Salisbury Cathedral to Host Photographic ‘Portraits’ of All 42 English Anglican Cathedrals

Salisbury Cathedral is set to host Peter Marlow: The English Cathedral, the next stage of an ambitious tour of works by the late Magnum photographer, Peter Marlow.

This photographic exhibition chronicling all 42 naves of England’s Anglican cathedrals will be on show from 27th February to 31st March 2026 in the North Transept of the Cathedral.

It can be viewed as part of general admission to the Cathedral. For local residents in postcode areas SP1 to SP5, admission is free with proof of address.

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.

Salisbury Cathedral is the 27th of the 42 cathedrals to host the exhibition so far and marks the first of 2026, which is in the 11th year of the exhibition’s 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 Salisbury Cathedral evocatively transports the viewer back to the site’s historic medieval roots by inviting contemplation of its dramatic Gothic interior.

Mollie Barnes, Arts Curator at Salisbury Cathedral, says of the exhibition, “I’m delighted that Salisbury Cathedral will host the next exhibition of Marlow’s ambitious touring project, The English Cathedral, organised by the Peter Marlow Foundation. The photographs perfectly capture the scale and calm of these grand buildings with exceptional attention to place. Each was taken at dawn, with the lights extinguished, using Fuji film. They distil the moment where Cathedral buildings emerge into the day.

Presenting this body of work at the cusp of February and March feels fitting - arriving at the dawn of spring, as days begin to lengthen. Marlow’s commitment to photograph all 42 Anglican cathedrals represents his own absorbing personal journey to these places of pilgrimage across the UK. It’s a wonderful continuation of our ongoing contemporary arts programmes.”

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.

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 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.

On 28th February and 7th March, amateur photographers are invited to photograph the interior of the Cathedral at dawn. Mirroring Peter Marlow’s approach, photographers will have the rare opportunity to capture the interior of the medieval cathedral as the sun rises, with no artificial light, before the first service of the day and visitors arrive. Places for this photo session are free but must be booked online in advance, due to limited capacity.

There will also be an opportunity for visitors to enter a photography competition, using Fujifilm FP 100 Instant film, the same film Marlow used in preparation to test the view and the exposure of each shot.

Instax cameras and film, supplied by Fujifilm in recognition of this, will be available for visitors to try out their photography skills in the same place that Marlow took his photo in the Cathedral. These instant photographs will be shared as part of the exhibition, but also on the social media channels and websites of Salisbury Cathedral and the Peter Marlow Foundation to create a contemporary public response to the works, with the Peter Marlow Foundation choosing a winner from the submitted photographs. The winner will be awarded an Estate Stamped Fine Print of a cathedral photograph of their choice.