Cathedral celebrates 'unsung' women in its story

One of the altar cloths was made by the daughter of famous textile designer William Morris

The "underexposed" women who contributed to a cathedral are to be celebrated at a special event.

Their "beautiful and inspiring work", including textiles, stained glass and embroidery, will be on show at Bradford Cathedral and will include an altar frontal believed to be by May Morris, the daughter of famous textile designer William Morris.

There will also be tours, children's activities and a talk by a William Morris expert and curator at the Heritage Open Days event on 13 September.

A Bradford Cathedral spokesperson said: "We are so excited to highlight female-led design and creativity in Bradford Cathedral for our 'HERitage' Open Day this year."

The event will take place on 13 September at the city's cathedral

Alongside the Morris & Co piece, the cathedral will be displaying works by Bradfordian embroiderer Louisa Pesel, an altar frontal designed by the Leek Embroidery Society, contemporary textiles by Polly Meynell and a number of other "female-led textile delights".

Maggie Myers, Bradford Cathedral's director of education and visitors, said: "We are going to be packing a lot into the afternoon, with a talk on May Morris by Helen Elletson from the William Morris Society, opportunities to join our specialist tours where we will provide more information about each example of female-led design or creativity, or to self-tour around different areas of the cathedral."

The exquisite work is by various 'unsung' female creators

Areas of the building that are not usually accessible to the public will also be opened up, such as the Song Room which contains works by stained glass artist Moira Forsyth.

The open day will take place from 12:00-15:00 BST and while the tours and talks are free to attend, pre-booking is required, said the organisers.

Ms Myers added: "For those who aren't particularly interested in design, there will also be the opportunity to sign up for a traditional tour of the building, so there really is something for everyone and no excuse not to visit."

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