Parishioners walk to Lichfield to raise money for Cathedral Treasure

The congregation of St Mary’s Church Mucklestone, will be walking 43 miles to Lichfield Cathedral in order to raise funds for the conservation works of the medieval Herkenrode Glass Windows in the Lady Chapel. They will set off from St Mary’s Mucklestone at 9am on Thursday 16th September and will pass through the villages/towns of Ashley, Eccleshall, Stafford, Milford and Gentleshaw. The route also passes through Cannock Chase and the parishioners aim to reach Lichfield Cathedral for Evensong on Sunday 19th September 2010.

The windows represent the greatest collection of unrestored 16th Century Flemish glass anywhere in the world. They were brought to England in 1803 and bought by the Cathedral to replace medieval stained glass lost during the Civil War.  The windows came from the Abbey of Herkenrode (now in Belgium) in 1801 and date from the 1530s. They depict the life of Jesus as well as encapsulating the values, culture and religion of the Renaissance period.

The windows which are located in the East End of Lichfield Cathedral - and considered a national treasure - are in urgent need of repair and conservation. The glass windows have to be taken down and cleaned piece by piece, before being reinstalled with a layer of ‘iso-thermal’ glazing to protect the glass from the harmful effects of condensation in future.

For further information please contact Julia Roberts on 07989 980 016 or email [email protected]

For further information about the Herkenrode Windows, please go to www.lichfieldcathedral.org/cathedral-treasures

If you would like to make a donation, please go to http://www.justgiving.com/herkenrodepilgrimage2010