At a Glance

  • Classroom course (South Kensington)
  • Mondays 18:00 - 20:00
  • 10 weeks | February - May
  • Starts 17 February 2025
  • Fees from £144
  • Tutors: Sarah James and Michael Paraskos

Enrol-by Date

9 February 2025

Booking link

This class is taught hybrid with Dr Michael Paraskos with students in the classroom in South Kensington while Dr Sarah James is with students online.

Dr Sarah James (University of Kent) and Dr Michael Paraskos (Imperial College London) present a ten-week online course looking at the history of some of the most magnificent cathedrals in England and the, often surprising, stories of saints associated with them.

Each week we will look at a different cathedral in England and discover the history of its foundation, architecture and art treasures. But we will expand on this history of the material culture of the building by looking at the key saint associated with the building, discovering the story of the saint, how he or she has been represented and asking ourselves why the saint was connected to the cathedral we are looking at.

The course is open to everyone and offers a fascinating and unusual way of approaching art, architecture and literary history, whilst also bringing to life these astonishing monuments that can be found across England.

Class Recordings

Where feasible, for this course sessions will be recorded for subsequent viewing

 

Attendance Certificate

 

Successful completion of this course leads to the award of an Imperial College attendance certificate

 

Terms and conditions apply to all enrolments to this course. Please read them before enrolment

Course Information

Course Programme (subject to possible change)

  • Week 1 (17th February 2025) - Durham Cathedral
  • Week 2 (24th February 2025) - Rochester Cathedral
  • Week 3 (3rd March 2025) - Canterbury Cathedral
  • Week 4 (10th March 2025) - Norwich Cathedral
  • Week 5 (17th March 2025) - Salisbury Cathedral
  • Week 6 (28th April 2025) - Wells Cathedral
  • Week 7 (5th May 2025) - Gloucester Cathedral
  • Week 8 (12th May 2025) - Westminster Abbey
  • Week 9 (19th May 2025) - Ely Cathedral
  • Week 10 (26th May 2025) - St Paul's Cathedral


Additional Reading

There is no compulsory reading for this course. However, if you are interested in reading more about the cathedrals of England you might enjoy:

  • Alec Clifton-Taylor, The Cathedrals of England (various editions available)

Photograph of Dr Sarah JamesDr Sarah James’s work is focused on medieval hagiography from c.1100-1500. Far from being timeless and aloof, saints in this period are continually being reimagined by writers in ways that perform important social, religious and political work of immediate contemporary relevance. 

To understand that work Sarah explores a range of evidence, including the written lives, documentary records, and representations of the saints in material culture. Her geographical focus is wide-ranging, including both the Latin west and more recently Byzantium; the island of Cyprus in this period is of particular significance to her work at present and is likely to remain so.

 

Photograph of Dr Michael Paraskos

Dr Michael Paraskos is a very experienced adult education tutor, having taught for over twenty-five years. He is a Visiting Professor at York St John University and holds a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and also teaches art history to students at the City and Guilds of London Art School. Michael is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction and has published very widely on art of this period, as well as reviewing exhibitions and novels for BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and The Spectator magazine. His first novel In Search of Sixpence was published in 2016 and his second, called Barfrestone was published in 2024.

Weeks Standard Rate Internal Rate Associate Rate
10 Early Bird: £241
Full price: £268
Early Bird: £144
Full price: £160
Early Bird: £190
Full price: £211
All fee rates quoted are for the whole course. Early Bird rates are available until the end of 30 September only. Part-payments are not possible.

 

Rate Categories and Discounts


Standard Rate

  • Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category.

Internal Rate

  • Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
  • People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
  • Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes, including City & Guilds College Association members
  • Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and City, UAL and the City and Guilds of London Art School
  • Students, staff and Governors of Woodhouse College and the IC Mathematics School

Associate Rate

  • Austrian Cultural Forum staff
  • Co-operative College members
  • Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
  • Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
  • Friends of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
  • Friends of Leighton House/ Sambourne House
  • Friends of the Royal College of Music
  • Harrods staff
  • Historic Royal Palaces staff
  • Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
  • Members of the Friends of Imperial College
  • Members of the Kennel Club
  • Members of the London Zoological Society
  • Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
  • Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
  • National Health Service (NHS) employees
  • Natural History Museum staff
  • Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
  • Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
  • Royal Geographical Society staff
  • Science Museum staff
  • Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
  • Students (non-Imperial College)
  • Teachers and other staff of UK schools
  • The American Institute for Foreign Study
  • Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
  • Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
  • Victoria and Albert Museum staff

Late enrolment

It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.

Friends and Family Scheme

This course is eligible for allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.

Weeks Autumn term Spring term Summer term
 10 n/a Week starting 17 February - week ending 22 March 2025 (5 weeks)* Week starting 28 April - week ending 31 May 2025 (5 weeks)*
*This is a 2-term course: Spring term PLUS Summer term

Enrolment via the blue booking link is open. Early-bird discounts are available until the end of 30 September 2024

Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. When enrolling:

  • Do check on the drop down menu above called "Course Fees and Rate Categories" to see if you are eligible for a discounted rate and also do make sure you select that rate when enrolling on the eStore
  • If you are a first-time eStore user you will need to create an account before enrolling. You can do this by entering an email address and password. This account can then be used for any future enrolments via the eStore.

When you have enrolled you will be sent the following email notifications:

What is sent When is it sent What does it contain
1. Payment confirmation Is sent straight away following submission of your online application
  • This is a receipt for your payment and includes payment date, order number and course title
  • Confirmation of your place on your chosen course will follow later as long as the course recruits enough students to run. If not you will receive a refund of your payment.
2. Enrolment confirmation Is usually sent within 10 working days. Please treat your payment confirmation as confirmation that your applicant details and payment have been received
  • Confirms your course choice
  • Shows your course's term dates
  • Confirms the day and time of your course
3. Programme information Is usually sent on Friday late afternoon the week before term starts
  • Contains joining instructions for your course, either online or in the classroom, depending on the course
 
  • If you need further help with the above information please ring 020 7594 8756 / +44 20 7594 8756.
  • All enrolments are provisional until the course is confirmed to run. This will be dependent on the course reaching the minimum number of enrolments.
  • All enrolments are subject to our Terms and Conditions. It is not possible to join one of our courses without agreeing to be bound by our Terms and Conditions.

If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact the Course Tutor, Dr Michael Paraskosm.paraskos@imperial.ac.uk

If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk