With all the uncertainty at the moment and lock downs as a result of COVID-19 I thought – as have a number of others – it might be nice to shine a spotlight on places that you miss going to because you are currently not allowed.
Part of the reason for sharing the places I will be listing is that in the current climate they will be struggling to survive as they all rely on income generated by visitors and wanting to share ways that they can be helped, or even just raising awareness of these places so that when restrictions are lifted people may go to visit them again. Please see the end of this post for further details.
This time I am taking a look at somewhere that I have probably spent time photographing more than anywhere else: Peterborough Cathedral – http://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/
Some of the following photos will be new to the blog, but as you will see they are not necessarily new photos. Most of these have been shared from my Facebook page – a little different to my usual sharing habits to see how it works.
Having lived in Peterborough most of my life I have always known Peterborough Cathedral, but when I was younger I never went in there for anything other than school trips or services (I went to The King’s School, which is also known as The Cathedral School and was still in the Cathedral precincts until it moved in 1885).
After getting my camera I started going for a few visits and was soon hooked. There’s so much to see that as many times as I have been I still spot something new every time.
Formerly a great abbey, the Cathedral was formally established in 1541. The present building, however, is much older. It was begun in 1118 after a fire destroyed the previous building in 1116. The monastery had been founded in 655.
I’m not going to go too much more into the history as you can read it all in a previous post of mine (https://neiltorrphotography.wordpress.com/2017/11/21/peterborough-cathedral/), and most of the information there can from the Cathedral website on the history page (https://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/history.aspx).
If you want to read some more in depth information and recent research into Peterborough Cathedral then Peterborough Cathedral: A Glimpse of Heaven by Dr Jonathan Foyle is well worth a look:
The Cathedral is often host to events and displays of various sorts.
In 2018 one of the highlights for me was the a visit from the Soyuz Capsule that brought Tim Peake home from the ISS together with the spacesuit he wore whilst travelling,
This was also joined for a couple of weeks by Luke Jerram’s spectacular Museum of the Moon.
With the capsule now being on permanent display at the Science Museum this remains a unique pairing of the the Soyuz capsule and Museum of the Moon in the same place at the same time.
Along similar lines last year saw Luke Jerram’s Gaia being displayed.
You can find out more about Luke Jerram and his work on his website: https://www.lukejerram.com/
This year was to see the visit of the T.rex: The Killer Question exhibition by The Natural History Museum. Currently it is still expected to go ahead as this is not to start until 20 July. This could change depending on how the situation unfolds but hopefully this is far enough away that it won’t be affected.
Here are a few of my favourite photos from Peterborough Cathedral.
One more quick story before I finish this blog post was a very pleasant surprise I had towards the end of last year.
I have done a few jobs in passing for the Cathedral, taking a few photos here and there for them. A few of these they have used in various publications aside from their own which has been very pleasing. But last year whist visiting my Dad in Peterborough I spotted an envelope not long put through the door.
Just from a quick glance I thought I recognised the photo, and on closer inspection it was one of mine, complete with credit on the envelope.
That was very pleasing in itself but perhaps more so because of the charity involved. My Mum lived with kidney failure for many years before she passed away a few years ago. To see one of my photos being used to advertise an event being held by Peterborough Cathedral in partnership with Kidney Research UK really made my day.
I have a number of photos from the Raptor Foundation, this is only a very small selection. You can find more on my Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/NeilTorrPhotography/
Part of the reason for sharing the places I will be listing is that in the current climate they will be struggling to survive as they all rely on income generated by visitors and wanting to share ways that they can be helped, or even just raising awareness of these places so that when restrictions are lifted people may go to visit them again.
There is a page linked on Peterborough Cathedral website for donations to be made:
https://www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk/home/donate.aspx
Should you be so inclined here is the page for the Kidney Research UK donation as well:
https://kidneyresearchuk.org/support/donate/
If you like any of these photos and would be interested in purchasing any prints please let me know via the comments below, Twitter, or Facebook. I also have a substantial number of photos that have not been posted anywhere so if let me know if you would like to know what else is available. A portion of the profits will be sent to Peterborough Cathedral on your behalf.
You can find the other parts of the series here:
Places I Miss Because of COVID-19 #1 – The Raptor Foundation
Places I Miss Because of COVID-19 #3 – Hamerton Zoo Park
Places I Miss Because of COVID-19 #4 – Nene Valley Railway
Neil Torr Photography 