Christian Aid Week, Christians across the denominations join annually in a great act of ecumenical Christian witness – collecting money that will fund the projects of Christian Aid’s partners across the world, as well as enabling Christian Aid to campaign for such universal causes as tax fairness, debt relief and awareness of climate change.
Christian Aid works to support the victims of disaster and refugees from war, and makes it possible for people to work to improve their own lives, through micro-financing and Fair Trade projects, and educational initiatives, which are chosen by the CA partners in each country. And no, the benefits are not restricted to Christians! To learn a little more, you could visit www.caweek.org
The Priory has been part of Christian Aid Week for more than forty years – and some members of the congregation have been collectors all that time! In recent years the Priory contribution to Christian Aid Week has been over £1,400, increasing despite the financial austerity affecting everyone.
The collections during Christian Aid week will fund the projects of Christian Aid’s partners across the world, as well as enabling Christian Aid to campaign for such universal causes as tax fairness, debt relief and awareness of climate change.
I completed these portraits whilst I was Artist in Residence at the Priory from April 2014 to April 2016. This exhibition marks the end of the Residency and runs for the month of April 2016. My studio space during the residency was the room under the Bell Tower and when I was working, members of the public and staff of the Priory had access to watch me work as well as to see the progress of the drawings when I wasn’t around.
The first stage of the work involved asking people if they would let medraw them. To my surprise, all but one person agreed and the rest were willing to come to my studio on Castle Park to be photographed. I then worked directly from these photographs using soft pastel on watercolour paper, now and again walking the length of the Church to view the drawings from a distance. Some of the people I chose myself, others were suggested to me, but every face I have drawn posed a unique challenge and it has proved to be an incredibly enjoyable process.
I have tried to include a variety of ages, ethnicity and roughly the same number of men and women, to highlight the rich diversity of life in this Church. Some faces will be easily recognisable, others less so, but all are connected with the Priory, in some way such as members of the Clergy, Vergers, those who work in the gift shop and members of the congregation. I have tried to imbue the drawings with life and light, paying particular attention to details of skin texture, and colour, emphasising lines and creases in the skin. I want to place particular focus on the eyes.
There is a passage in scripture that I have in mind relating to this. It comes
from Luke 11: 34 – 36, where Jesus says “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your
eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light, but when they are bad, your whole
body is full of darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it
dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you”.
I have found that in making this series of drawings, my work has taken on a
new direction. Whereas previously I worked from photographs in magazines,
predominantly of young and smooth skinned models, I am now working from
photographs of people that I have a connection to, with all the character of a life lived
in their faces.
I aim to continue making work in this vein and have plans to make two
drawings, each twice the size of these, to be included in a group exhibition by Luneside
Studios in the gallery at the Storey throughout July and August 2016.
With the kind help of Paul Mullineaux, I now have a website and publicity
leaflet about myself, which can be found in the Church. If you would like to contact me
or view more examples of my work, my website is cathywilsonart.co.uk. I would gladly
take commission requests.
I would like to thank Reverend Chris Newlands for organising this Residency
and giving me such encouragement as well as all the people I have drawn for their
bravery posing for such large scale portraits, also Tom the verger and my fiance David
for their help hanging the exhibition.
We are delighted to announce our 2015-16 season of events. Starting with our Patronal Festival (13-19 September 2015) we have a wide variety of concerts available to suit all tastes, from Rick Wakeman to The Sixteen!
Take a look at our Events booklet or see individual concert listings here.
Lancaster Priory has received a grant of £88,700 from the Government to carry out urgent repairs to its roof. The grant was part of the “Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund” which was set up by the Chancellor of the Exchequer who committed £15 million of funding in 2014. After a very significant demand from many places of worship, this grant was extended to a total of £55million available for necessary works to ensure that buildings were watertight and secure.
The ancient church of St Helen Overton also received a grant of £57,600 for the repair of its roof. In Lancashire a total of five churches have so far received grants from this fund.
Lancaster Priory is one of the most significant historical buildings in the northwest of England, but until now it has received no public money to support its repair and maintenance. The money will be used to prevent rain from entering the building through leaky joints in various places. Strategically placed buckets have, until now, been used to collect the rainwater that drips from the roof. The leaks occurred because of old flashings which have failed, along with rainwater hoppers and pipes, which have allowed rainwater to seep into the stonework. If left unattended this would have caused significant damage to the church building.
The Vicar of Lancaster, The Revd Chris Newlands said, “This is a very timely government initiative to support some of our finest buildings (not all of them are Church of England parish churches). Lancaster Priory has been a beacon of faith in the northwest for over a thousand years. This timely support will go a long way to ensuring that it can continue to fulfil that role for future generations.”
The Priory has to find an additional £15,000 for this work to begin, and plans are in place for the work to begin as soon as the necessary permissions have been given, and hopes to complete the work by November 2015.
