Chester Cathedral Bronze Font

Lucy Gannon September 18, 2026

Completed and installed new Bronze Insert into the Font. The aspiration was to visually reflect the Cathedral’s height in its bowl of water.

The bronze casting of the font insert picked up the style, colouring and shell motif of the Pilgrim Porch. It also contained an inscription in contrasting raised text - ‘For by one spirit we are all baptised into one body’. After much testing and experimentation with the pump system - the finished Font is complete.

“The west entrance ordering of Chester Cathedral opens one of the UK’s great cathedral spaces to the city.

This allows the Cathedral’s great oak west doors to be opened whereas previously the Cathedral appeared closed, so that now, the Cathedral appears welcoming to those on Town Hall Square.”

— The Dean of Chester, the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford

Chester Cathedral received a prestigious regional award for the reordering of the Cathedral’s west end which has opened up the building to the city it serves.

https://englishcathedrals.co.uk/latest-news/chester-cathedral-wins-design-award-for-its-reordering-project/

Go to Chester Cathedral Font

Father & Daughter

Lucy Gannon March 1, 2023

Father and Daughter was commissioned as a retirement gift for the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs CVO, MBE, KStJ in September 2021.

The movement in the piece is incredible - it has a playful yet classic feel, with a dark patina.

Modelling process

The piece was modelled by Stephen to create the pattern, which was cast in bronze at Castle Fine Arts Foundry in Oswestry using the lost wax process.

This is number one of a limited edition of 8. Please feel free to get in touch. Or visit Small works page if interested.

Moving Together - Flourishing - Limited Bronze

Lucy Gannon December 30, 2022

Revisiting this very special and significant limited edition bronze. The sculpture has an interactive element where the figures can rotate and interact with each other in different ways.

The Gestalt Prayer
I do my thing
and you do your thing.
I am not in this world
to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world
to live up to mine.

You are you and I am I.
And if by chance
we find each other, it’s beautiful,
If not, it can’t be helped.
Fritz Perls (1893-1970)
Gestalt Therapy pioneer

This poem was selected by a dear friend, who bought an edition of this piece as a family heirloom from her late husband. We thought it really embodied the energy and interactions of the figures. A real celebration of two people journeying in this world together.

This limited edition is available for sale - please get in touch with the studio or visit the small works page.

Pilgrim Porch - Installation May 2022

Lucy Gannon October 12, 2022

The unbelievable task of installing the Pilgrim Porch in Chester Cathedral by our good friends CB Arts.

The porch sits significantly yet subtly in this incredible space. The materiality and imagery compliments the fabric of the Cathedral - allowing a new dialogue. A sense of it always being there was expressed by visitors.

Finished photos to follow. Visit Project Page for more information about the process.

The ceremonial doors were installed in time for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations on June 3rd 2022 with a service of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral on the 2nd June. The full refurbishment of the setting is not yet complete with Jerusalem stone flooring and forged handrails to follow. However the Pilgrim’s porch was admired by people inside and outside the Cathedral.

“An innovative new architectural feature which champions accessibility and heritage has been installed at Chester Cathedral’s West Doors.

The Pilgrim Porch has been designed by the renowned sculptor, Stephen Broadbent. It comprises a shell-like patinated cast bronze arch set behind the medieval timber doors of the Cathedral’s Perpendicular Gothic West front.

Donald Insall Associates is proud to have initiated the design and implementation of the installation to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The bronze arch, hung with a pair of large and heavy laminated glass doors, is patterned with a labyrinth design composed of images of every church in the diocese of Chester. A digital installation in the cathedral will allow visitors to find out about all the churches represented in Stephen Broadbent’s labyrinth.”

— The Standard

https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/20190281.stunning-new-entrance-completed-chester-cathedral/

Artist Impression

Concept visual

Pilgrim Porch

Lucy Gannon March 1, 2022

A new window into the Cathedral.

Contribute to a diocesan wide art project.

The design of a sculptural bronze porch with ceremonial glass doors for the west end of Chester Cathedral will be unveiled in 2022 as part of the Queen’s platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The artwork within the glass will encapsulate a significant and meaningful photograph of a particular element from your church

Our vision is to include every single church in the diocese.

“Bishop Mark says: “It is relatively rare that an artist is commissioned to create a new permanent fixture for the interior of a medieval Cathedral.

Once completed our medieval west doors will be open and passers-by will be able to glimpse through the beautiful glass doors into the Cathedral and down the nave to the quire at the heart of the Cathedral. The porch will open the Cathedral to the city, inviting those outside in to explore further our beautiful Cathedral and discover the community that can be found inside.”

— https://www.chester.anglican.org/news/every-church-invited-to-contribute-to-new-jubilee-artwork.php

Find out more about the process

Available to buy : Longing & Enveloped

Lucy Gannon June 1, 2019

These two limited edition bronze birds were created and exhibited as part of the annual Sandstone Ridge Festival, Cheshire, May 2019.

Visit Small Works page for more detail or get in touch with the studio.

MAKING

Stephen in studio working on the patina and finish for the birds.

The Eudaemonium hidden bookcase

Lucy Gannon January 24, 2019

The Eudaemonium project would also like your input - for more information see the project page.

WHAT IS THE EUDAEMONIUM?

A living sculptural book that grows as people contribute to it.

The Eudaemonium stands in the square as a symbol of a community’s hidden treasure and acts as a physical marker within the landscape to encourage people to collect and share routes to well-being with one-another.

There is a hidden locked bookcase built within the spine of the sculpture, which houses the compendium of recipes and remedies or routes to well-being.