Derby Cathedral is getting ready to open its doors this Friday evening (24 September), offering visitors the chance to see its treasures and heritage in a new light, as it moves from day to dusk and into the night.
Derby Cathedral joins city spectacular with a Cathedrals at Night event
Derby’s first Cathedrals At Night event coincides with the city’s outdoor spectacular, Derby Festé, in the Cathedral Quarter which will bring the city centre’s streets to life with contemporary and unique music, dance, film and street theatre performances.
The Cathedral will be open until 9.30pm, offering visitors the opportunity to explore this sacred space and discover its many treasures, including its architecture and iconic stained-glass windows, as the light fades to night. There will be guides available to help visitors learn more about its history and heritage including its famous family connections, Bess of Hardwick and the Cavendish family to Florence Nightingale and Joseph Wright.
And there will be a live rehearsal from the Voluntary Choir between 7.30pm and 9pm.
A number of Tower Tours will be available during the evening, priced at £7 per person and booking advisable, as these will give the visitor a birds eye view of the Derby Festé activities on the Cathedral Green below!
Entry to the Cathedral is free, donations are very welcome.
More info can be found on the Derby Cathedral website here.
Derby Festé opens in the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter on the evening of Fri 24 Sep and then throughout the day and early evening on Sat 25 Sep and Sun 26 Sep. For more information about all the acts, please visit the Derby Festé website and follow on social media channels #Festé21
Cathedrals At Night was a campaign co-ordinated by the Association of English Cathedrals (AEC) for 2020 Year of Cathedrals Year of Pilgrimage that would have seen each of the 42 Church of England cathedrals – plus Westminster Abbey, Cathedral Isle of Man, and St Davids and St Asaph from the Church in Wales – open their doors after hours and invite visitors in to explore these sacred spaces in a new light.
The first Cathedrals At Night event took place in Rochester Cathedral in February 2020 under Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon art installation in the Nave before lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic meant most of our cathedrals had to postpone or cancel their Cathedrals At Night plans for 2020.
As restrictions relax and people feel more confident about going out, more of our cathedrals are bringing back their Cathedrals At Night events. St Albans held two Cathedral at Night events this summer and is getting ready to launch its Abbey at Night project later this autumn, Sheffield and Peterborough both held Cathedrals At Night events during Heritage Open Day week.
