A DELEGATION of international speakers are making their way to a conference in Worcester Cathedral to mark the 800th anniversary of King John's burial.

Speakers flying from Canada and Germany will be joined with speakers from around Britain to lecture on the subject of King John, the history of the cathedral and the impact the king's tomb had on the development of the building.

The conference has been organised and hosted by Worcester Cathedral in partnership with Professor Stephen Church of the University of East Anglia, whose key note speech will ask “Who was King John?”

Professor Church is the author of King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant (Macmillan 2015). The eight other speakers include Professor David Carpenter, emeritus professor of Medieval history at King’s College London, Professor Malcolm Thurlby who teaches in the department of visual arts and art history at York University, Toronto and Professor Dr Ute Engel who lectures in history of art and is a senior research fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat at Munich.

Delegates to the two-day conference on Friday and Saturday April 8 and 9 will hear lectures from visiting speakers. Dr Nigel Baker, who will look at the archaeological, historical and topographical evidence for Worcester at the time of King John; Dr Ann Williams who focuses on the canonisation of Wulfstan II of Worcester, and the influence of his posthumous reputation in the reign of King John, and on the development of the Arthurian legend; and Dr Sophie Amblers whose talk will consider the bishops of Worcester, from the election of Walter de Cantilupe in 1236 through to the reign of Edward I and their role in the politics of the Kingdom.

Professor Church said: “We will meet at Worcester Cathedral to celebrate not just its most famous inhabitant, King John, but also the building which houses him. We hope very much that people will enjoy the conference and will take advantage of the opportunity to explore this remarkable building and its history”.

For more information and ticket purchase go to: www.worcestercathedral.co.uk