Derby Cathedral
The Cathedral of All Saints (also Derby Cathedral ) is a cathedral in the city of Derby . It has been the seat of the Bishop of Derby since 1927 .
The original All Saints Church was founded as a royal collegiate church in the middle of the 10th century. The main body of the church today is a Georgian remodel by James Gibbs that was completed in 1725. The tower dates back to the 16th century and is 212 feet (65 m) high.
history
The church, originally dedicated to All Saints' Day, was probably built around 943 by the Anglo-Saxon King Edmund I as a royal collegiate church. However, nothing remains of this building. After the Norman conquest of 1066 and according to the land register of 1086, it belonged to the king and was run by a college of seven priests. Presumably due to structural problems, the building was demolished and rebuilt in the 14th century. According to drawings that have been preserved, the original building was about the same size as the current building. The tower of the church was built from 1510 to 1532 in the Perpendicular Style of the Late Gothic, which was the preferred style in England at the time. On top of the tower there are twelve large, grotesque animal sculptures and on either side of the main gate in the west at the foot of the tower there are large stone heads of two "green men". The tower is made of Ashover sandstone, which comes from the nearby quarry at Duffield .
The structure of the church deteriorated so much from 1650 to 1700 that it was decided in February 1723 to erect a new building and to demolish most of the church. While retaining the original tower, the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1725 according to a classicist design by the architect James Gibbs . In his book on architecture, Gibbs wrote about the All Saints' Church: “It is all the more beautiful when there are no galleries that clog and spoil the interior of the church as well as pews ... the simplicity of this building makes it cheaper and fits better with the old church tower ". To compensate for the rather austere interior, Gibbs introduced a wrought iron choir wall that stretched the full width of the church and was made by local iron smith and gate maker Robert Bakewell. The first sermon in the new church was given on November 25, 1725.
By resolution of the “Order in Council” on July 1, 1927, the All Saints Church became a cathedral.
Tower and bells
The Derby Cathedral has the oldest carillon in the world, which includes a total of ten bells. In 1678 the number of bells was increased from six to ten. The largest bell weighs 19 cwt (965 kg) and is over 500 years old and older than the tower itself. The three youngest bells are from 1693 and are over 300 years old. Bell number 8 rang in Ashbourne Parish Church until 1815. When the church became a cathedral in 1927, the bells were retuned and given a new suspension. The historical wooden belfry was replaced by a metallic one. In 1931 the carillon was also renovated and improved. It sounds three times a day at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and can play a total of seven melodies that are automatically changed for each day of the week. It is currently even possible to listen to the carillon live via a local webcam.
The old tower clock from 1738 was replaced by a new one in 1927. In 1976 the mechanical drive and the ringing of the bells were electrified. Derby Cathedral's clock has two dials, one facing west at St. Mary's Gate and one facing south towards Irongate. Both are made of stone and are 8 feet in diameter. They were restored and gilded in 1964, which was done again in the early 21st century. The 1964 restoration proved beyond any doubt that the long metal tubes that were driven through the tower walls to power the clockwork were in fact cannon barrels from the Bonnie Prince Charlie “uprising” in 1745.
organ
In 1939 an organ was installed by John Compton from London, but it was not until 1963 that it received its final case, which was designed by Sebastian Comper. It is played on a four-manual console in the Consistory Court area of the cathedral. The bellows has been electrically operated since 1973 and an additional instrument has been installed.
Works of art
One of the cathedral's treasures is the 18th century wrought iron choir wall made by Robert Bakewell and
a memorial with a portrait of Bess of Hardwick and her descendants of the Cavendish family, later Dukes of Devonshire. The entrance gates, which were moved from St. Mary's Gate to the cathedral in 1957, were also designed by Robert Bakewell. The gates were renovated in 2012 and renamed Queen Elizabeth II Gates to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Notable additions from the 20th century include stained glass windows designed by Ceri Richards and a bronze cross by Ronald Pope.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Bowler, Tony (June 23, 1994). "A towering presence". Derby Express
- ↑ a b c It is the more beautiful for having no galleries, which, as well as pews, clog up and spoil the insides of churches ... the plainness of this building makes it less expensive, and renders it more suitable to the old steeple Gibbs, James (1739). A Book Of Architecture Containing Designs of Buildings and Ornaments (Second ed.). London. p. viii.
- ↑ Derby Cathedral Official Guide, 2014. Derby Cathedral Yearbook
- ^ The London Gazette of July 1, 1927 at thegazette.co, accessed May 29, 2019.
- ↑ a b Howard Smith, JE (July 1976). Cathedral information sheet: Derby Cathedral Clock. Derby: Derby Cathedral.
- ↑ The National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) V2.19.1 at npor.org.uk, accessed on May 29, 2019.
- ↑ Mallender, Margaret (c. 1979). Information sheet: the records of the cathedral of All Saints, Derby. Cathedral of All Saints.
- ↑ Derby Cathedral Archived file at archive.org, accessed May 29, 2019.
Coordinates: 52 ° 55 ′ 29.34 " N , 1 ° 28 ′ 38.55" W.