An exhibition of new art will launch as part of the Lincoln Festival of History on Saturday 3 May.
With a history spanning almost 1,000 years, Lincoln Cathedral has been the backdrop to many significant historical events, including The Reformation, which saw the destruction of the monasteries and the emergence of the Church of England.
Cathedrals including Lincoln had to conform to the ‘new religion’, and part of this was the removal of precious items. In 1536 the register and inventory of all jewels, vestments and other ornaments was written by Cathedral Treasurer Henry Lytherland and later became the shopping list for Henry VIII, removing these great treasures, which were never seen again!
The 1536 inventory has survived for more than 400 years and is now the inspiration for a new exhibition at Lincoln Cathedral.
Inspired by these stolen objects, local artists are creating unique pieces which express various aspects of the items themselves, the motivation of the donor and the context of the time.
Artists Mel Langton, Fiona Hodges, Lisa Tank and Hannah Cawthorne from Indigo Crow Gallery, and costume designer Helen Symonds, have created artworks including digital illustration, ceramics, painting and textiles.
Mel Langton and Fiona Hodges explained that they had been inspired by Henry VIII himself and their pieces focus on him, one as a monstrous giant removing the treasures from the Cathedral, leaving the space muted and without colour and the other a ceramic sculpture showing Henry enthroned as the ultimate magpie, surrounded by the artefacts.
Costume designer Helen Symonds said her idea was developed through her passion for textiles, “The inventory has detailed descriptions of the Cathedral’s vestments and who donated them. I was inspired by Katherine Sywnford and her vestments depicting the Katherine Wheel and how this symbol was her ‘voice’ within the Cathedral and wider society.”
Lisa Tank took her inspiration from the inventory document itself, “I have created fabrics which will be used as part of a modern kimono-style garment based on the tradition of cassocks and surplices contrasting with a bright scarf influenced by Medieval colours. Alongside this I am creating an abstract painting depicting the ‘lost’ or ‘hidden’ treasures”.
Hannah Cawthorne focussed on depicting some of the lost artefacts themselves. “I was struck by their uncertain fate and the fact that they were lost to the annals of history once they passed out of the Cathedral’s safekeeping – perhaps to be broken up into their constituent parts purely for their monetary value. It is the loss of these important relics that I hope to address in my artwork.”
Fern Dawson, curator at Lincoln Cathedral said, “When the project was first developed, I really wanted to leave the options open for the artists involved to bring their own personality and material skills to express how the document inspired them. Bringing an historic document to life in this way has been really exciting and the ideas it has inspired are fantastic – we can wait for the exhibition to open and for everyone to see these new works!”
The exhibition opens as part of the Lincoln Festival of History on Saturday 3 May 2025 and will run until the end of July in the Exhibition Gallery at Lincoln Cathedral.
