St Columb's Cathedral Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Columb's Cathedral, Derry
Cathedral Church of St Columb, Derry City
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Location	Derry
Country	Northern Ireland
Denomination	Church of Ireland
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	stcolumbscathedral.org
History
Dedication	St Columba
Administration
Diocese	Derry and Raphoe
Province	Armagh

St Columb's Cathedral, August 2009

St Columb's Cathedral is a very old and important church in the walled city of Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the main church for the Church of Ireland in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. It is also the local church for the Templemore area.

The cathedral is named after Saint Columba. He was an Irish monk who started a Christian community in the area a long time ago. Later, he left Ireland and helped bring Christianity to Scotland and northern England.

St Columb's Cathedral was built after the Reformation in Ireland. This means it was one of the first Anglican cathedrals built in Britain and Ireland after the Church changed. It was also the first non-Roman Catholic cathedral built in Western Europe.

History of St Columb's Cathedral
Services at St Columb's
Organists of the Cathedral
Burials
Images for kids
See also

History of St Columb's Cathedral

The first church for the area was called Templemore, which means "the Big Church" in Irish. This church was destroyed during the Nine Years' War. It was first damaged in 1568 when gunpowder stored there accidentally exploded.

In 1600, a leader named Sir Henry Docwra came to Derry with many soldiers. He pulled down the old church ruins. He used its stones to build the city walls and defenses. Today, a small stone from the original "Big Church" is in the porch of the current cathedral. It has a Latin message that means: "The True God is in His Temple and is to be truly worshipped." The new cathedral is built very close to where the old one stood.

Building the Current Cathedral

The church you see today was built by William Parratt from London. It was officially opened in 1633. The building style is called "Gothic Survival" or "Planter's Gothic." This means it used older Gothic styles, even though it was built in the 1600s.

When it was built, they planned to add a longer section at the east end called a chancel. But this part was never finished at that time. In the porch, there is an inscription that says:

If stones could speake
then London's prayse
should sound who
built this church and
cittie from the grounde.

Changes Over Time

After it opened in 1633, the church stayed mostly the same for a long time. Then, in 1776, the bishop, Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, made the building taller. He added 21 feet to the tower and put a very tall spire on top. This spire only lasted about 20 years because it started to fall apart. It had to be taken down and rebuilt.

The tower was finished again in 1802. The new spire was added about 20 years after that. In 1825, the original entrance porch on the south side was removed. In 1827, the small towers on either side of the east end were changed. Their pointed tops were replaced with domes.

Inside the Cathedral

In 1861 and 1862, the inside of the cathedral was completely changed. New wooden features made of oak were added. The galleries that used to be in the side aisles were taken out. Other decorations and furniture were also replaced.

In 1887, workers started building a new chancel. They found the old foundations from the 1600s. The new chancel was built on these original plans. This finally completed the church's design as it was first intended. The chapter house was built later, in 1910.

St Columb's Cathedral has many old documents from the Siege of Derry. It also has paintings of William of Orange and the original keys to the city. There is also a memorial inside for Valentine Munbee McMaster VC.

Services at St Columb's

The cathedral holds several services each week.

On Sundays, there are three services:

* 8:00 am: Eucharist (a special church service). * 11:00 am: Sung Eucharist (on the 1st and 3rd Sundays). * 11:00 am: Matins (on all other Sundays). * 10:00 am: Family Service (on the 4th Sunday). * 4:00 pm: Choral Evensong (a service with singing).

On weekdays, Morning Prayer is held on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:30 am.
On Tuesdays, Holy Communion is celebrated. This service includes prayers for people who are sick.

The Dean of the cathedral is a very important leader. The Reverend William Morton was the Dean for 19 years. He retired in 2016 and became the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. In December 2016, the Reverend Canon Raymond Stewart was appointed as the new Dean of St Columb's Cathedral. He started his role in March 2017.