NORWICH’S majestic cathedral is drawing on its history to become one of the first to set up a series of creative events to inspire writers, artists and craftsmen.

The Cathedral Creatives events will start with Voices from the Cathedral, a short story writing course for beginners which will run on Monday afternoons at the Cathedral Library from September through to December.

Budding writers will be able to draw on the rich seam of resources at the Cathedral to help them glimpse into the past, encounter the present and imagine the future through a wealth of potential material for creative writing.

Each week different aspects of writing technique will be studied such as writing style, dialogue, characters, plot, points of view and editing, drawing on the knowledge of professional author and teacher Patricia Mullin and staff at the Cathedral.

Community learning officer Jill Napier said: “There are many fascinating stories about the Cathedral which are known but as yet untold. This is a real opportunity to find out more about those stories and write them in a way which will appeal to others to read. There is often a hesitancy about interweaving fact and fiction but in reality quite often that is exactly what history is so we hope this will inspire potential writers to give it a go.”

Potential topics include: the riots between the city and Cathedral and the burning of the cloister, as a result of which several people were hanged; the diary of the cathedral architect who put out fires with a stirrup pump from the roof; a Benedictine bishop who bought his job and left letters behind recording his ambitious plans and Osberto Parsley, a singing man who survived the Reformation to write a special musical celebration for Elizabeth I.

Voices from the Cathedral starts on Monday from 2pm – 4.30pm and will take place in the Cathedral library at a cost of £85 per term (limited number of concessions available). No experience is needed but there are a limited number of places. To find out more or to register contact Jill Napier at communitylearning@cathedral.org.uk, call 01603 218321 or visit www.cathedral.org.uk