Dornoch Cathedral
| Dornoch Cathedral | |
|
Dornoch, Sutherland | |
|---|---|
| Status: | parish church |
.jpg) Dornoch Cathedral | |
| Church of Scotland | |
| Presbytery of Sutherland | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NH797898 |
| Location: | 57°52’53"N, 4°1’45"W |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Website: | dornoch-cathedral.com |
Dornoch Cathedral stands in Dornoch in Sutherland, and serves as its parish church. It was built in the 13th century, in the reign of King Alexander II (1214–49) as the cathedral church of the Diocese of Caithness; the seat of the diocese was thus moved to Dornoch from Halkirk. The church was built in the episcopate of Gilbert de Moravia (who died in 1245 and was later called 'Saint Gilbert of Dornoch').
Though it uses the title 'Cathedral' for historic reasons, the church only a parish church; it ceased to be a cathedral, which is to say the seat of a bishop with the abolition of that office in the kirk' in 1690.
History
In 1570 the Cathedral was burnt down during local feuding. Full 'repairs' (amounting to one of the most drastic over-restorations on any important Scottish mediæval building) were not carried out until the early 19th century, by the Countess of Sutherland. Among the improvements carried out, the ruined but still largely intact aisled mediæval nave was demolished and a new narrow nave without pillars built on its site. The interior was reordered in the 1920s by Rev. Charles Donald Bentinck, with the removal of Victorian plasterwork to reveal the stonework (although the mediæval church would have been plastered throughout). The site of the mediæval high altar was raised and converted into a burial area for the Sutherland family, who introduced large marble memorials alien to the original appearance of the building.
The Cathedral's churchyard is adjoined by Dornoch Castle, the somewhat reconstructed remains of the mediæval palace of the Bishops of Caithness.
Miscellany
In 2010 billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and actress Talulah Riley married at Dornoch Cathedral.[1]
Gallery
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Plaque commemorating the 5th Bn Seaforth Highlanders in the Second World War -
Dornoch Cathedral cemetery
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dornoch Cathedral) |
References
- ↑ Alan Boyle (18 January 2012). "SpaceX's millionaire founder tweets about marital split". NBCNews.com. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacexs-millionaire-founder-tweets-about-marital-split-6C10402497. Retrieved 28 September 2013.