Following on from an acquisition of the work to the V&A’s permanent photography collection, “English Cathedrals” begins a tour of the country at Blackburn Cathedral this February

"Marlow captures the intangible essence of all form that is generated by creative force: the enduring mystery of space within space" Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs, Victoria and Albert Museum 

Peter Marlow’s photographs depicting all 42 of the cathedrals of the Church of England are to be exhibited at Blackburn Cathedral.

In 2008, Marlow was commissioned by Royal Mail, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the completion of St Paul’s Cathedral, to photograph six cathedrals. The resulting images of Lichfield, Belfast, Gloucester, St David's, Westminster, and St Magnus in Orkney were issued as a set of six commemorative stamps and a miniature sheet. Once the commission was complete, however, Marlow was inspired to continue the project and in the following four years shot all 42 of the cathedrals of the Church of England. This endeavor can be viewed as a contemporary update to tradition of church photography in England, particularly the work of Frederick Evans and Edwin Smith. Taken in natural light at dawn, these remarkable images capture the luminosity of each interior as daylight emerges from behind the altar.