Jackson Brown, age 12, is trying to visit all the Anglican Cathedrals in England and is jumping for joy outside each one!
He is sharing photos of his jumps on his ‘Cathedral Jumping’ Instagram account and is pictured here jumping for joy on Easter Sunday when he was joined by the Bishop of Worcester, Hugh Nelson, who jumped alongside him!
Jackson’s first Cathedral visit was to Lichfield on a family day out in 2024. While there he picked up a ‘Cathedral passport’ which lists all the cathedrals in the Church of England and decided he’d like to see more. He now just has 13 Cathedrals in England left to visit.
Jackson said:
“I love music and find discovering the history of each cathedral really interesting. Being in cathedrals really makes me happy, so I decided to share that joy with others by jumping outside of them and posting on Instagram.”
After discovering a love of Cathedrals through his visit, Jackson decided to become a chorister at Worcester Cathedral, changing schools so he could sing regularly with the choir. He was confirmed by Bishop Hugh on Easter Eve and then sang at the Easter morning service after which Jackson and Bishop Hugh jumped together outside the Cathedral’s main entrance.
“I had already jumped with the Dean of Newcastle and a Cathedral Canon in Ripon, but this was my first Bishop!” Continued Jackson. “Worcester is my home cathedral and definitely my favourite, but I hope that I might persuade a few other bishops to get involved in the jumping before I complete the set.”
The family’s holidays are now being planned around the Cathedrals they haven’t yet visited and Jackson hopes they might have visited every Cathedral by the end of the summer. “The Isle of Man Cathedral is probably going to be hardest to get to!” he said. Jackson is also learning to play the organ and hopes to one day be a Cathedral Director of Music.
Jackson’s Mum, Rachel Brown, said:
“It is great that Jackson has discovered a love of Cathedrals. Although we previously attended a different church together, I can really see that he’s found his home in Worcester Cathedral. He’s made lots of friends there and it’s definitely grown his faith. Visiting all the other cathedrals has also been a great way to see the country!”
Bishop Hugh commented:
“I was absolutely delighted to be able to jump for joy with Jackson on Easter Sunday! Cathedrals are amazing places full of faith, hope, love and history, and I hope that more people will follow his example and visit a few more of these special places (and maybe have a joyful jump as well!)”
