Andrew Rumsey - Blank Arcades

Musician, author, Anglican, Andrew Rumsey has lived and worked in Wiltshire since 2011 as Bishop of Ramsbury, an ancient role with roots in Anglo-Saxon England. He is also the Church of England's national lead for church buildings and cathedrals. In September he begins a new role as Bishop of St Albans, but he will be returning to Marlborough for a farewell evening of words and music.
Over the past few years, Andrew, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, has released three albums of original folk songs, each one recorded on a single summer's day in historic Wiltshire churches: Evensongs (2023), Collodion (2025) and Blank Arcades (2026). Fans of his music include Mark Radcliffe, who has featured the albums on his BBC Radio 2 Folk Show.Andrew is a natural wordsmith, his lyrics moving effortlessly from the quirky to the sublime. 'Fastest in the Slow Lane' is a paean to the tortoise, and, in 'Trebarwith Strand', he observes, "some will abandon all they planned to watch the tide pull back the land." Elsewhere, the rhyming is exquisite too: "Lazarus" and "dazzle us" anyone? No surprise he's also written three books, which celebrate faith, place and landscape. Prepare for a joyful night of songs, wit and erudition.