Symposium
On the 30th April 2016, a thanksgiving service for the restoration of the nave roof at Ranworth church took place. Dr Matthew Cheung Salisbury led the Wadham College Oxford singers in recreating the vespers originally sung by medieval clerks, as well as talking about the significance of the Ranworth Antiphoner. Other speakers included Dr Spike Bucklow, senior research scientist at the Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge, and Professor John Harper, Director of the International Centre for Sacred Music at Bangor University, who brought to life the experience of churchgoing in medieval times.
The singers flank the Ranworth Antiphoner during vespers at the Ranworth Symposium, 2016
Revd Canon Nick Garrard said, "The symposium gives us a chance to travel back in time to find out more about the precious treasures we are so lucky to have in Ranworth church, it will bring a real insight into the sights and sounds of the church in the mid-15th century and help us connect imaginatively with people who worshipped here 500 years ago"
Revd Canon Nick Garrard leading the vespers service
The symposium followed a major restoration of the nave of the roof at Ranworth church, generously funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and completed in 2015.
Dr Matthew Cheung Salisbury (left) and Prof John Harper (far right) observing the Antiphoner
Revd Canon Nick Garrard leading vespers as part of the symposium