Blackburn Cathedral Celebrates its Centenary

Blackburn Cathedral celebrates its centenary with an exciting and engaging programme of events and worship.

Blackburn Cathedral will mark the beginning of their centenary year with a special service on the Feast of Epiphany.

The service on 6 January will celebrate a new chapter in the life of the cathedral and will also be an opportunity for the cathedral to unveil its special programme of events for the coming year.

A spokesperson for the cathedral said,

‘The Feast of Epiphany is a special time of light, renewal, and shared hope for the future. We will start outside in darkness and as we move into the building we will bring light into our iconic home, symbolising faith, unity, and new beginnings. Everyone is welcome to join us to celebrate the start of a new chapter in the life of our Cathedral with great joy, warmth and anticipation for the year ahead.’

Blackburn has a series of art installations and special events planned throughout the year from Time,  the immersive light and sound show from that creative duo that make up Luxmuralis , to a special commission from the British textile artist, Margot Selby.

But it will start its centenary arts programme with The Longest Yarn II – Britain at War – which tells the story of life in Britain between 1939 and 1945 in wool art.

The Longest Yarn II – Britain at War – Blackburn Cathedral – 7 January – 7 February

This 80m exhibition of knitted and crocheted panels depicts life during the Second World War, including the outbreak of war, The King’s Speech, The Blitz, The Home Guard, The Women’s Land Army, Rationing, and VE Day.

Hundreds of volunteer knitters from across the UK have helped to create the 80 individual knitted and crocheted panels. The individual knitter often has a personal connection to the panel they knitted – sometimes a relative, sometimes a place or a moment in time.

There are also eight life-sized manikins to accompany the display, each depicting different people and their war-time roles.

The Longest Yarn II – Britain at War builds on the international success of The Longest Yarn, an exhibition of scenes from D-Day, which has been seen in a number of our cathedrals as part of its tour of the UK, and is now in the USA.

It opens on 7 January until 7 February. Entry is by donation and all monies raised will be split between the Cathedral and veterans’ charities.

24-28 February – TIME by Luxmuralis at Blackburn Cathedral for the first time

Luxmuralis, the creative duo who create digital light and sound projection shows, are coming to Lancashire for the first time and inviting visitors to come and see the cathedral transformed by their immersive show, Time,

Time takes visitors on a journey through history, science and imagination, exploring humanity’s evolving relationship with time, traversing wormholes, venturing inside the intricate workings of clocks, and experiencing a dramatic narrative that spans from the very beginning of everything to the present day.

The Cathedral will be open late each evening during the five nights of the show and entry is via a pre-booked time slot with prices starting at £10 for an adult and £25 for a family ticket.

Watch out for more centenary events in the year including a vestment exhibition and a unique commission from Margot Selby!