Cathedrals

Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral was founded by St Augustine in 597AD, though the present building dates mostly from the late medieval period. Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered here in 1170 and it thereafter became a place of pilgrimage. The Cathedral is a holy place and part of a World Heritage Site.

The Cathedral stands on the site of an ancient Saxon Church, founded in the 8th century by St Frideswide, the Patron Saint of Oxford. Though nothing now remains of this church, a Saxon cemetery lies under the cathedral cloister.

The present building was constructed in the last quarter of the 12th century as the monastery church for a community of Augustinian Canons.  The monastery was called St Frideswide’s Priory, and inside the church stood an ornate shrine on which were kept the relics of the saint. Pilgrims visited the shrine throughout the Middle Ages, including Catherine of Aragon, who, in 1518, came to pray for the birth of a healthy son.

In 1524, just before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Cardinal Wolsey gained permission from the Pope to close down St Frideswide’s Priory so that he could use the land to build a vast new college for the university. He planned to include a new chapel for his ‘Cardinal’s College’ but died before the building was complete, which meant that the old monastery church was retained.  King Henry VIII founded the college as Christ Church instead and in 1546 moved the first Bishop of Oxford into the church, thereby creating a unique institution: a college chapel that is also the Cathedral for the Diocese of Oxford.

Christ Church Cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford and one of the smallest cathedrals in England. Unusually for a cathedral, its centre stalls face inwards, in collegiate style. Its interior is breathtaking; the stonework almost glows and the stained glass is stunning.  The Becket Window in the Lucy Chapel dates from 1320 and is one of very few images of Becket to survive.  There is still a shrine to St Frideswide.  But perhaps best of all is the remarkable stone vaulted ceiling in the chancel, which is 500 years old.

Visitors should note that services begin five minutes later than ‘normal’ time, because the Cathedral keeps the old ‘Oxford Time’ (ie five minutes west of Greenwich). This means 6pm Oxford Time is 6.05pm GMT or BST.

The spectacular ruins of Elgin Cathedral still impress.  The cathedral was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity.  Though suffering fire and, most famously, sacking by the Wolf of Badenoch, Alexander Stewart, the Earl of Buchan, the cathedral continued to grow and thrive, and was known as ‘the lantern of the north’, until the Scottish Reformation of in 1560, when the cathedral was abandoned.  Gradually, it fell into an ever-worsening state, until it began to receive some care and attention in the 19th C.  Highlights of a visit now include the magnificent 13th C west front, octagonal chapter house, carved stonework and Scotland’s tallest gravestone (5m high and dedicated to the Anderson family).

Don’t be put off by its location, or the grossly ugly Royal Infirmary next door. Traditionally founded in the 6th century by St Kentigern (also known as ‘Mungo’ and the founder of the city), Glasgow Cathedral is one of the few medieval churches in Scotland to have survived the Reformation. The present building dates from the 12th century and contains numerous memorials, not least the alleged tomb of Mungo himself in the intriguing crypt.  It is impressive, rather than beautiful.  There is some wonderful stained glass, a marvellous 15th century carved stone pulpitum (quire screen) and the bewitching whitewashed Blacader Aisle, built by Archbishop Blacader (or Blackadder) in the 15th century on what is believed to be the site of Mungo’s first church.

Leicester Cathedral is dedicated to St Martin, a 4th century Roman soldier, and possibly stands on the site of a Roman temple and Anglo-Saxon church. The first Bishop of Leicester was Cuthwine, in 680AD, but the last Saxon bishop fled from the Danes in the 9th century and, for a thousand years, Leicester had no bishop - until the church of St Martins was made Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The Cathedral is probably best known since 2015 as the burial place of Richard III and there are a number of exhibits (as well as his tomb) relating to the king in the church, including modern stained glass windows depicting his life in St Katherine's Chapel. Other features include the medieval north porch and the new cathedra and cross. Though the original church of St Martin's was built by the Normans, most of the current building, including the 220 foot high spire, is Victorian. Keen and helpful guides...it's almost dangerous on your own.