Additional information
| Food Option | Lecture only, With evening meal |
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Summer Lecture ‘Divine Light’
Join us in the beautiful surroundings of the Art Workers Guild for an evening lecture by Janet Gough on the stained glass of England’s Cathedrals.
Author, architectural historian and heritage campaigner Janet Gough will give a richly illustrated journey through 900 years of exceptional stained glass in England’s cathedrals.
Drawing on superb imagery, this 50-minute lecture explores what is arguably one of England’s least-known great art collections: the stained glass still in situ across the 42 cathedrals of the Church of England, together with the Royal Peculiars, Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel. Asking each cathedral to nominate a single representative window revealed an extraordinary “national collection” spanning nearly 900 years. Beginning with the remarkable windows created at Canterbury Cathedral in the aftermath of the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170, Janet traces the story of cathedral glass from the Middle Ages to the present day: survival and loss at the Reformation and Enlightenment; the explosion of creativity in the Gothic Revival; the contribution of the Pre-Raphaelites and Arts and Crafts movement; and the innovative, thought-provoking stained glass being commissioned today.
The lecture explores stained glass as art, as storytelling, and as technical achievement, showing how coloured light became an early form of mass communication, and why its power to inspire endures. A postscript to the book became a phenomenon in its own right: all 50 windows featured in a major social media campaign by the Association of English Cathedrals, attracting more than 110,000 engagements before a public vote for the nation’s favourite cathedral stained glass window generated national press, television and radio coverage, including a live interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Janet Gough OBE served for eight years as the Church of England’s Director of Church Buildings, and as Secretary to the Church Buildings Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission. She lectures widely on ecclesiastical heritage and is the author of four illustrated books on England’s cathedrals and church buildings. She was appointed OBE in 2017 for services to heritage, and in 2024 advised Royal Mail on its Christmas stamp issue featuring five UK cathedrals.
The lecture accompanies Janet’s latest book: Divine Light: The Stained Glass of England’s Cathedrals, published by Kulturalis (2025), illustrated paperback, £14.95
Books will be available to purchase on the evening.
Tickets for the talk are £19.55 members (£23 non-members). Cost including a delicious buffet supper is £39.10 for members (£46 non-members). Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.