Newcastle Cathedral will be the setting for a series of talks this month focusing on the 'weird and wonderful' aspects of Newcastle heritage, including the famous so-called ‘vampire rabbit’.
This Thursday, August 11 at 6.30pm, local academic and writer Icy Sedgwick launches the programme with ‘Newcastle Oddities’, focusing on peculiar architectural and historic features which can be found around the city, each with a distinct animal-based theme. Next Thursday, August 18, author Rob Kilburn gives a talk called ‘Tyne and Weird’ based on his book of the same name and some of the eclectic local stories it contains.
Icy returns on Thursday, August 25, to present ‘Cathedral Creatures: Dragons, Griffins and Wyverns’, which turns its attention to the beastly depictions throughout the 900-year-old building. Tickets for these talks are available on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis and can be booked online or on the door, although advance booking is recommended to guarantee your place.
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The Cathedral – still known formally as the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas – is hosting an entire summer of events and activities inspired by the ‘Brilliant Beasts’ hidden in its windows, monuments and carvings. Thursday’s talk will begin with a discussion of the ‘vampire rabbit’ which sits above an ornate rear doorway into Cathedral Chambers, built in 1901.
The blood-sucking creature looks out across the Cathedral’s eastern terrace. Formerly a car park, this area was transformed as part of a multi-million-pound redevelopment of the Cathedral supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Icy says: “No one really knows why the Vampire Rabbit is there, which makes the sculpture all the more mysterious. Is he there to protect people inside Cathedral Buildings? Or is he there as a subtle nod to George Hare Philipson, one of the friends of the architects? The fun part is digging into the possibilities, even if we can’t say for definite which one is ‘right’. They might all be right, or all wrong. Either way, we get to say we’ve got one of the most fascinating grotesques in the country!”
This event will also look at the mythical River God Tyne and the seahorses which form part of Newcastle’s coat of arms, representing the city’s seafaring and maritime heritage. Seahorses can be found throughout St Nicholas’ and on buildings such as the 1968 Civic Centre, whose tower echoes the design of the Cathedral’s famous Lantern Tower.
Icy began her podcast, ‘Fabulous Folklore’, in January 2019 and has so far released nearly two hundred episodes. She says: “Sharing stories is what makes us human, and they help us to connect to where we are. They also show how similar we are, which can be a great way to bridge differences.
“I started blogging about folklore as part of ‘Folklore Thursday’ on Twitter, and that turned into a podcast to provide the content in 15-minute bite-sized episodes. It’s offered a great opportunity to share the lore I grew up with. I started reading folk tales, ghost stories and legends of Northumberland as a kid, and I developed a love of Newcastle’s history fairly early on - especially the darker parts of it. It really makes me look at the area with so much more fondness.
“There are so many fantastical creatures depicted around the Cathedral, and I’m torn between the seahorses and griffins as my favourites. Many of them appear in medieval manuscripts so it’s wonderful to see them in different forms, whether that’s as carvings or stained-glass windows. They’re a great reminder that you can visit a building again and again and see something different every time.”
As well as these talks, people can visit Newcastle Cathedral this summer to experience the regular array of music, worship and family-friendly activities. Admission is free of charge, although ticket costs apply for guided tours, including the recently launched series of Lantern Tower Tours.
For more information and to book tickets for this summer’s series of talks, visit the Newcastle Cathedral website.
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