St Columb's Cathedral
| St Columb's Cathedral | |
|
Londonderry, County Londonderry | |
|---|---|
| Status: | cathedral |
 Cathedral Church of St Columb | |
| Church of Ireland | |
| Diocese of Derry and Raphoe | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | C43371646 |
| Location: | 54°59’38"N, 7°19’23"W |
| History | |
| Built 1633 | |
| Gothic | |
| Information | |
| Website: | St Columb's Cathedral |
The Cathedral Church of St Columb's stands within the walled city of Londonderry, in County Londonderry. It is seat of the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and the mother church of the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe in the Church of Ireland. The cathedral serves also as the parish church of Templemore.
The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Columba, the Irish monk who established a Christian settlement in the area before being exiled from Ireland and introducing Christianity to Scotland and northern England.
History
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The original site of the diocesan cathedral was in Templmore (Irish: An Teampalll Mór or "the Big Church"). In the violence of the Nine Years' War, the church was destroyed. It was first damaged by an accidental explosion on 24 April 1568, the church having been appropriated for the storage of gunpowder.[1] On 16 April 1600, Sir Henry Docwra entered Derry with a force of 4,000 soldiers. He tore down the ruins of the Big Church and used its stones to build the walls and ramparts of the city.[2] A small square stone tablet from An Teampall Mór is today fixed into the porch of the present structure. The Latin inscription reads "In Templo Vervs Devs Est Verec Colendvs" ("The True God is in His Temple and is to be truly worshipped").
The present structure, located close to the original, was completed in 1633 by William Parrot, in the Planter's Gothic style. Also in the porch is an inscription:
If stones could speake
then London's prayse
should sound who
built this church and
cittie from the grounde.
St Columb's has in its possession many documents dating back from the Siege of Derry. They have portraits of William of Orange and the original keys of the city.
The Cathedral also contains a memorial to Valentine Munbee McMaster VC.
St Columb's is the earliest cathedral to be built by the Anglican church after the Reformation in the British Isles and the first cathedral to be built as a Protestant cathedral in Western Europe.[3]
The Bomb Font (A cannonball) inside the Cathedral
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Columb's Cathedral) |
References
- ↑ Day, J.G.F. and Patton, H.E.: 'The Cathedrals of the Church of Ireland' (SPCK, 1932) page 33
- ↑ St Eugene's cathedral official website. History. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ↑ BBC
| Cathedrals of the Church of Ireland |
|---|
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Province of Armagh:
Armagh •
Clogher •
Derry •
Downpatrick •
Dromore •
Elphin •
Enniskillen •
Killala •
Kilmore •
Lisburn •
Raphoe •
Sligo •
Tuam •
Belfast
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