Celebrate The Women Designers Of Bradford Cathedral At HERitage Open Day

Bradford Cathedral will be opening its doors on Saturday 13^th September from 12 noon - 3pm for a celebration and appreciation of female-led creativity.

HERitage Open Day will shine a light on the women designers, often unsung or underexposed, whose beautiful and inspiring work is in Bradford Cathedral. This includes a Morris & Co. altar frontal believed to have been worked on by William Morris' daughter, May Morris. 

Alongside the Morris & Co. piece, the Cathedral will be displaying works by the renowned Bradfordian embroiderer Louisa Pesel, an altar frontal designed by the prestigious Leek Embroidery Society, contemporary textiles by Polly Meynell, and a number of other female-led textile delights.

Areas of the building that are not usually accessible to the public will be opened up to reveal their treasures, such as the Song Room which contains works by the notable stained glass artist Moira Forsyth.

There will be a self-guided tour available, as well as a general guided tour and a specialist guided tour relating to the female designers.

Alongside these there will be children's activities, refreshments at the Pop-Up Café and a talk by Helen Elletson from the William Morris Society about May Morris.

Maggie Myers, Director of Education and Visitors, says: 

“We are so excited to highlight female-led design and creativity in Bradford Cathedral for our Heritage Open Day this year. We are going to be packing a lot into the afternoon, with a talk on May Morris by Helen Elletson from the William Morris Society, opportunities to join our specialist tours where we will provide more information about each example of female-led design or creativity, or to self-tour around different areas of the Cathedral. For those who aren’t particularly interested in design, there will also be the opportunity to sign up for a traditional tour of the building, unconnected to our there, so there really is something for everyone and no excuse not to visit. With access to 2 areas that are not normally open to the general public, we guarantee you will definitely see things you have never seen before!”

The open day will be followed by an informal talk and Q&A at 4pm from the model maker and Youtube creator Michael Scott, who is making an N gauge model of Bradford Cathedral. There will be an opportunity to view the current stage of the model, and to ask questions about Michael’s model making process. 

Bradford Cathedral’s HERitage Open Day takes place on Sunday 13^th September from 12noon-3pm. The tours and talks are free to attend but pre-booking is required. You can book at https://her-itage-open-day.eventbrite.co.uk or by calling the Cathedral office on 01274 77 77 20 between 9am and 1pm between Monday and Friday. 

Guided Tour, 12:15pm and 2:15pm. A traditional tour of the building, its history and its heritage, unconnected to the theme.

Heritage Open Day Tour, 12:15pm and 2:15pm. A specialist tour with more information about each example of female- led design or creativity.

1pm- Talk: ‘A Remarkable Woman’: The Extraordinary Life and Career of May Morris (Helen Mary Elletson). 

To find out more about the Bradford Cathedral Heritage Open Days event please visit https://her-itage-open-day.eventbrite.co.uk or  

https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/her-itage-open-day-bradford-cathedral-2025.html