The Cotswold Decorative and Fine Arts Society announces their first lecture in the New Year will be on January 12. The title is The Lindisfarne Gospels, A Miracle of Anglo Saxon Art by Hugh Cantlie. Beginning at 2pm the lecture will be held at Bradwell Village Hall, Burford. Coffee and tea are available from 1.15pm. Non-members are welcome (suggested donation £8).

In AD698, the Lindisfarne Gospels were written by the monk Eadfrith on Holy Island, off the coast of Northumberland to mark the exhumation of St. Cuthbert’s body for reburial. It is a magnificent and complete example of the art and learning of the period, when the Scriptorium on Lindisfarne was to produce unrivalled manuscripts not only for Northumbria but for the seats of learning in Europe. Removed from Durham Cathedral by Henry VII’s commissioners, it formed the basis for an Anglo-Saxon dictionary which ensured it’s survival.

As a Chartered Surveyor for commercial properties, Hugh Cantlie spent five years in Germany before becoming involved with conservation. He helped rescue Billingsgate Fish Market for SAVE Britain's Heritage, and as Surveyor to the Monument Trust, several important buildings such as Belford Hall. He served on the Main Committee of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). Lectures in USA, Canada and Australia. Hugh Cantlie’s publications include 'Ancestral Castles of Scotland' and a guide book, 'Near the Motorways'.

For further information about the Cotswold DFAS and contact details please go to our website www.cotswolddfas.org.