Projects & approach · Bath Abbey
Light of Stars at Bath Abbey.
More than 70 handcrafted illuminated stars were composed through the nave for winter 2024/25, creating a seasonal identity that worked with the Abbey's architecture and remained part of its everyday life.
What this project demonstrates
Designed for the Abbey’s architecture and daily life.
The composition was developed around the Abbey's height, long views, stonework and stained glass rather than imposed as a generic event treatment.
Visitors, services, concerts and seasonal activity continued beneath the installation throughout its run.
The same installation supported worship, ordinary visiting, performance and community activity without needing to be rebuilt for each occasion.
Remaining in place from November into January gave the Abbey one visual thread across Advent, Christmas and the New Year.
The brief
A seasonal installation that belonged to the building.
The brief was to draw attention to Bath Abbey’s height, long views, stonework and stained glass through a seasonal composition of illuminated stars.
Scale and placement were developed around the nave so that the stars remained visually distinct while services, visitors, concerts and seasonal activity continued below.
In daylight the handmade paper and printed surfaces remained visible. After dark the same composition took on a warmer illuminated character.
Project & community context
Part of a wider winter moment in Bath.
Light of Stars sat within a wider programme of seasonal activity in Bath, connecting the installation inside the Abbey with the city beyond its doors.
Bath Abbey was the venue and home of the installation throughout the season. Bath Lights the Night, hosted by Bath BID and Bath Carnival, brought a Winter Lantern Procession through the city and culminated at the Abbey, where the celebration continued with a concert beneath the newly installed Light of Stars.
That relationship between a working building, an installation and a wider city programme is part of what Light of Stars can make possible: one visual setting can support worship and everyday visiting while also becoming a focal point for community and cultural activity.
Response
“Such beauty in simplicity.”
The following response was shared by Bath Abbey clergy during the project.
“What an inspirational sight. Such beauty in simplicity. Stunning. Capturing the message of Advent and Christmas. This will be a memory which stays with everyone.”Bath Abbey clergy
For prospective venues
What could this mean for your building?
Bath Abbey shows how architecture, ordinary visiting, worship and a seasonal programme can be considered together.
Each project is developed around its own architecture, access, programme and community. The number, scale and placement of stars can therefore change substantially from one venue to another.
A first conversation does not require a finished brief. Photographs, approximate dimensions, likely dates and a note about how the space is normally used are enough to begin.