Out of the Cloisters October 2023 Online

PERPETUAL TRUST
Charity No. 1051168
OUT OF THE CLOISTERS
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE PERPETUAL TRUST | PATRON HIS MAJESTY KING CHARLES III
AUTUMN 2023
Image: Caroline Potter
ADVENT
SERVICE
IN LONDON
Each year, on the first Tuesday of
Advent, the world class Hereford
Cathedral Choir gets up early to
travel down to the Royal Military
Chapel, Wellington Barracks,
London.
For the choristers in particular, it is
an exciting if exhausting day. The
service is opened with an act of
remembrance at the SAS memorial
followed by the Advent service.
We do hope many of you will be
able to attend and invite your
friends and family from London to
join this very special event.
Music is believed to have played
an important role at Hereford
Cathedral since its founding in
676 by Bishop Putta. Hereford
Cathedral School, where the
choristers are educated today,
traces its origins back to this
establishment.
Over the centuries the choral
foundation has been fortunate
to have benefited from some of
the finest organists of their times
including John Bull, Henry Hall (a
contemporary of Henry Purcell)
and Samuel Sebastian Wesley,
all of whom sang as Children of
the Chapel Royal. The cathedral
also benefited from having Sir
Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley as
Precentor during the second half
of the 19th century, who played
a significant role in rescuing the
reputation of sacred choral music
at Hereford. Today we are very
lucky to have Geraint Bowen as
our Director of Music and Peter
Dyke as our Assistant Director of
Music.
The current choir consists of 18
choristers, six full-time lay clerks
and three assistant lay clerks,
along with four music scholars, who
are introduced inside this issue.
The choir’s schedule centres around
the delivery of eight full choral
services each week, which include
the singing of the psalms for the day
according to the Book of Common
Prayer. The services consist of daily
Evensong, with the exception of
Wednesdays, and the addition on
Sundays of the Cathedral Eucharist
and Matins. Hereford is one of the
few cathedrals to maintain sung
Matins.
If you would like to join us at this
very special service to celebrate
the beginning of Advent please
visit the cathedral website to find
out how to book your tickets:
herefordcathedral.org/event/
service-for-advent-in-london
02 | MEET THE SCHOLARS
Welcome to the 2023/24 cohort
03 | MESSY CHURCH
Read the latest from the Education team
03 | MAGNA CARTA
Save the date for this exciting event
04 | FROM THE CHOIR
Meet Stephen Challenger

OUT OF THE CLOISTERS | PERPETUAL TRUST
CLAY SHOOT
Thank you to Ted and Tamsin
Clive who very kindly hosted a
clay shoot at Whitfield. This event
is always very well supported
and a lot of fun is had by all. The
proceeds from this event go to
build the future of the Trust.
This year we were lucky with the
weather and the rain held off just
long enough.
The Perpetual Trust are hugely
grateful to Ted and Tamsin for
their generosity in holding this
event, and to their team for
their fantastic organisation, in
particular Laura Louthan, David
Alison, Charles de Rohan, the
sponsors and the participants for
their generosity.
MEET THE
TRUSTEE
NEW CHANCELLOR
Image: Caroline Potter
Hereford Cathedral welcomed
The Reverend James Pacey as
its new Canon Chancellor this
summer.
The Revd Canon James Pacey
says: “I am absolutely thrilled to
be joining the team at Hereford
Cathedral. With its rich history,
treasures and place in the diocese,
I am hugely excited about working
with the Dean, Chapter and the
community of the cathedral as
we seek to hear the surrounding
stories and tell our story of the
love and salvation given us in
Jesus Christ. I know I follow a
wonderful legacy left by Chris
Pullin and am immensely excited
to be sharing this next chapter in
the cathedral’s story.”
In March 2024, James will be
directing the Hereford Passion.
For more details please visit:
www.herefordcathedral.org/
the-hereford-passion-2024
MEET THE SCHOLARS
KATHERINE GARNIER
Katherine Garnier is a Deputy
Lieutenant of Shropshire, half of
which is in Hereford diocese, of
which the cathedral is the mother
church. Katherine has built her
career in the publishing sector.
She is currently co-director and
company secretary of a family
business providing management
consultancy, executive coaching,
mentoring, mediation and
business strategy and she brings
a wealth of experience to the
Perpetual Trust.
Find out more about our trustees:
herefordcathedral.org/herefordcathedral-perpetual-trust
Image: Caroline Potter
We are delighted to welcome a new cohort of scholars, who have all
recently completed their A-levels and will spend a year as a part of our
choral foundation. From left to right: Sarah Reid (alto), Liam Ormiston
(tenor), Jacob Costard (organ) and Miles McHugh (bass)
LEGACY
CAMPAIGN
Sustaining the cathedral’s future
is the work of Hereford Cathedral
Perpetual Trust. The Perpetual
Trust was established to provide
long term financial security for
Chapter. We strive to provide
an income to Chapter that will
protect the wonderful music
that is at the centre of cathedral
worship for generations to come.
Leaving a gift in your will to
Hereford Cathedral Perpetual
Trust will allow us to invest to
provide a regular income which
ensures that we can continue to
support the musical heritage of
the cathedral. The music that can
be heard daily in the cathedral
risks being lost if we cannot raise
the funds to secure its future.
For more information please
email: perpetual.trust@
herefordcathedral.org

OUT OF THE CLOISTERS | PERPETUAL TRUST
MARVELLOUS
MESSY CHURCH
ORGAN
CONCERTS
Throughout the last year the
cathedral’s Education Team have
been hosting Messy Church
sessions for families to discover
the cathedral during the school
holidays.
Messy Church is a BRF
Ministries initiative that begun
at St Wilfrid’s in Cowplain near
Portsmouth in 2004 as a way
to reach more children with
God’s story. Since then it has
established a worldwide network
with churches across the world
signing up to take part. Messy
Church is Christ-centred, for
all ages, based on creativity,
hospitality and celebration. It
features craft activities, food
and fun – all centred around the
teaching of the Bible.
The first Messy Church took
place at the cathedral in October
2022 with forty people taking
Image: Caroline Potter
part; the latest session which
took place as part of ‘Cathedral
on the Close’ in August welcomed
well over 100! Over the last year
activities have included biscuit
decorating, making prayer beads
and decorations, alongside story
telling and singing. Each session
is themed around an element of
the Bible with all of the activities
relating back to the same
message, and is further supported
by the volunteers running the
sessions. A free snack or lunch,
provided by the Cathedral Café
is also available for families
attending Messy Church – the
pancakes on Shrove Tuesday were
incredibly popular!
William Talbot-Ponsonby, Head
of Schools and Family Learning
says: “Messy Church is a fantastic
way for us to engage with new
members of our community – at
each session we welcome people
we have never seen before to take
part in our activities. For many
people it is the first time they have
walked through our doors, and it’s
wonderful to see families relax
and enjoy their time here.”
MAGNA CARTA: ONE WEEKEND ONLY
The 1217 Magna Carta and the only known surviving copy of the 1215
King’s Writ will be on display in the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library
Exhibition on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 November. This will be the only
opportunity to see the originals of these incredibly important documents
in 2023. The Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Exhibition is open 10am
to 5pm and normal admission prices will apply during this weekend.
The cathedral will be hosting a special ticketed evening event for visitors
to discover the Magna Carta in greater detail on Friday 24 November
at 5pm. The evening will include a brief talk on this incredible document
and the impact it has had on legal history, accompanied by a glass of wine.
Tickets cost £12 from the cathedral website and must be purchased in
advance due to limited capacity.
The lunchtime organ concert series
has proved incredibly popular again
this year as the music department
welcomed back no fewer than six
former organ scholars (Laurence
John, Henry Metcalfe, Douglas
Tang, Jonathan Allsopp, Timothy
Parsons and William Fox) and
former chorister John Challenger
to perform on the great Father
Willis organ. The series also
featured two organists from the
United States.
Peter Dyke, Assistant Director
of Music, said: “It’s been a huge
pleasure to welcome back so many
former organ scholars this summer.
Our audience and congregation
love to see and hear players they
got to know in the past, and see
how their careers have blossomed
since their year here.”
Peter also performed a special
concert on Tuesday 5 September
to celebrate the life of Tim Symons
who sadly died last year. Tim was
a member of the cathedral’s music
department for almost 25 years
and the well-supported concert
featured a wide-ranging selection
of music celebrating his passions
and his work at the cathedral.
CHRISTMAS SPARKLE
Saturday 2 December | 1.15pm
Join Peter Dyke for his annual
recital of Advent and Christmas
favourites in support of the
Perpetual Trust. Admission is
free with a retiring collection.
Image: Abby Jones
Thank you to the team at Tanners Hereford who entertained and informed us at a wine
tasting on Cathedral Close in August. Neil and his colleagues are a mine of information,
were able to explain the origins and history of the wines and answer many questions.

AUTUMN 2023 | OUT OF THE CLOISTERS | PERPETUAL TRUST
UPCOMING CONCERTS
CHRISTMAS
ORATORIO
27 JANUARY 2024
Image: Neil Proctor
On Saturday 27 January at
7pm, Hereford Cathedral
Choir will give a complete
performance of J S Bach’s
Christmas Oratorio.
Conducted by Geraint
Bowen, the choir will sing
alongside guest soloists,
and accompanied by periodinstrument
orchestra
Marches Baroque in the
atmospheric setting of the
candlelit cathedral nave.
The Christmas Oratorio is
supported by the William A
Cadbury Charitable Trust
and Hereford Cathedral
Perpetual Trust. Tickets
cost £25 or £18 and will be
available to purchase from
the cathedral website and
shop from Wednesday 1
November.
SAVE THE DATE
FRETWORK
24 FEBRUARY 2024
On Saturday 24 February, the
cathedral will be welcoming
world leading viol consort
Fretwork to perform in a very
special concert alongside
Hereford Cathedral Choir.
Tickets will be on sale from
the beginning of December,
please check the cathedral
website for more details.
DONATIONS
If sending back more than one
donation, booking form or reply slip,
please use only one envelope and
address to the Perpetual Trust office.
FROM THE CHOIR
MEET STEPHEN
CHALLENGER
The adult members of the cathedral
choir, known as lay clerks, provide
the alto, tenor and bass voices. But
what brings them to sing here? Here’s
Stephen Challenger’s story …
“My first memory of Hereford
Cathedral dates back to the 1970s.
I was a chorister (with my father) in
the choir of a small parish church in
Llanfrechfa (near Cwmbran) and we
visited Hereford to attend Choral
Evensong. I had heard nothing like
it before – sublime singing, glorious acoustic and stunning organ – I was
hooked and made it my life’s ambition to somehow join this great choir.
After study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Cardiff
University that unbelievable opportunity arose, so on 8 September 1984
(having been married the previous weekend) my wife, Margaret, and I
arrived in Hereford. Over the last 39 years I estimate I have sung in over
10,000 services in the cathedral and visited parts of the world I would
never have imagined seeing.
The most important part of my job, however, is the singing of the daily
services in our wonderful cathedral. The routine of daily psalms and music
for the church’s seasons brings an order to every day. All the adults have
full time jobs in addition to their commitment to the cathedral choir; I am
privileged to work for the Diocese of Hereford supporting parishes in the
care of over 400 church buildings. For some of us, this involves working a
7 day week during school term time. It also means we rely totally on the
support from our families – something I hope we never take for granted.
We are very lucky at Hereford that there is not a large turnover of lay
clerks – once you arrive you seem to stay! This creates a great team of
professional musicians but also a friendly and supportive group of friends.
Finally, I have been fortunate to be able to sing with both my sons in the
cathedral choir. Firstly, with John (as a chorister in the late 1990s) and
now with Peter (as a bass lay clerk) – we’re not sure if this is unique but it
must be quite rare.”
Image: Richard Weaver
EXCITING TIMES AHEAD
The Perpetual Trust has many exciting plans for
the years ahead. As a fundraising body, everything
we do is to promote the work of the cathedral and
to raise the funds to provide long term security.
We will be holding a Nave Dinner in the cathedral
during 2024. This event has always been a popular
and spectacular event, so keep an eye out for more
details early next year. For more information about
the work of the Perpetual Trust do get in touch
using the details below.
PERPETUAL TRUST | 5 College Cloisters | Cathedral Close | Hereford | HR1 2NG
t: 01432 374 260 | e: perpetual.trust@herefordcathedral.org
Registered with the Charity Commission for England & Wales No. 1051168 | A private Limited Company No. 3123592