Newcastle celebrates new lighting scheme

NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL celebrated the completion of its new lighting scheme at a special Candlemas Service on 2 February. Candlemas marks the presentation of Christ in the Temple and is often celebrated with candle-lit processions, a custom that goes back to the Middle Ages when the service lit up the gloom of winter and symbolised the dawning of the light of Christ in a dark and needy world.

Newcastle’s new lighting scheme highlights the architecture of a magnificent medieval building and is the first such scheme to use only lowenergy LED lighting, reducing energy costs and carbon footprint by up to 80 per cent.

“The new lighting is or ganised in zones that can be programmed to give different light schemes, dependent upon the time of day, the type of ser vice or the mood we want to create, all controlled by an iPad App,” said the Dean, the Ver y Rev Christopher Dalliston. “The use of LED lighting means we will not have to touch any lighting for at least 20 years.”

Newcastle Cathedral has now completed the first stage of its ambitious £2.1m refurbishment programme. The next stage will include new flooring, seating, toilets, and the refurbishment of one of the chapels.

Bishop Mar tin Whar ton preached at the Candlemas Service which was attended by the Appeal Chairman, former head of the MET, Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle and the High Sherif f as well as clergy from the dioceses of Newcastle and Durham.