YOU can play your part in preserving historic artefacts at Worcester Cathedral as a new sponsorship scheme is launched.

As part of the Cathedral’s efforts to preserve its history, residents are now being offered the option to sponsor a piece of the landmark.

Items include stained glass windows and panels, wooden carvings and spandrels - stone carved motifs on the cathedral’s walls.

The money paid will go towards the upkeep and preservation of these historic treasures and there are hundreds of different items which can be sponsored.

Stained glass images include early Christian pilgrims and saints, kings and queens including King John, Ethelflaeda, daughter of King Alfred the Great, and figures including Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Ethelflaeda, Lady of Mercia, is amongst those remembered in the windows.

She and her husband Aethelred fortified Worcester and granted the Cathedral rights of lordship over the city.

Those adopting a piece of history will get a presentation pack which includes a photo of the chosen item, a certificate of adoption and a dedication in the Cathedral's donor’s book, which will include the opportunity to make a dedication to commemorate a special event, anniversary or in memory of a loved one.

Other items include the misericords, the brackets on the underside of the hinged seating, which were originally created as an assistance to the monks when having to stand for services.

They were highly decorated with scenes of everyday life in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Prices for ‘adopting’ a piece of history start from £25 and go up to £500. For more information visit the Cathedral website or email development@worcestercathedral.org.uk or phone on 01905 732946.