Lancaster Cathedral

Until the passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act in 1791 Lancaster's Roman Catholics met in a makeshift chapel in St Leonardsgate. Building the first Catholic church in the town began with the laying of the foundation stone for the Lancaster Catholic Mission in Dalton Square on 13 March 1798. The chapel was consecrated during the following year.[1] By the middle of the 19th century, there was a need for a larger church. Land for this was purchased on a different site near to the mission church, and the parish church dedicated to Saint Peter was built. It was designed by the local architect E. G. Paley.[2] Before the church was built, Paley had already designed schools, a convent, and a presbytery which were built on this land. Tenders for the church were invited in March 1857, the foundation stone was laid on 29 April, and the new church was consecrated on 4 October 1859 by Dr Alexander Goss, the bishop of Liverpool.[3] The church and its associated buildings cost a total of £15,000 (£1,360,000 in 2015),[4] of which £2,000 was bequeathed by Thomas Coulston.[5] During future years, additions and alterations were made to the church by Paley and his future partner in the practice, Hubert Austin, and by his own son Henry Paley. These included the addition of a font in 1860,[6] an organ gallery in 1888,[7] chancel stalls in 1899,[8] and a new baptistry in 1901;[9] the baptistry cost £4,000 (£390,000 in 2015).[4][10]

The golden jubilee of the church was celebrated in 1909, and a number of alterations were made under the direction of Giles Gilbert Scott. These included a new altar, replacement of the tiles on the floor by black and white marble, re-flooring of the nave, painting the walls, and replacing the pine benches by oak pews.[11] In 1924 the Diocese of Lancaster was created and the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral. The cathedra (bishop's throne) was placed in the chancel.[12] When the centenary was celebrated in 1959, the pipe organ was refurbished, and the painted Stations of the Cross were replaced by a set of carvings.[13] Since then, there have been further minor changes to the interior of the cathedral,[14] and in 1995 the east end was reordered by Francis Roberts.[15]

St Peter's was designated as a Grade II* listed building on 10 November 1994.[16] Grade II* buildings are defined as being "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; only 5.5% of the listed buildings are included in this grade.[23] In the Buildings of England series, Hartwell and Pevsner express the opinion that the church is the "chef d'oeuvre" of Paley's works.[24] They also describe the baptistry as being a "tour de force".[25] In his book about the architectural practice of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Brandwood expresses the opinion that the building is "Paley's masterwork as an independent church architect".[3]

The building is in active use as a Roman Catholic cathedral, which arranges Masses and other regular services,[26][27] and organises concerts and other events.[28] The cathedral is open daily to visitors,[29] and arranges group and educational visits.[30][31]

• 
  Interior showing the organ and west window
• 
  Font in the baptistry
• 
  Taken from the nave
• 
  The Blessed Sacrament Chapel
• 
  The rose window in the south transept, produced by Hardman & Co.
• 
  The fourth north aisle window, produced by Hardman & Co.
• 
  The west window of the south aisle, produced by Shrigley and Hunt from designs by Carl Almquist

• Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
• Listed buildings in Lancaster, Lancashire
• List of ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley
• List of ecclesiastical works by Paley and Austin

Citations

Sources

• Official website