Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral - Exhibition Dates: 2 June - 1 July 2026
Sheffield Cathedral, UK, the oldest building in Sheffield still in daily use, will host Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral, the next stage of an ambitious tour of works by the late Magnum photographer, Peter Marlow. This free photographic exhibition chronicling all 42 naves of England’s Anglican cathedrals, will be on show from 2 June - 1 July 2026 in the North Transept of the Cathedral during general cathedral opening times.
Organised by the Peter Marlow Foundation, the charity set up to continue Peter’s legacy, the aim is that this ethereal collection of images will exhibit at each of the 42 cathedrals he visited on his photographic pilgrimage across England. Sheffield Cathedral is the 28th of the 42 cathedrals to host the exhibition, which is in the 11th year of its ongoing tour. The exhibition, Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral, invites visitors to embark on a visual journey through the lens of Peter Marlow, capturing the essence of the Cathedral in a play of natural light with all modern artificial lighting turned off. Peter’s photographic portrait of Sheffield Cathedral highlights the fascinating architectural hybrid of the building, showcasing over 800 years of design. It blends a medieval parish core with significant Tudor extensions and extensive mid-20th-century modernist additions, most notably its striking Lantern Tower and geometric stained glass which can be seen at the centre of Peter’s image.
Peter Marlow (b. UK, 1952 - 2016) was commissioned in 2008 by Royal Mail on the 300th year anniversary of the completion of St Paul’s Cathedral to photograph six Anglican Cathedrals that were issued as commemorative stamps. So taken was he by these initial magnificent interiors that he set out to photograph all 42, guided over the next three years by a copy of English Cathedrals (1989) by Edwin Smith and Olive Cook and a pack of Anglican Cathedrals of England Top Trumps Cards.
“What I thought was going to be incredibly simple became intricate, complicated, and utterly absorbing. The journey was memorable and wonderfully hypnotic, a kind of reflective pilgrimage. My cathedral days involved hours of driving and thinking, with my reference Polaroids drying in the sun on the dashboard. England passed by.” Peter Marlow, The English Cathedral.
Formerly the Parish Church of Sheffield, Sheffield Cathedral was granted Cathedral status in 1914. However the history of Christianity on this site goes back over 1000 years and the shaft of the 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Sheffield Cross, believed to have formerly been sited here, is now held by the British Museum. In the early 12th century, William de Lovetot built the first church on this site and established the township of Sheffield. Like many cathedrals, Sheffield Cathedral blends many architectural styles owing to the history of the site and the numerous periods of renovation and restoration it underwent. In Peter’s image the 16th century decorative timber hammerbeam roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, with its gilded angels can be clearly seen, their outstretched wings being a modern addition from the 1960s coinciding with the inclusion of the lantern tower, its abstract stained glass installed in the late 1990s.
Denise Lawrenson, Visitor Experience Coordinator at Sheffield Cathedral, says of the exhibition, “At Sheffield Cathedral, we are passionate about creating accessible cultural experiences that welcome everyone through our doors. We’re delighted to host Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral and to share this remarkable exhibition with our visitors and community. These striking photographs invite people to experience the beauty, history, and atmosphere of England’s cathedrals in a unique and reflective way, and we’re excited to offer our Cathedral as a welcoming space for people to engage with this extraordinary work.”
The images appear deceptively simple in their composition and technical set-up. It was after much experimentation that Peter developed the perfect strategy to document these huge interior spaces and to highlight the many varied architectural nuances between the buildings. Shooting on large format film using only natural light, he set up in the same position at nearly all of the cathedrals - looking east towards the nave and altar as the dawn light streamed through the main window. By ensuring all artificial lighting was turned off, a rarity in many of these buildings whose lights remain on constantly, he captured the cathedrals emerging from the darkness as if suspended in time and removed from the modern age. This end result can be regarded as a contemporary update to the long tradition of church photography in England, namely Frederik Evans’ late 19th century imagery and Edwin Smith’s mid-20th century work.
Peter’s remarkable photographs bring into sharp relief the full splendour of the interiors of some of England’s most magnificent buildings, great symbols of spiritual and architectural power.
“When immersed in Peter’s photographs we are metaphorically in some kind of contemplative enclosure, if not a sanctuary: one that confronts us with our own sense of being. The forms captured here are simultaneously concrete and abstract: containers of history, light and, above all, space. Despite of, and in parallel with, the undeniable structure of the architectural edifice, Peter captures the intangible essence of all form that is generated by creative force: the enduring mystery of space within space.” Martin Barnes, The English Cathedral.
When he photographed the 42 Anglican cathedrals for the series, Peter took extensive time and preparation prior to and during the process in capturing the final photograph displayed here in the exhibition. Part of this process was the use of Fujifilm FP 100 Instant film to test the view and the exposure of each shot. In recognition of this Fujifilm has supplied instax cameras and film at the exhibitions on the tour. Visitors to the exhibition are asked to take photographs of the exhibition in-situ at Sheffield Cathedral and the visitors it attracts, utilising the example photographs by some of Peter’s fellow Magnum photographers, Elliott Erwitt, David Seymour (Chim), Chris Steele-Perkins, Stuart Franklin and David Hurn.
These instant photographs will create an interactive ever-changing display that will be shared as part of the exhibition but also on the social media channels and websites of Sheffield Cathedral and the Peter Marlow Foundation to create a contemporary public response to the works. Having these instant images allowed for an immediate assessment of the composition as well as creating an additional accompanying set of photographs. For each hosting cathedral, Peter Marlow Foundation will choose a winner from those visitors who have contributed a photograph. This person will be awarded an Estate Stamped Fine Print of a cathedral photograph of their choice.
A sold-out monograph of Peter Marlow’s The English Cathedral was published by Merrell in 2012 with a second edition in 2015. Featuring texts by Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) London, and John Goodall, architectural editor of Country Life magazine, it also includes Peter’s own account of his ‘cathedral days’ as well as his technical commentary of how he achieved these intensely detailed images. The initiation of The English Cathedral tour was generously funded by the Victoria and Albert Museum and their Photographs Acquisition Group. A full set of the prints are held in the V&A’s permanent collection.
Following the exhibition at Sheffield Cathedral, Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral will show at Southwark Cathedral from 21 July - 31 August 2026 (29/42 cathedrals) with more cathedral locations to be confirmed for later in the year, 2027, and beyond.
Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral has previously been hosted by Coventry Cathedral in 2016; Ely Cathedral in 2017; Portsmouth and Blackburn in 2019; Carlisle; Winchester; Ripon; Southwell; Bradford; St Albans; and St Paul’s in 2022; Hereford; Newcastle; St Edmundsbury; Wakefield; Lincoln; and Wells in 2023; Manchester; Rochester; Peterborough; Derby; Chester; and Worcester in 2024; and Chelmsford; Truro; Lichfield in 2025; and Salisbury in 2026. Many more of the cathedrals featured in the series are lined up for the years to come. More information and dates can be found at – https://petermarlowfoundation.org
Photo Credit: Peter Marlow, Sheffield Cathedral, 2010 © Peter Marlow Foundation/ Magnum Photos'