Blackburn Cathedral

Blackburn Cathedral
Cathedral Church of
St Mary the Virgin with St Paul
The Cathedral from the west
Blackburn Cathedral
Shown within Blackburn town centre
Coordinates: 53°44′50″N 2°28′53″W / 53.7473°N 2.4813°W / 53.7473; -2.4813
Location Blackburn, Lancashire
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Church of England
Website www.blackburncathedral.com/
History
Consecrated 1977
Architecture
Architect(s) John Palmer
W.A. Forsyth
Laurence King
Style Gothic Revival
Years built 1820–1967
Administration
Diocese Diocese of Blackburn (since 1926)
Clergy
Bishop(s) Julian Henderson
Dean Peter Howell-Jones
Precentor Andrew Hindley (Canon Sacrist)
Canon Chancellor vacant
Canon(s) Philip North (Bishop of Burnley)
Andrew Horsfall (Hospital Chaplain)
Laity
Director of music Samuel Hudson
Organist(s) Shaun Turnbull
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin
Designated 28 November 1951
Reference no. 1239147

Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Blackburn Saint Mary the Virgin with St Paul, is an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral site has been home to a church for over a thousand years and the first stone church was built there in Norman times.

History

With the creation of the Diocese of Blackburn in 1926 (taken from the Diocese of Manchester) the impressive parish church of St Mary the Virgin was raised to cathedral status. The church, which was built in 1826 and designed by architect John Palmer, now forms the cathedral's nave.

In the early 1930s, fundraising began to enlarge the cathedral so that the building complemented its newfound importance. By 1938, enough money had been raised and work began on enlarging the new cathedral. Although work was interrupted by the war, it was resumed afterwards and continued through the 1950s and into the early 1960s. After the death of architect W.A. Forsyth in 1950, architect Laurence King joined the project and designed the distinctive lantern tower. The lantern tower, which consists of 56 different panes of coloured glass, with a modernist slender aluminium spire, was completed in 1967.

The cathedral was finally completed in 1977 and what had been built over the past decades was finally consecrated as Blackburn Cathedral that year.[1]

The North transept contains eight misericords dating from the 15th century. It is not known at what time they arrived at the Cathedral, but they are believed to have originated at Whalley Abbey. This could mean that they were removed to a builder's yard after the Dissolution, but with the cathedral not being built until the 19th century, this allows for the possibility that they had lain unused for some 300 years.

On 17 April 2014 the Cathedral hosted the Royal Maundy service. In keeping with tradition, Elizabeth II handed out Maundy money to 88 men and 88 women. It was Windsor's first visit to the Cathedral.[2]

Dean and chapter

The exterior, with the distinctive aluminium spire

As of 19 January 2018:[3]

  • Dean — Peter Howell-Jones (since installation 25 March 2017 installation)
  • Bishop of Burnley and Residentiary Canon — Philip North (Acting Dean, June 2016 – March 2017; residentiary canon since 2016/17)
  • Canon Sacrist — Andrew Hindley (since 1996)[4]
  • Co-ordinating Chaplain, East Lancs Hospitals and Residentiary Canon — Andrew Horsfall (canon since 13 March 2016 installation)[5]
  • Canon Chancellor — vacant since Ian Stockton's retirement in 2017

Music

The Director of Music is Samuel Hudson.[6] and the Assistant Director of Music is Shaun Turnbull.[7]

Choir

The cathedral has seven choirs — Cathedral Choir of Boys and Men, Girls, Children's, Lantern Voices, YPC (Young Peoples' Choir), Renaissance Singers (Formally the Bach Choir) and Cathedral Consort (alternate Thursday Evensongs). On Sundays the Parish Communion is sung by the YPC and the Eucharist and Evensong by the Cathedral Choir (Boys and Men).

Organ

A scheme for an organ in the west gallery was submitted, by John Gray and partner Frederick Davison, two years before the consecration of the new church. The organ was opened on 28 February 1828 with a concert which included works by Handel - extracts from his Messiah and Israel in Egypt and his Occasional Overture played by the new organist Joseph John Harris.[8] Blackburn Cathedral is blessed with a world-class Organ, built by JW Walker and rebuilt by Wood of Huddersfield. This is not only showcased to great effect through its use as an inspirational liturgical instrument, but also through the many recordings that have been made and in the regular lunchtime concerts and organ meditations that have taken place throughout the year.[9]

Organists

Since 2011 the organist has been Samuel Hudson. Previous organists have included Richard Henry Coleman, Charles Hylton Stewart, Herman Brearley, Thomas Lucas Duerden, John Bertalot, David Anthony Cooper, Gordon Stewart and Richard Tanner.

Recent developments

In 1998 the lantern tower underwent restoration, being rebuilt in natural stone. The original 1960s tower had been constructed in concrete. The windows were also replaced.

Further work was carried out in 2000–01 to re-build the east end roofs and parapets and blend them into the existing structures. Upon completion of this work the cathedral was finally deemed to be finished after over 70 years of construction.

As well as this rebuilding a new piece of art was commissioned for the exterior of the building. The sculpture by Mark Jalland, The Healing of The Nations, measuring 35 by 26 feet (10.7 m × 7.9 m), is an abstract steel and copper circular piece containing thousands of interwoven fibre optics that create ever-changing patterns of light at night. It is deemed by many to be one of the most innovative pieces of modern sculpture at any English cathedral.

In 2009 the flagpole on the tower was renewed and topped with an ornate bishop's mitre finial painted and gilded in gold leaf by Mark Bridges of Sussex and bearing the Lancashire Rose emblem[10]

The cathedral still forms an important part of the community. It is open to visitors and has a gift shop and café as well as hosting numerous events. In February 2011 the Cathedral exhibited the Quaker Tapestry from Kendal.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Blackburn Cathedral | Scala". Scalapublishers.com. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Maundy Thursday: Queen hands out money at Blackburn Cathedral - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Blackburn Cathedral — Who's Who (Accessed 19 January 2018)
  4. ↑ BBC News — Canon suspended after complaint (Accessed 5 January 2013)
  5. ↑ East Lancashire Hospitals — Welcoming Spring (Accessed 19 January 2018)
  6. ↑ "Director of Music". Blackburncathedral.com. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Shaun Turnbull". Blackburncathedral.com. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  8. ↑ John Bertalot and Richard Tanner. "The Organs of Blackburn Cathedral" (PDF). blackburncathedral.com/. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  9. ↑ http://www.blackburncathedral.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/The-Organs-of-Blackburn-Cathedral.pdf
  10. ↑ "New ornate mitre tops off tower at Blackburn Cathedral" at ancashiretelegraph.co.uk/
  11. ↑ Quaker Tapestry Exhibition at visitlancashire.com

Further reading

Canon Chris Chivers. Blackburn Cathedral. Scala Arts Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85759-645-8.

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