An exhibition in Madley which engaged Herefordshire Arts College students in an exploration of spirituality, created in partnership with local Vicar, Rev’d Simon Lockett of Wyedore parish, continues to attract visitors to this rural Herefordshire church. The showcase, taking place at St Mary's church, Madley, is open daily and runs until 21 June. “The church is a beautiful space, and offers a multisensory experience of the spiritual theme” explains Rev’d Simon. “It also happens to be the first stop on the award winning, Golden Valley Way pilgrimage route.”
Rev’d Simon calls the exhibition “an opportunity for students of art to move beyond the studio” and to engages them in the history of the Golden Valley Pilgrimage as well as the stories of local saints. He explains that in order to introduce the theme, he “shared stories, particularly surrounding the life of St Dyfrig”, a local saint born in Madley in the 5th century AD, who died the Bishop of Llandaff and is renowned for evangelising the Christian faith to the people Kingdom of Ergyng (now west Herefordshire) and much of southeast Wales.
The Golden Valley Pilgrimage Way, which the exhibition focuses on, is guided by Rev’d Simon Lockett himself, adding, “there appears to be a real resurgence in spirituality and enchantment at the moment”.
Rev’d Simon considers further that the concepts of “mystery, creation and quiet contemplation capture the imagination far more than teaching”, showing an artistic approach in conversation surrounding religion, adding “you come at it from the angle of experience not intellect” to connect with students of faith or no faith in an exploration of spirituality and pilgrimage.
The exhibition itself is described as “a collaboration across the college, combing works from both Fine Art and Photography students, which has resulted in a mixture of approaches ranging from painting, poetry, photography and mixed media.” Rev’d Simon hopes to link this project with other emerging pilgrim routes across the diocese of Hereford (The Church of England in Herefordshire and South Shropshire) as part the 1350th celebrations taking place throughout 2026, to celebrate the foundation of the diocese in 676 AD.
For more information about the exhibition, visit Abbeydore Deanery website. For further details about other events taking place during the1350th anniversary visit our dedicated web pages:
Photocredit: John Dinnen, photograph of HCA Student Painting at Madley Church, Herefordshire.