For centuries they have been places of quiet reflection, highbrow music and greyish stone. But now cathedrals are transforming their genteel image with bright colour, noisy processions and drama, reviving long-abandoned practices from the middle ages and drawing in the crowds.

Leading the pack in this medieval comeback is St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire which on Saturday attracted thousands to its pilgrimage to mark the feast day of Saint Alban, the first Christian martyred in Britain. And on Wednesday the Chester Mystery Plays will be performed in the nave of Chester Cathedral, the original cycle of 24 plays condensed into one by old soap-opera hands for an 18-day run.

Jeffrey John, the dean of St Albans who created the modern-day pilgrimage, said: “We have returned to a very visual culture today and medieval practices suit that. And if you have strong medieval roots as so many cathedrals do, you are bound to probe them and revive that heritage.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shrine of Saint Alban, St Albans Cathedral Photograph: Prisma by Dukas/UIG via Getty

Medieval pilgrims flocked to St Albans Cathedral (the site of a Benedictine monastery founded by King Offa of Mercia in AD793) because it housed the bones of Saint Alban until the shrine was dismantled after the Reformation. Now the cathedral has revived the pilgrimage, which winds its way through the town to tell the 1,700-year-old story of the martyr using 12-foot-high puppets, made by a company that creates floats for the Notting Hill Carnival.

The puppets include not only Saint Alban himself but also Roman soldiers, lions and charioteers. As well as hundreds of local people taking part, the pilgrimage of drama and prayers attracts thousands from across Britain.

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The revival of practices abandoned because of the Reformation and Puritan influence is highly appealing to many Anglican cathedral deans facing huge costs to keep their ancient buildings in good order. At next month’s General Synod, the Church of England will discuss a report from the Cathedrals Working Group about financial management of cathedrals and to urge the government to establish a cathedral fabric fund to support conservation and restoration programmes.

The acting dean of Chester Cathedral, Jane Brooke, agrees with John that medieval practices work in the 21st century because of the dominance of visual culture. Created for a mostly illiterate population, the Mystery Plays were first revived for the Festival of Britain and have been performed at intervals since – but have only just been welcomed into the cathedral.

“During the middle ages very few people, apart from the priests, knew the Bible story so it was a mystery, hence Mystery Plays,” said Brooke.

“Now they are a way in for people who do not know the Christian story so well today. It is a very big thing for us to have the plays in the cathedral and we are moving times of services to accommodate them.”

The Chester Mystery Plays is being brought to the public by director Peter Leslie Wild, who has directed episodes of The Archers, and playwright Deborah McAndrew, who was a regular in Coronation Street for eight years.

“We have to assume no prior knowledge of Christianity,” said Wild. “This is an interpretation for a modern audience, rooted in contemporary life and performed by local people, just as they would have been in the middle ages”.

One new twist in this year’s plays is the focus on the destruction of God’s creation by humanity, with the stage awash with plastic following the flood, when Noah saves animals in his ark.

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Other cathedrals and their cities are also seeking inspiration from the medieval era. At Lincoln Cathedral, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Catholic practices have been revived that were abandoned during the Reformation, with processions to Mary’s statue on her feast days. In Canterbury, a medieval pageant is planned for 7 July to commemorate the penitential pilgrimage of Henry II in 1174 when he made reparation for inciting the murder of Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. Chocolate medallions are given to young pilgrims if they visit five sites in the city – sugary replicas of the badges awarded to weary medieval travellers when they reached Canterbury.