Intern Insights: June 2022

I’m Georgina, the current Marketing Intern at Newcastle Cathedral. I’ve been in post since November 2021 and have already learnt and experienced so much!

In June, the Cathedral’s Crypt re-opened which was really exciting for me. Having recently completed a degree in History, new places of heritage and stories to explore are always brilliant. It was so interesting to visit the Crypt for the first time – even though I’d been here for six months I’d never set foot in it but had always heard stories of its first uses and rediscovery in the 19^th century. As part of the redevelopment of the Cathedral, the Crypt has received a deep clean, new lighting and some much-needed heating.

It’s been interesting to see how the medieval space is being used in a modern, ever-moving cathedral. As part of Wellbeing and Discovery Season, it is being used for lunchtime meditation sessions led by Jon Canessa. I popped along to one a few weeks ago, to take some photos for social media and sneak in some quiet time on my lunch break. It was such a calming environment, with the thick stone walls providing a blanket of calm and muffling the chaos of the road outside. The space is tucked away which added a nice element of privacy for the meditations and meant visitors could pop their heads down the stairs to peek into the main body without disturbing us.

I also recently did some research into the Crypt. There is a fair amount of ambiguity about the history and story of the space – lots of theories and ideas but no one can be sure of its original founding and use. It was so fun to rifle through different reports and essays about the space to decipher at least some of its history over time.  My favourite part of the space is the set of four windows dedicated to Sir Archibald Ross. Their quirky designs are so unique, and I really like how their colours stand out against the largely muted surroundings. The article I wrote about the Crypt and my research was recently published in The Chronicle.

You can read the article here.

I look forward to learning more about the Cathedral and Marketing in the coming months. We will also be joined by a second intern next month so that will be nice to bolster the team and add a new set of eyes on the place.