Chelmsford Cathedral on a Whim

For a blog entitled More Than Museums, I haven’t written about anything historical in quite a while. That’s because I really haven’t even visited anywhere historical in quite a while – plenty of baking but no museums!

One of my jobs means that for half of the week I am based in Chelmsford, Essex and luckily on one day I only have to be in the office for half a day. Last week, while I was walking back to the station on my way home after my half-day in the office I decided on a whim that I should visit Chelmsford Cathedral, which I had heard was just a short walk away.

I arrived and, unfortunately, the outside of the building was completely covered in scaffolding which was a bit of a disappointment. The cathedral was not massive but definitely bigger than your average church so I decided that I would definitely have a quick look around inside. I had expected it to be empty, seeing as it was a Thursday afternoon in November, but I found that the cathedral had a fair amount of people wandering around. I was pleasantly surprised that the interior of the space was beautifully decorated, with stunning stained glass and a very unique but beautiful ceiling pattern.

I was lucky enough to catch the organ player at practice which set the scene perfectly as I wandered through. The cathedral also has a few artworks decorating the walls that were a pleasant surprise – a beautifully decorated mosaic of Christ by the entrance and a stunning painting of the tree of life, painted where originally a stained glass window would
have sat. I wasn’t in the cathedral long, but the short while that I was there left me pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the place; I have decided that when the weather is nice it may become my new lunch spot!