Derby Cathedral

Derby Cathedral
Cathedral Church of All Saints

52°55′29″N 1°28′39″W / 52.924817°N 1.477375°W / 52.924817; -1.477375Coordinates: 52°55′29″N 1°28′39″W / 52.924817°N 1.477375°W / 52.924817; -1.477375
Location Derby, Derbyshire
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Website www.derbycathedral.org
Architecture
Style Gothic, Neoclassical
Years built c.1350-1725
Specifications
Number of towers 1
Tower height 212 feet (65 m)
Administration
Diocese Derby (since 1927)
Province Canterbury
The Tower

The Cathedral of All Saints (known as Derby Cathedral), is a cathedral church in the City of Derby, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Derby, and with an area of around 10,950 sq ft (1,017 m2) is the smallest Anglican cathedral in England.[1]

History

The original church was founded by King Edmund I in about 943 as a royal collegiate church; however, there is no trace of its existence today. According to the Domesday assessors, it belonged to the King, and that it was served by a college of seven priests.[2] The current cathedral dates from the fourteenth century, although it appears to be based on an earlier medieval building, which drawings show was about the same size as the present church. It may be that it became structurally unstable and was pulled down. The 212 feet (65 m)[2][3] tower dates from 1510 to 1530 and was built in the popular perpendicular Gothic style of the time.

Apart from the tower, the building was rebuilt in a classical style to the designs of James Gibbs of 1725, and it was further enlarged in 1972, and at the same time, the ciborium was added over the altar.[2]

The building, previously known as All Saints' Church, became a cathedral by Order in Council on 1 July 1927.[4][5]

The cathedral contains the oldest ring of ten bells in the United Kingdom, with the 15th century tenor being older than the tower itself.[2] A carillon in the tower uses the same bells to provide a tune at 9am, 12pm, and 6pm.[6] Other treasures include an eighteenth-century nave with a wrought iron rood screen by Robert Bakewell, for which he charged the church £157.10.0d;[7] the memorial to Bess of Hardwick; and the Cavendish brasses, including those of Henry Cavendish and Georgiana Spencer, the wife of one of the Dukes of Devonshire. The entrance gates are also by Robert Bakewell, but these were only relocated to the cathedral from St Mary's Gate in 1957.[2] Notable 20th century additions are the stained glass windows designed by Ceri Richards, and the bronze crucifix by Ronald Pope.[2]

Under the Protestant persecutions of Queen Mary, Joan Waste was tried for heresy at the cathedral in 1556. The execution took place on the Burton Road in Derby.[8]

More than 150 members of the Derby Mountain Rescue Rescue team abseiled down the tower for charity in 2009.[9]

In late 2005, it was discovered that a pair of Peregrine falcons had taken up residence on the Cathedral Tower. In 2006 a nesting platform was installed, and they nested here in April. The same pair successfully reared chicks in 2007, 2008, 2009 and again in 2010. Webcams were installed in 2007 and 2008 to enable the birds to be seen at close-range without being disturbed by human contact. Four eggs were laid in 2007; however, only two chicks eventually hatched. The same number of eggs were laid the following year, but this time all four chicks successfully hatched. Four chicks hatched and fledged in 2009, but only two survived beyond the autumn.

Burials

Cathedral clergy

Organs and organists

Organ

In 1939, an organ was installed by John Compton of London, which was used until being overhauled in 1992.[10] In 1973, an additional instrument was installed in the new retro-choir (east end) by Cousans of Lincoln.[11]

Organists

Organists
Year instated Name
1921 Arthur Griffin Claypole
1930 Alfred William Wilcock
1933 George Handel Heath-Gracie
1958 Wallace Michael Ross
1983 Peter David Gould Tom Corfield

Assistant organists

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Christ Church Cathedral - Miscellany". Christ Church, Oxford. Archived from the original on 2004-12-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20041206173809/http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral/present/misc.html. Retrieved 2007-03-30. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bowler, Tony (23 June 1994). "A towering presence". Derby Express. 
  3. ^ Pepin, David (2004). Discovering Cathedrals. Shire Discovering Series. 112 (7 ed.). Osprey Publishing. p. 60. ISBN 0-7478-0597-0. 
  4. ^ Order in Council founding The Bishopric of Derby (S.I. 1927/624)
  5. ^ London Gazette: no. 33290. p. 4207. 1 July 1927.
  6. ^ "Derby Cathedral". Derby Diocesan Association of Church Bellringers. http://www.derbyda.org.uk/tower-map/derby-cathedral. Retrieved 3 March 2012. 
  7. ^ Margaret Mallender (c.1979), "Information sheet: the records of the cathedral of All Saints, Derby. Cathedral of All Saints
  8. ^ A History of the Life, Trial, & Execution of Joan Wate, who was burnt in Windmill Pit near Derby in the year 1556, Foxes Book of Martyrs, 1563
  9. ^ "Cathedral Abseil". Derby Mountain Rescue Team. http://www.derbymrt.org.uk/news. Retrieved February 11, 2010. 
  10. ^ "Cathedral of All Saints, Irongate (Compton)". National Pipe Organ Register. http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N02750. Retrieved 2007-03-30. 
  11. ^ "Cathedral of All Saints, Irongate (Cousans)". National Pipe Organ Register. http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N05294. Retrieved 2009-02-20. 

External links

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