Alexander Armstrong, ‘Pointless’ host and professional singer, began his training here, in the St Mary’s Music School as a boy cathedral chorister. This Victorian Song School room, still in daily use, is transformed divinely by Phoebe Traquair’s arrestingly beautiful Pre-Raphaelite inspired murals, painted in four years during the 1880s. As is fitting for a music room, time itself shimmers on these walls: portraits of famous and ordinary people; saints and angels; birds and of course singers jostle with symbolist imagery in a never-ending procession while the young singers learn their craft. The tour is intimate, informal and chatty – not unlike being welcomed into a family home. Singers and art lovers will enjoy this lovely room.

St Mary’s Cathedral, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Louise Rodgers]