Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Communications team at Cumberland Lodge has produced a weekly live-streamed service from its green-screen studio, to support the congregation of the Royal Chapel of All Saints, which is tucked away in the heart of Windsor Great Park, and its surrounding community.
While the Royal Chapel has been closed, its online services have been led by Canon Martin Poll (Chaplain to Windsor Great Park, Canon of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and Domestic Chaplain to the Queen), or Canon Dr Ed Newell (Chief Executive of Cumberland Lodge and a former Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral and Sub-Dean of Christ Church, Oxford).
Bible readings are filmed each week by members of the Royal Chapel congregation, from their homes, and the hymns and anthems are painstakingly recorded, track by track, by members of the Chapel choir, and produced by another member of the congregation, Peter Harris. The piano and organ music is recorded by Richard Furstenheim MVO, Director of Music for the Royal Chapel, or Sean Bui, the Assistant Director.
Cumberland Lodge Chief Executive, Ed Newell said: ‘Having invested in a webcasting studio in 2019, little did we know how important it would soon become. We are so pleased to be able to use it to support the ministry of the Royal Chapel and reach out to those who’ve been isolated over the past year. It also means we have been honing our webcasting skills, which are clearly going to be much needed in the future, and hiring our studio facilities also provides us with a new source of revenue to support our wider charitable work.’
Guest contributions
Several of the Clergy St George’s Chapel, Windsor have contributed sermons for the weekly services, including: The Rt Revd David Conner (Dean of Windsor), Canon Mark Powell (Canon Steward) and The Revd Jonathan Coore (Succentor).
In April 2020, one of the services featured a guest address by the former hostage and humanitarian Terry Waite, and the following week the preacher was The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
There have also been guest readings from HRH The Countess of Wessex and HRH Princess Beatrice, and music composed for the Chapel by the composer and singer-songwriter Adrian Snell – at Easter last year, and by Sean Bui – most recently, in memory of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Studio hire
The green-screen studio at Cumberland Lodge is located in the historic Mews next to the main Lodge. It is newly equipped with simple, professional live-streaming and video mixing equipment and can be hired for video projects and virtual or hybrid events throughout the week, with studio technician support included.
Free on-site parking is available, and the facilities are Covid-secure. Virtual backgrounds and studio backdrops can be provided, if required, along with basic editing and post-production assistance.
Studio hire is likely to be of particular interest to local businesses and organisations, schools and colleges, places of worship, societies and community groups, and individuals seeking a quiet setting for interviews to camera, away from the distractions of the home office and unwanted guest contributors.
In January, Cumberland Lodge produced a morning of pre-recorded illustrated talks for The Arts Society Runnymede, from the studio, with live introductions and a Q&A session with three hosts who joined remotely. The event was shared with registered participants via private link.
Every studio booking helps to support the charitable work of Cumberland Lodge. Further information and contact details for bookings and enquiries can be found here.
Coming up next
Apart from the Sunday services for the Royal Chapel, the next public event to be live-streamed from the Cumberland Lodge studio will be a Cumberland Conversation with LBC News 24 anchor and former BBC News and Sky News presenter Martin Stanford, from 6pm on Wednesday 28 April.
Martin has covered many of the biggest breaking news stories of the last three decades or more, from the Gulf War, Iraq War and Israel-Lebanon conflict to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Hurricane Katrina, successive general elections, and the whale that got stranded in the River Thames.
He is also Chair of Governors at St George’s School, Windsor Castle, and an advisor on chorister recruitment and senior lay-steward at St George’s Chapel.
Martin will be talking candidly about his life as a news anchor and offering insights into the world of broadcasting and breaking news, and recent trends affecting the industry.
This Conversation takes the format of an informal conversation with Canon Ed Newell, on Zoom, followed by a question-and-answer session. Tickets are free but participants need to register here in advance to receive the joining link.
You can find out more about the Cumberland Conversation series here.
