A Royal Visit for Derby Cathedral

A Royal Visit for Derby Cathedral

The Royal Highnesses; The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester visited Derby Cathedral on Thursday 16th March for a tour of the Cathedral, part of the national Cathedrals in Pilgrimage programme.

The Duke and Duchess were greeted by HM Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs. Elizabeth Fothergill, Civic Chairman of Derbyshire County Council : Councillor David Wilson, Mayor of Derby : Councillor Robin Wood along with the Bishop of Derby : The Rt. Revd Libby Lane, The Dean of Derby : The Very Revd Dr. Peter Robinson and The Revd Carla Vicêncio, Canon for Community Learning and members of Chapter.

During their visit, jointly hosted by the Dean of Derby and Canon for Community Learning the Duke and Duchess were given a tour of the Cathedral which included St. Katharine’s Chapel, the Tomb of Bess of Hardwick and the Retrochoir. They also spent some time viewing a number of exhibition boards depicting the Cathedral’s contribution to arts and culture.

The Duke and Duchess had the opportunity to visit the Song School and listen to the Cathedral Choir rehearsing, as well as meet Director of Music; Alexander Binns, Assistant Director of Music, Edward Turner and members of the Junior Choir. They were later invited to watch and listen to performances by the Cathedral Choir and the Junior Choir which included ten children from two local schools who are part of the Music in Schools programme.

Members of the Embroiderers Workshop put on an embroidery demonstration for the Duchess and examples of their work were displayed on mannequins in the Retrochoir. The Duke met Cathedral Architect; Robert Kilgour, who spoke briefly about the history and heritage of the Cathedral, inviting the Duke to view a display of historic photographs.

The Very Revd Dr Peter Robinson, Dean of Derby commented:

‘The Cathedral Community joins me in thanking the Royal Highnesses; the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, we were pleased to share with them our journey of discovery as we continue to develop our arts and culture offering and also our Music in Schools programme. We very much appreciate the interest they showed in the Cathedral team, the building, the choristers and our involvement in local communities, both in Derby and Derbyshire’