Brechin Cathedral

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Brechin Cathedral
Round tower of Brechin

The Brechin Cathedral , actually Brechin Parish Church , also Cathedral of the See of Brechin , is a parish church and former cathedral in the Scottish town of Brechin in the Council Area Angus . In 1971 the structure was included in the Scottish monument lists in the highest monument category A. Part of the surrounding cemetery is classified as a Category B structure. Furthermore, the older round tower is protected as a Scheduled Monument .

history

Possibly a Pictish hermit named Dubhoc or Duthoc established an early Christian cell in Scotland in the late 6th or early 7th century in the footsteps of Columban . Culdeers were active in the region by the middle of the 9th century at the latest . The earliest verified evidence comes from the late 10th century when King Kenneth II initiated a monastery there.

The round tower, which is still preserved today, was probably built in the late 11th century. Round towers are extremely rare in Scotland, but were common in Ireland at the time , suggesting the Culdeer of Irish origin as the builder. In the middle of the 12th century, King David I established the Brechin diocese . As the center, the Culdeer church building was probably expanded to a cathedral. The time of the Culdeer in Brechin ended around 1225, and today's Brechin Cathedral was built on the site of their monastery. The Gothic church body was completed in the course of the 13th century . The bell tower followed in the following century. Fragments of the 10th century church may have been incorporated into the structure during construction.

Only the assignment of the round tower to the Culdeer Church is certain. The 26.5 m high tower has a diameter of five meters. It was once free, but is now associated with the church. Until 1806, when the transept was demolished, the Trinity Church was a cruciform basilica . Scottish architect John Honeyman renovated Brechin Cathedral between 1899 and 1902 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  3. ↑ a b Scheduled Monument - entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  4. ↑ a b History of the Brechin Cathedral
  5. ↑ a b c Entry on Brechin Cathedral  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)

Web links

Commons : Brechin Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 56 ° 43 ′ 50.5 "  N , 2 ° 39 ′ 40.8"  W.