St Ninian's Cathedral facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Ninian's Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St Ninian
Location	Perth
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Scottish Episcopal Church
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
History
Dedication	Saint Ninian
Consecrated	10 December 1850
Administration
Diocese	St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane

St Ninian's Cathedral is a beautiful cathedral in the city of Perth. It is part of the Scottish Episcopal Church and belongs to the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane.

History of the Cathedral

The story of St Ninian's Cathedral begins in the 1800s. For a long time, the Scottish Episcopal Church did not have its own cathedrals. This changed in 1848 when two young men from Oxford University had a big idea. They wanted to build new cathedrals for their church.

Designing and Building a New Cathedral

The men chose a famous London architect named William Butterfield to design the new cathedral in Perth. To pay for it, they collected money from many people. They raised £5,751, which was a lot of money back then. Most of the money came from the families of Lord Forbes and the Hon. George Boyle.

This was enough money to build part of the cathedral. They built the chancel (the area around the altar) and a small part of the nave (the main seating area). The new building was officially opened, or consecrated, on December 10, 1850.

The bishop of the diocese, Patrick Torry, was 86 years old and too frail to lead the ceremony. Instead, Bishop Alexander Penrose Forbes of Brechin led the event. The cathedral was named after Ninian, a saint who brought Christianity to Scotland in the 5th century.

Growing and Changing Over Time

In its early years, not many people attended the cathedral. Sometimes, there were fewer than twenty people at a service. But things changed in 1885 when Reverend Vincent Rorison became the provost (the head priest of a cathedral). More people started coming, and a decision was made to finish the building.

They completed the cathedral in 1890, following Butterfield's original plan but with some changes to the towers. After this, more beautiful stained-glass windows were added by the company Burlison and Grylls.

In 1900, another architect, John Loughborough Pearson, was hired to make more additions. He designed the Chapter House and the Lady Chapel, which were finished in 1908. A statue of Bishop George Howard Wilkinson, who hired Pearson, was added in his memory after he died.

Special Features Inside the Cathedral

The cathedral has many amazing works of art.

• The east window was designed by Butterfield himself in 1876. It shows a scene from the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
• The pulpit, where the priest stands to speak, was carved in 1901 by Nathaniel Hitch. It shows four important saints: St Cuthbert, St Kentigern, St Patrick, and St Columba.
• The Lady Chapel has a window made by Whitefriars Glass.

In 1965, the cathedral was recognized as a Category A listed building. This means it is a very important historic building that must be protected.

Provosts

A provost is the priest in charge of a cathedral. One of the early provosts was Edward Fortescue. He left his position in 1871.

Gallery

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  The original design for the cathedral. The towers were not built because the ground was too soft to support them without great cost.

• 

  The pulpit, carved by Nathaniel Hitch, shows scenes from the lives of saints.

• 

  A large cross called a rood, designed by Ninian Comper in 1924. It shows Christ on the Cross with Mary and John.

See also

• List of Category A listed buildings in Perth and Kinross
• List of listed buildings in Perth, Scotland
• St John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Perth