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See also: Wales |
Scotland
St.
Albans Cathedral
St.
Albans, Hertfordshire, England, AL1 1BY, Website: www.stalbanscathedral.org.uk,
Email: mail@stalbanscathedral.org.uk,
Tel: 01727 860780, Fax: 01727 850944.
Named
for the first British Christian martyr, this abbey church is the second
largest in England, after Winchester.
The north transept stands on the traditional spot where Alban was
executed in 305 for refusing to participate in a pagan sacrifice.
In 793 King Offa founded a Benedictine monastery here to atone for
murdering Ethelbert (see Hereford).
That early church was rebuilt in the late 11th century using tiles
from the old Roman settlement of Verulam. Of note in the interior
is the stone roodscreen, perhaps the work of Henry Yevele (see Canterbury),
and wall paintings on the piers of the nave. St. Albans became a cathedral
in 1876, at which time restorations to the west front and the north
transept were carried out by Lord Grimthorpe, an amateur architect
who was given a free rein due to the fact that he was paying for the
work out of his own pocket. Unfortunately, Lord Grimthorpe proved
more enthusiastic than talented, and his efforts are best passed over
in silence. Heart
of England attractions map
St.
Paul's Cathedral
City of London, London, Greater London, England, EC4, Website:
www.stpauls.co.uk,
Email: chapter@stpaulscathedral.org.uk,
Tel: 020 7236 4128, Fax: 020 7248 3104.
The only totally "modern" church in this list, though the
location has a history extending back to 604. The first Norman cathedral
on this site was begun in the 11th century, and it took two centuries
to finish. That huge building fell into disrepair and became a market
place and pedestrian thoroughfare. In the 17th century Inigo Jones
was commissioned to rebuild it, but the Civil War put a halt to that.
Charles
II asked the young Christopher Wren to draw up plans for remodelling,
but before any work was done, the entire structure was burned to the
ground in the Great Fire of 1665. Within days Wren presented plans
for a new cathedral. This plan was rejected (partly for drawing too
heavily on Catholic tradition), and Wren came back with another plan
that was approved. He then quietly (read secretly) slipped in most
of his original plan as the work proceded.
Thank heaven Wren managed to build it his way, for the result is an
architectural wonder. Classically styled, and surmounted with a glorious
dome, from the top of which (if you have the legs for the climb) you
can gain great city views. Inside the dome is the Whispering Gallery,
so named because if you whisper into the wall, your words can be heard
all the way across the dome, fully 112 feet away. The choir stalls
are by the 17th century woodcarving genius Grinling Gibbons. The interior
of St. Paul's is quite a shock if you are used to the sombre tones
of English medieval churches; rich colour and ornate classical decoration
dominates the scene, yet it is built to such perfect proportions that
the effect is uplifting and awe-inspiring. There are several hundred
monuments in the church, including that to poet John Donne, which
survived the fire to the old cathedral. In the crypt are the tombs
of Wellington and Lord Nelson, as well as that of Wren himself. The
Latin inscription on Wren's tomb fittingly translates as, "Reader,
if you seek his monument, look about you". Inner
London attractions map
See also History
of St. Paul's and Touring
St. Paul's
Salisbury
Cathedral 
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, Website: www.salisburycathedral.org.uk,
Email: visitors@salcath.co.uk,
Tel: 01722 555120.
The see of Salisbury has quite a history. The bishop's seat was originally
at Sherborne, then it was shared between Sherborne and Ramsbury, then
it was moved to Old Sarum in 1075, where the monks proved incapable
of living peaceably with the inhabitants of the castle next door.
In 1228 the see moved again to Salisbury (New Sarum), and work was
begun on a new cathedral. The upshot of this turmoil was that the
new structure was built fresh, without reference to any previous building.
Salisbury is marked by the use of dark Purbeck marble in its slender
columns, and in sculptured heads cunningly worked into the design
of corbels at the triforium level. Apart from this, Salisbury can
seem sparse, even bare, but that, too, can be beautiful. The 13th
century cloisters are magnificent, with tracery in the Geometric style.
The spire is one of the glories of Salisbury. It stands fully 404
feet high, the tallest spire of this age in the world. South
Central England attractions map
Southwark
Cathedral
Southwark, London, England, SE1 9DA, Website: www.southwark.anglican.org/cathedral,
Email: cathedral@southwark.anglican.org,
Tel: 020 7367 6700, Fax: 020 7367 6725.
Formerly known as St. Mary Overie ("over the river"),
Southwark only became a cathedral in 1905. The church and the area
around it have what might charitably be called a colourful history.
Founded in Saxon times, it passed to the Augustinian order in 1106.
The chancel and retrochoir were rebuilt after a fire in 1212. The
retrochoir is a rare medieval survivor in London. The area around
Southwark was governed by the Bishops of Winchester in the Middle
Ages as a "liberty", a sort of private kingdom. Here they
controlled a prison called the Clink, which gave its name to prisons
the world over. Here also was the most infamous red-light district
in greater London, whose activities provided the major source of
income for the bishops. In fact, the ladies employed in the brothels
of Southwark were called "the Bishop of Winchester's geese".
Inner London
attractions map
Southwell
Minster
Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England, Website: www.southwellminster.org.uk,
Email: nikki-di@southwellminster.org.uk,
Tel: 01636 812649, Fax 01636 817284.
Southwell began life as a Saxon manor, but in the 10th century it
was granted to the Archbishop of York. The remains of the London
palace of the archbishops of York can be seen next to the cathedral.
The present church was begun in 1108, and it remains one of the
best examples of the Romanesque
style in England. That said, the chief reason to visit Southwell
is its remarkable carving, notably on the pulpitum, but especially
in the 13th century chapter house. Decorative foliage festoons the
36 stalls and the capitals of the chapter house and the corridor
and vestibule leading to it. The botanical precision of the carvings
is extraordinary: grace and beauty evoked from cold stone. East
Midlands attractions map
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Text © David Ross and Britain Express 2001
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