Jeel Scholarship Fund
Building a Better Future
Hereford Cathedral
We struck camp early in the morning and drove up the M5 North. We stopped at Westmoreland Farm services at Gloucester, reputedly the best motorway services in the UK, to enjoy a cooked breakfast, buy sarnies for lunch and refresh the dogs. We then drove east and came to the pretty market town of Hereford. The Hereford Cathedral is behind the main market square and appears when you turn the corner. The warm sandstones of the building are welcoming and there is a sculpted circle celebrating the old Somerset hymn “Jesus Christ the apple tree.” It was designed by Sandy Elliot in 2011. This is immediately uplifting as the quaint hymn is a staple of Ripon Cathedral Music Group. There is no charge for entry though a donation of £5 per person is encouraged. Dogs are made most welcome and the guides made a fuss of Kit and Scout. The name Hereford is a corruption of the olden name “Army Crossing.”
Inside is a light and airy space with some lovely stained-glass windows. I especially liked the blue one. It is the Ascension Window and sculpture designed by artist John Maine. The SAS Regimental Association commissioned the window to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the SAS in 1941.
Worship has taken place continuously on the site for 1300 years. St Ethelbert a Saxon King and martyr, is the patron saint of the Cathedral. His memorial was the centrepiece and heart of the building until the Reformation. The original stone church was built over his grave. Ethelbert was killed at the age of fifteen on the orders of his rival King Offa. St. Ethelbert’s modern shrine has been enclosed by around screen pillar since 2007.
The second shrine in the North Transept is dedicated to St Thomas of Hereford Bishop who died in the 13th century. His stone and marble tomb are well preserved and has been the focus of pilgrimages since the end of the 13th century. The crypt contains a 15th century statue of St John the Baptist and an alter which commemorates those who died in WW2. The Audley Chapel adjacent to the Lady Chapel is a restored chantry chapel dedicated to Bishop Edmund Audley (died 1524) and contains a stained-glass window in the memory of Thomas Traherne, a seventeenth century Herefordshire poet and cleric.
The most famous exhibit housed in the cloisters and requiring a ticket is the Mappa Mundi and chained library. The library houses the largest collection of chained books in the UK. The map is the largest surviving medieval world map which illustrates key religious sites. The rare books and documents shown alongside it have been chained since time immemorial. Dishonesty in visitors is not a new phenomenon. There are two gardens in which to enjoy peace and tranquillity. The Chapter House gardens were recently restored by Friends of the Cathedral and are on the site of the ten-sided 14th century Chapter House. The cloisters house cathedral offices and are not open to the public. The Lady Arbour Garden is peaceful, and planting reflects its medieval origins.
The shop and café are located together. The shop, also online, had an attractive display of local goods and guidebooks as well as memorabilia of the Mappa Mundi. The café has a focus on local produce. We did not attend a service as we were stopping off from our route home. We did have a convivial chat with the duty chaplain who informed us that dogs have only recently been allowed in Hereford but the “trial” had been going very well.
