The Lancaster Priory Memorial Commissioning Group is now recruiting a freelance Project Manager, initially for 15 days in Autumn 2021, to take the project to the next phase. It is expected that the role will be extended as new funds for the project come in.
For more details please download the full job description and how to apply: Facing The Past Project Manager brief
Closing date 27 September 2021
When Canon Leah Vasey-Saunders is inducted at Lancaster Priory on Wednesday, she will be the first female Vicar of Lancaster.
Leah is joined by her husband of 20 years, Dr Rev Mark Vasey-Saunders, an academic tutor at St Hild Theological College in Yorkshire; and their children: Reuben, aged 17, a student at Chetham’s School of Music; Jude,16; Elias,14; and Miriam,11, who will attend Ripley St Thomas CE High School.
“Lancaster is beautiful and reminds me of places we’ve lived before. It’s a wonderful place with heritage, culture and arts opportunities,“ said Leah.
“Lancaster feels like a place that has legs, it’s going somewhere.
“The parish is interesting because it’s in the city centre, part of a heritage site, as well as including the Marsh estate and new housing. It’s got opportunities from every possible perspective and I anticipate it will draw on my experiences of past parishes and cathedral.”
Leah will lead worship at many civic occasions in Lancaster and at regular services but such demands don’t faze the former Canon Precentor at Wakefield Cathedral where she organised arts and cultural events.
Music was Leah’s first love as a child born in Grimsby where she joined the Grimsby and Cleethorpes Youth Orchestra.
The family moved to Saudi Arabia for a couple of years with her dad’s work, an important experience in Leah’s faith journey.
But it wasn’t until Leah joined the church choir at Huddersfield University where she studied music, that she first contemplated a church career.
And even when a fellow bellringer suggested Leah could be a priest, it took time for her to come to that conclusion.
“I was from a working class background and not sure if I’d fit in so I took two gap years to explore what it was like to work in the church.”
Five years of training and studying followed until she was ordained in 2003, aged 25.
After curacies in Newcastle, Leah was appointed to parishes in Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire before joining Wakefield Cathedral’s clergy team.
Leah’s first challenge at Lancaster Priory will be guiding the parish through its pandemic recovery. During lockdown, Leah’s family led the Church of England’s national virtual service from their lounge.
“Everyone I’ve met so far has been really welcoming. I’ll be listening to as many people as possible and I want to go into schools and shops, get to know the Duchy , the Castle and people at Lancaster City Council.”
“And I really want people to have fun.
“Church should be something people treasure and enjoy.”
Following a change to the wedding registration of couples, after 400 years, both parents’ names are now included in the register.
Below is a picture of our first wedding couple in The Priory marking this momentous occasion.
Photo courtesy of Samantha (https://
Please click on the link below to hear the latest update on our tower restoration from Elaine Blackett-Ord, Blackett-Ord Conservation Architecture.
From the Churchwardens
Dear Friends,
Earlier this week we received the very welcome news from the Coronavirus Task Group in the Diocese that, following advice received from the Directors of Public Health in Lancashire, churches can and should reopen for public worship on Sundays and Feast Days, with effect from March 8th. This means that we are now able to share with you the joyful news that we look forward to welcoming back a congregation on March 14th, Mothering Sunday. What a lovely occasion to be able to worship together once again!
Unfortunately this is not a return to normality and we will have to reinstate all the safe practices we had in place before this latest lockdown: a limit on numbers, hand-sanitising, social distancing and wearing masks or visors whilst in church. Places will also need to be booked in advance as previously. Services will also continued to be live-streamed.
The return to public worship does not, however, mean a return for the choir. We will continue to be limited to 1 cantor. For this reason we have decided it is probably best not to reopen for a congregation in the evenings but to live-stream only. This will enable us to have a very small choir who can provide us with a choral evensong – something which would not be possible if we had a congregation present with the limit of a single cantor. This has been a difficult decision but we hope you feel we have made the right call.
Reopening the church also means that we can welcome back a congregation for BCP Holy Communion on Tuesdays at 10.15, starting from Tuesday March 16th. We know that this service is very special to many of you. Please do remember to book your place in advance.
When Holy Week arrives, we intend welcoming congregations on Palm Sunday 10 am Eucharist, Maundy Thursday 7.30 pm Eucharist, Good Friday 2.00 pm Solemn Liturgy, Easter Day 10 am Festal Eucharist. Other services throughout the week will be held without congregations and will be live-streamed. Much more information to follow later.
It has always been our practice on Mothering Sunday to distribute posies for mothers. We will continue to do this, this year, but in a slightly different way to conform with health regulations. Posies will be blessed at the altar during the service and then be made available to collect from outside the church as people leave.
Finally… we hope to make the church look at its magnificent best on Easter Day and to decorate with lilies. If you would like to send a donation for lilies in memory of a loved one please send your gift either by BACS to ‘PCC Lancaster Priory and Parish Church’, Sort code: 20-47-61, Account: 50564613, reference ‘Lilies’, or alternatively by cheque (with ‘Lilies’ on the reverse) to Barbara Gardner, 76 Wyresdale Road, Lancaster, LA1 3DY. For those of you who regularly give by Gift Aid we will be able to reclaim income tax paid. Very importantly, please send the names of those you wish to be remembered to priorypeople@gmail.com
Hoping that you are finding Lent to be a time of refreshment and enrichment in our journey of faith.
With our best wishes to you all,
Andrew and Pauline
The Rev Canon Chris Newlands conducted his final service at the Priory on Sunday, January 31, after 11 years as Vicar of Lancaster.
The special service and farewell video was streamed online from 6.30pm as lockdown restrictions mean there was no congregation present to mark Canon Newlands retirement.
Live streaming of services has resulted in the Priory enjoying a global reach and is part of Canon Newlands legacy. He was also instrumental in securing funding for the ongoing repairs to the clock tower and new lighting inside the historic church.
A high profile figure, since 2010 Canon Newlands has played a leading role in civic services and encouraged the Priory’s cultural programme, including welcoming The Moon in 2019.
The openly gay vicar has supported Lancaster Pride and his links with other local organisations include Lancaster Black History Group, Holocaust Memorial and Churches Together in Lancaster.
Canon Newlands has been Canon of Blackburn Cathedral and a member of the General Synod, and Archbishops’ Council which co-ordinates and leads the Church of England’s work. He was also Prolocutor of the Province of York, Chair of the Major Churches Network and chaired the House of Clergy of the General Synod.
“It has been an extraordinary privilege to serve as the 42nd Vicar of Lancaster,” said Canon Newlands.
“There is a tremendous sense of history in the very stones of the Priory and we have sought to build on this heritage and hand it on to the next generation of leaders. I will forever treasure the memories of the people who have been a part of this community as regular worshippers or occasional visitors to the concerts and great occasions we’ve hosted.”
Before being ordained an Anglican priest, Canon Newlands taught in Algeria where he encouraged an interest in theatre, music and the arts on behalf of the British Council.
His previous posts include Precentor of Durham Cathedral and Anglican envoy to Orthodox Churches in Romania and Bulgaria.
He was also a parish priest in Colchester and, while working as Chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, was part of the Chelmsford Cathedral clergy team and assisted him in the House of Lords.
On retirement, Canon Newlands will live in Bexleyheath with his partner, David, a GP.
Church warden, Andrew Nicholson said: “We are immensely grateful to Chris for his 11 years of faithful service to Lancaster Priory and the huge contribution he has made in placing the Priory at the heart of the community.”
Canon Newlands successor will probably be appointed by the end of this year. In the meantime, services will be covered by associate priests and local ministers.
Canon Newlands final service can be viewed on Facebook @lancasterpriorymusic and his final sermon can be viewed here
Community consultation is now underway into plans for a new slave trade memorial in Lancaster.
For the first time in 150 years, a memorial will be installed in the Priory churchyard where the grave of the Rawlinson slave trading family was daubed with red paint last spring.
It was a result of this action and following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that the Priory formed a group to commission a memorial which has secured MP David Lammy as its patron.
“Our diverse commissioning group began in September and we’re now at the exciting stage of a community-wide consultation as we are very keen that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the final form the memorial will take,” said group chair, Andrew Nicholson.
“We are anxious to avoid a situation where we create a new piece of art, no matter how worthy or excellent, but nothing changes as a result. We want people to reflect on the memorial, be moved by it, and make a lived response.”
A report on the consultation will form an artist’s brief for the memorial and fundraising has already begun with appeals to individuals, churches, local groups and trusts. Funding bids will also go to Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Although placing a memorial in the churchyard, which is a designated ancient monument, will pose a significant challenge, the aim is for it to be installed this year.
The Priory, like Lancaster itself, has strong links to the slave trade. Some slaves were baptised in the church and its memorial garden contains the mummified hand of a slave servant, Frances Elizabeth Johnson, ‘owned’ by the Satterthwaite slavers of Castle Hill. There are memorials both within and outside the church to families involved in slavery.
“The memorial we are proposing will enable us to remember in penitence and sorrow those who became victims of the slave trade through the actions of our fellow citizens and remind us that these people were not mere statistics but real people,” Mr Nicholson said.
It’s hoped that the memorial will spur people on to resist and reject abuse and injustice wherever it’s encountered and also spark creativity. School visits will be encouraged as education is an important element of the whole project.
Consultation among various groups is likely to take place online until Easter and anyone wishing to join a group should email concerts@lancasterpriory.org
Lancaster Priory’s historic clock which has marked time for locals and visitors alike since 1886 is being restored to its former glory.
Probably for the first time in its life the entire mechanism, which has been threatened by chronic water leaks, has been dismantled and will be cleaned and restored as part of almost £300,000 worth of repairs to the clock tower.
The work has only been made possible thanks to a grant from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help heritage organisations through the coronavirus pandemic.
The vital repairs are being carried out by Cumbria Clock Company which has previously worked on the country’s oldest clock in Salisbury Cathedral, the nation’s largest clock dials on Liverpool’s Royal Liver Building, and even Big Ben.
Keith Scobie-Youngs, Cumbria Clock Company director, said: “Lancaster Priory is lucky to have such a wonderful clock mechanism. Once our work is completed, this impressive machine will be a perfect servant to Lancaster for the next 140 years.”
The Vicar of Lancaster, Canon Chris Newlands, has described the clock as part of the warp and weft of the city.
It is said to be the best example in the UK of the workmanship of Lund and Blockley of London who were retailers of fine quality watches and manufacturers of house and turret clocks. Among their customers was Queen Victoria.
It’s thought that the Priory’s is one of only three turret clocks of its kind left in the world, the others being in South Africa and Australia. Until 1983, when an electric drive was fitted, the clock was wound up manually.
The Priory clock is special in many other ways. Its chimes are unique and possibly composed by the choirmaster at the time.
Also, in the clock room, is a change ring machine dating from around 1950, the only example of its type presently known to exist. It was probably used when bell ringers weren’t available for church services or ceremonies.
When the clock’s mechanism was being dismantled, it was laid out in the church for a couple of days for visitors to see. It will be cleaned and restored at workshops near Penrith over the next two months and in January, workers will abseil down the tower to remove the remaining hands. Everything will be back in position by March.
The reverse of one of the clock’s hands already recovered revealed a hidden inscription written in 1991, during a previous repair, to mark the release of Anglican Church envoy, Terry Waite after more than four years in captivity in Beirut.
Canon Newlands has sent news of this secret part of the Priory’s history to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the hope that he will share it with Terry.
A film about the clock’s restoration is now available on Lancaster Priory’s Facebook page: @lancasterpriorymusic.
Lancaster Priory is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country receiving a lifesaving financial boost from the government thanks to the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.
This vital funding is from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage and the Heritage Stimulus Fund – funded by Government and administered at arms length by Historic England. The Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund is designed to secure the future of Britain’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues with emergency grants and loans.
Our new Family Eucharist Service will be starting on 11th October for everyone to enjoy.
Twice a month on the second and fourth Sundays at 4pm, we will be inviting children and their families to worship and learn together. The service will be adapted, so there will be something for everyone. It is an informal and relaxed service where our church family can worship together. The service takes a more child centred approach with much greater involvement by the children from the congregation. Children can read the lessons, prayers and participate in presentations.
Please prebook for this service:
Sunday 11th October 4.00pm – https://www.trybooking.co.uk/UYR
Lancaster Priory Church which has been closed for the longest period in its thousand-year history has emerged into the light after the lifting of lockdown restrictions.
Vicar of Lancaster, Canon Chris Newlands is now conducting public Sunday services in church following months of worship online.
And the Priory has also hosted its first wedding since March – of a soldier in the Parachute Regiment who received special permission to be married in the Regimental Chapel.
But Lancaster’s parish church is not completely back to normal. Worshippers must book in advance for services, with capacity about a fifth of its usual size. They must wear masks and sit in alternate pews for social distancing purposes.
Although the organ is played, no singing is allowed. The service is shorter but does include Holy Communion.
Tuesday Communion services in the Regimental Chapel are also taking place with the same restrictions and the church will be accessible for visitors, with special arrangements in place.
During lockdown, only St Thomas Chapel was open for private prayer on certain days so Canon Newlands live-streamed worship using his mobile phone from his garden when weather permitted.
This new online service proved so popular that it will continue for daily Morning Prayer at 9.30am on the Priory’s Facebook page for those unable to visit church.
“Providing online services has been an eye-opener as we’ve been able to connect more widely with people,” said churchwarden, Andrew Nicholson. “From being a local church, we’ve become a global parish.”
People from as far away as Canada and Dubai have watched services online but the church didn’t forget those local parishioners without internet access and organised volunteers to make regular contact.
Canon Newlands also kept in touch with parishioners and has postponed his retirement, planned for September, until the spring.
But the Priory wasn’t completely empty during lockdown as workers were busy installing new lighting which will show the church’s special features in their full glory and be adapted for special events.
Lighting designer, Bruce Kirk, who is currently also working on St George’s Chapel in Windsor and made his name lighting the Millennium Dome, is responsible for the new system being installed in two phases and partly funded by the bequest of Jim Garbett, a former Priory lay reader and vice-principal of St Martin’s College.
The entire system should have been completed by the end of the year but lockdown has significantly affected the church’s income which is down by more than £50,000 this year.
Important repairs to the church tower will also be delayed as an appeal to raise £110,000 was launched just days before lockdown. However, the Sponsor a Stone initiative and online showcases featuring people connected to the Priory have helped towards the target.
To promote Lancaster Priory following its tentative re-opening, a film of its treasures has been produced and will be updated regularly. It will be available on the websites of the church, Lancaster City Council and Visit Lancashire.
