A SERIES of events to celebrate Leominster's founding saint are to take place next week.

St Edfrith was a monk from Northumbria who is credited with bringing the Christian gospel to the area around AD660.

On Thursday, October 26, the annual Edfrith Feast Day lecture will be led by Dr Nick Baker at the Priory Church at 7.30pm. His talk will investigate how art was used to communicate God’s word in the British Isles in the seventh and eighth centuries.

On Saturday, October 28, Pete Blench will lead a pilgrimage walk along the gentle route to Kimbolton – where the village church has been linked to the Priory for centuries. It takes place between 11am and 4pm, costs £5 and can be booked through the Tourist Information Centre.

The celebrations will culminate in a festive evensong at 4.30pm for St Edfrith on Sunday, October 29. The service will include a procession round the candlelit layout of the much larger pre-reformation minster (behind the current Norman nave) and medieval pilgrim songs from the Birchpole Singers.

For more information on this year’s celebrations visit the Leominster Priory website or email Trish Marsh on trishmarshleo@gmail.com