Stories

The poetry projected

To mark St George's Day we projected stories and poems onto the roof of Salisbury Cathedral.

It was part of Made in England which is a project looking at how the landscape, both urban and rural, enables people to create.

We asked members of the public and BBC audiences to provide writers and poets with untold stories of the hidden south.

Made in England logo projected

Such as what mysteries lie in the cloisters of Oxford, or the Lanes of Brighton? What stories have never really been told? What hidden gems do the locals possess that we could share with a wider public?

The aim was to try to create a view of the south that only the locals know. We then want to share those secret, locally known, stories amongst the whole region.

The poets and writers are working in Oxford, Brighton, Weymouth and of most interest to us here in Wiltshire - Salisbury.

The stories beaming onto the roof

Some of the final works were projected onto the roof of one of England's most iconic buildings, Salisbury Cathedral, tonight, on St George's Day.

Cathedral spokesperson Sarah Flanagan said prior to the event: "It's a unique event for St George's Day. Stories and pictures which have been collected by four writers across the south of England being projected onto the roof of the cathedral.

"It's a first for us and probably a first for the project. It's going to be fab!"

One of the people involved in the project was from Salisbury herself - award-winning writer and journalist Hattie Ellis who is the author of eight books.

South Today's Joe Crowley with Hattie Ellis

She said: "It's so special because I've had a couple of months walking round Salisbury and finding stories, and the cathedral is such a big part of the place - so many stories.

"To see the words up there on that beautiful building is just awesome, I'm very excited.

"It's a different way of having an imaginative take on Englishness on St George's Day."