Master Masons: the Men behind the Great Medieval Cathedrals

Have you ever wondered how ordinary people created dizzyingly high buildings on which even the top-most parts were delicately decorated?

When | Saturday 9 March, 1.30pm – 3pm

Where | St Albans Cathedral and Online (please note this event will NOT be recorded)

Cost | £10 (£6 students)

Speaker | Imogen Corrigan, author and historian 

 After serving for nearly twenty years in the British Army, reaching the rank of major, Imogen Corrigan (MPhil.) has successfully developed a second career as a freelance lecturer, specialising in the Anglo-Saxon and medieval period, and works across Britain and Europe. Imogen's book, Stone on Stone: the men who built the cathedrals, was published in 2018. 

This event is presented jointly by the Cathedral Friends and the Adult Learning Department.

In this lecture we meet the Master Masons who both designed the buildings and ran the site. They commanded everything - whether it was sourcing the vast quantities of wood and stone, recruiting the workforce or knowing enough about their various trades to be able to create heaven on earth out the cacophony of thousands of chisels and hammers.

These men were charismatic leaders, but they were continually checked by their fellow Master Masons in the interests of making a building as strong as possible – we only see their successes, after all. They were real people who got into trouble with the law, who occasionally cheated on contracts, who liked to start a job but not to finish it. On the other hand, their creations remain to this day, some breathtakingly beautiful in their exquisite detail causing us, centuries later, to stand and wonder.

Image: (c) Still Cast Photography

Please note that this event will not be recorded. How to Book You can book online by using the button above. If you are unable to book online please call the Learning Administrator on 01727 890212 (Monday to Friday 9.30 – 3pm term time) or the Box Office 01727 890290 (Monday to Sunday). Tickets will be on sale until 12noon on the day of the event. Please ensure that you provide a current email address when you book.  Clergy and Readers in St Albans Diocese have complimentary access to our Adult Learning courses, talks, study days, and reading groups. For clergy/Reader bookings, please email [email protected] with your name and role and we will confirm your place.