Cathedral Stories

In 1307, Lincoln Cathedral's central tower spire was the tallest manmade structure in the world. At a soaring 525 feet, it was higher than the great pyramid at Giza. Unfortunately, a gale brought it down to earth in 1549. But I'm getting ahead of myself. So let's...

It's big. Enormous. I'd even go so far as to say it's monstrous, as in "an imaginary creature that is typically large, ugly and frightening" monstrous. Except it's not imaginary. It's all too real. Liverpool Cathedral is the largest Cathedral, nay, religious building,...

Manchester Cathedral, or the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George as it's more formally known (because you need three saints to round things out), was on the agenda for our trip this last December. Manchester has one of the better...

Newcastle Cathedral is the seat of the northernmost diocese of the Church of England, reaching all the way up to Berwick (pronounced "Berrik")-upon-Tweed in Northumberland. Newcastle experienced a massive increase in its population in the mid-19th century, igniting...

Norwich Cathedral embodies the single-minded ambition of its first bishop, Herbert de Losinga. A controversial figure, our Herbert. He secured his position through bribery and displayed equal contempt for Norwich's local citizenry, dispossessing and demolishing about...

The origins of the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew hark back to 655 AD when the site was one of the earliest monastic settlements in central England. All went on swimmingly until 854 when the Viking "Great Heathen Army" led by "Ivar the Boneless"...

Petite Portsmouth is one of the later recruits to the fold of English Anglican Cathedrals. Cobbled together over the centuries, we have a building that grew from east to west, in the reverse direction to the construction of most of its brethren. The weather vane on...

For all its storied history, as cathedrals go, Ripon Cathedral is surprisingly modest and unassuming. The current building is the fourth incarnation.The first was begun in 660 by St. Wilfred, abbot of the monastery at Ripon. It consisted of a stone bascilica in the...

Founded in 604 by Justus, the Bishop of Rochester, St Augustine's first bishop, Rochester Cathedral had the dubious distinction (along with Carlisle and Chichester) of being an "impoverished see"—making it an unpopular appointment within the church, as it came without...

Salisbury Cathedral, also known as New Sarum, is blessed with several unique attributes. First is its architectural consistency. Barring the tower and spire, it was constructed all in one go between 1220 and 1258, a mere 38 years, in a mature Early Gothic style....

Sheffield is one weird cathedral. It started, like many others, as a parish church. A nice, ordinary roots-in-the-12th-century church, begun when the City of Sheffield was established by William de Lovetot (yes, seriously). Here it is in 1819, a little battered from...

With its southeast corner a mere 18 metres from the main railway viaduct connecting London Bridge station to Blackfriars, Cannon Street and Charing Cross stations, one has to concede that Southwark Cathedral is smack dab in the middle of the bustling activity that...

St Albans is the red-headed stepchild of cathedrals, poor thing. Conceivably the oldest known site of Christian worship in England, and at 85 metres, the longest nave of any of the cathedrals, it's a crazy quilt of design. It sits perched on a hill above the Roman...

In 313 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, accepting Christianity, and ten years later, it became the Roman Empire's official religion. A short time later, Londinium, or London as we know it today, had its first Cathedral, over which Bishop...

The Diocese of Truro was one of the Victorian creations, established in December 1876 when the See of Exeter was divided into two. Truro Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bears a striking resemblance to Lincoln Cathedral, though it is several...

It was a real pleasure to visit Wakefield's Cathedral, though I wish I could have seen it before it was surrounded by post-war construction. Back in the day, the then All Saints Parish Church overlooked the centre of a market town, surrounded by bucolic countryside....

Wells Cathedral has proven to be our favourite of all the cathedrals we have visited. The nearby springs, or wells, (hence the name) have been the site of worship since Roman times. The current cathedral was begun about 1175 on a new site to the north of the old minster church, built around 700 AD. Wells was the first English cathedral to be built entirely in the new Gothic style, brought from France by Bishop Reginald de Bohun.

Until very recently, photographs were not permitted inside Westminster Abbey; I surmised that the late Queen took a dim view of people taking selfies draped over the myriad tombs and monuments. But something clearly changed because people clicked away with impunity...

Before Westminster Abbey, Winchester was the big noise for coronations and royal burials— the capital of Saxon England and the seat of power. By the time William the Conqueror arrived in 1066, its church was the burial site for 17 kings. Winchester had churches as...

Worcester Cathedral, more formally known as The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester, has a very warm and engaging feel to it, possibly because it's a hodgepodge of every type of English architecture from Norman to Perpendicular...

While York Minster is architecturally stunning, it has also always been politically noteworthy. In 1042, its Archbishop Eldread Edward the Confessor was succeeded by Harold Godwinson in 1066. Later that same year, Eldread was called to Westminster Abbey to crown...