… He is back from his recent adventures in Harrogate
We just happened to be in the right place to enjoy this stage of the race…
4 Comments CherryPie on Nov 6th 2021
*On Angel Wings is due to descend on 14th October [2020] *
On Angel Wings is an installation that came into being following discussion on how we could offer the community a space to commemorate those who had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we slowly reopen following a turbulent 2020 and start to 2021, we realised people had been affected by this in more ways than we ever could have originally anticipated. What we wanted, was to provide people with the opportunity to be awed and provoke thought as well as allowing people an outlet; somewhere to palpably show their appreciation and respect.
Inspired by the installation in 2020 by our friends at Ripon Cathedral ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’, angels seemed like the perfect way to honour those who had served relentlessly throughout, those who had lost their lives, those whose lives had been disrupted and those who had fought to get through one of the toughest times they had known. An idea was devised to hang origami angels, each with dedications to loved ones, in the Abbey; therefore each angel representing someone or a group of people precious and cared about by someone else.
We contacted the Verger at Ripon Cathedral to help with the logistics of how we could go about hanging multiple thousands of origami angels in a 1,300 year old building, which had not had ease of access to the rafters built into planning and design! After much deliberation and consultation of architects, conservation engineers, rigging teams and planning committees, we realised this was a real possibility and the plan was put into action!
The resulting project is ‘On Angel Wings’; 4,500 origami angels, made by local schools, volunteers, Abbey staff and members of the public, suspended 45ft high in the Chancel of the Abbey. The angels stretch right to the High Altar from the start of the Old Choir Stalls and are lit from the sides. The angels are high enough that dedications can’t be read from the ground; keeping those memories and thoughts private but still present; much like a prayer.
I visited the Abbey in September 2021. I was blown away by the visual impact of the installation.
6 Comments CherryPie on Nov 5th 2021
Hexham Abbey is one of the earliest seats of Christianity in England. Since its beginning, it has witnessed periods of immense turmoil and change, across the region and within the English Church itself. Many of these are reflected in the very fabric of the building we see today.
11 Comments CherryPie on Nov 4th 2021
The first St. Mary’s Church was built by St. Wilfred over twelve hundred years ago. In the 13th Century a new church took its place. This new St. Mary’s fell into disuse when the Abbey became the accepted church of Hexham.
The people of Hexham had long been used to walking through the church on their way to and from the Market Place and St. Mary’s Chare. When shops and houses were built on the site of the church ruins, this traditional walkway was kept and is still called Old Church.*
*information from a signboard near to the church remains
6 Comments CherryPie on Nov 1st 2021
Filed under Faith Foundations, Holidays, Newcastle & Durham 2021
Cherie’s Place – Thought for the Week
Nature talks in symbols, he who lacks imagination cannot understand her.
Abraham Miller
4 Comments CherryPie on Oct 31st 2021
