Southwark Cathedral, UK, set on the south bank of the River Thames and the oldest Gothic church in London, 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 21 July – 31 August 2026 in the Nave during general cathedral opening times – Monday to Saturday, 9am – 6pm, and Sunday 8.30am – 5pm.
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. Southwark Cathedral is the 29th 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 Southwark Cathedral evocatively transports the viewer back to the site’s historic medieval roots by inviting contemplation of its dramatic gothic interior.
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.
For more than 1400 years Southwark Cathedral has been a site of Christian worship and possesses a momentous and significant history. Often regarded as a Cathedral for those who feel on the edges of faith or society, it exists in one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in London and has had links with many famous and influential characters including St Thomas Becket, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens.
The Very Reverend Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark, says of the exhibition, “We are delighted to be exhibiting Peter Marlow’s collection at Southwark Cathedral. The Cathedrals of England provide spaces where we can distil, reorientate life, and find companions. In their stones human horizons sing. Their beauty is a constant through a locality’s history. Their message, that ultimately life is trustworthy and marked with dignity, is a constant through the world’s conflicts and confusion.”
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 are asked to take photographs of the exhibition in-situ at Truro 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 website of the Peter Marlow Foundation to create a contemporary public response to the works. Having these instant images allowed Peter to make 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.
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 and Sheffield in 2026. Many more of the cathedrals featured in the series are lined up for 2027 and the years to come. More information and dates can be found at – https://petermarlowfoundation.org
Peter Marlow : The English Cathedral
21 July – 31 August 2026
Southwark Cathedral, UK
London Bridge
London
SE1 9DA
https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/
