Westminster Cathedral

All you want to know about Westminster Cathedral

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Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Cathedral from Victoria Street
Basic information
Full name The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Precious Blood
County London
Country England
Ecclesiastical information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Province Westminster
Diocese Westminster
Diocese created 1850
Bishop Archbishop Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor
Director of Music Martin Baker
Organist Matthew Martin
Website www.westminstercathedral.org.uk
Building information
Dates built 1895-1903
Year consecrated 1910
Architect(s) John Francis Bentley
Architectural style Byzantine
Towers 1
Tower height(s) 83m

Westminster Cathedral in London, England, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster.

The cathedral is located in Victoria, SW1, in the City of Westminster. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in England and Wales, and should not be confused with Westminster Abbey of the Church of England, Westminster Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster, currently Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, shepherd of the Archdiocese of Westminster. As a matter of custom each newly appointed Archbishop of Westminster has been created a cardinal in consistory.

Contents

History

In the late 19th century, the Catholic Church hierarchy had only recently been restored in England and Wales, and it was in memory of Cardinal Wiseman (who died in 1865, and was the first Archbishop of Westminster from 1850) that the first substantial sum of money was raised for the new cathedral. The land was acquired in 1884 by Wiseman's successor, Cardinal Manning, having previously been occupied by the second Tothill Fields Bridewell prison. After two false starts in 1867 (under architect Henry Clutton) and 1892 (architect Baron von Herstel), construction started in 1895 under Manning's successor, the third archbishop Cardinal Vaughan with John Francis Bentley as architect. The cathedral opened in 1903, a little after Bentley's death. For reasons of economy the decoration of the interior had hardly been started and still much remained to be completed. It is often presumed that Westminster Cathedral was the first Catholic place of worship to be built in Britain after the English Reformation; however that honour belongs to St Patrick's in Soho Square.

The interior of Westminster Cathedral
The interior of Westminster Cathedral

Under the laws of the Church no place of worship can be consecrated unless free from debt and having its fabric completed, so the consecration ceremony did not take place until June 28, 1910.

On May 28, 1982, the first day of his six-day visit to the United Kingdom, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in the Cathedral.

In 1995, at the invitation of Cardinal Basil Hume, the cathedral was visited by HM The Queen, the first visit of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom to a Catholic liturgy for several hundred years.

Music

Despite its relatively short history compared to other English cathedrals, Westminster has a distinguished choral tradition, and the choir is considered a fine one. This musical excellence has its origin in the shared vision of Cardinal Vaughan, the Cathedral's founder, and Sir Richard Runciman Terry, its inaugural Master of Music. Terry prepared his choristers for a year before their first sung service in public. For the remainder of his tenure (until 1924) he pursued a celebrated revival of great quantities of Latin repertoire from the English Renaissance, most of which had lain unsung ever since the Reformation. Students at the Royal College of Music who would become household names were introduced to their heritage when Charles Villiers Stanford sent them to the cathedral to hear "polyphony for a penny" (the bus fare). This program also required honing the boys' sight-reading ability to a then-unprecedented standard.

The Cathedral's musical traditions have been upheld by successive distinguished Masters of Music. Holders have included George Malcolm, whose trebles innovated a brilliant 'continental' tone, "voices like razors" to quote one auditor; Colin Mawby, Stephen Cleobury, David Hill and James O'Donnell. Since 2000, the post has been occupied by Martin Baker. It is believed Westminster Cathedral is the only Catholic Cathedral in the world to have a daily sung Mass and Vespers.

The Choir has commissioned many works from distinguished composers, many of whom are better known for their contribution to Anglican music, such as Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams. However, the Choir is particularly renowned for its performance of Gregorian chant and polyphony of the Renaissance.

All the boys of the Choir are boarders at the nearby Westminster Cathedral Choir School.

Unlike most other English cathedrals, Westminster does not have a separate Quire; instead, the choir are hidden from view in the Apse behind the High Altar. This, with the excellent acoustic of the cathedral building, contributes to its distinctive sound.

Located in the west gallery, the Grand Organ of four manuals and 81 stops occupies a more commanding position than many British cathedral organs enjoy. Built by Henry Willis III from 1922 to 1932, it remains one of the most successful and admired. One of Louis Vierne's best-known organ pieces, "Carillon de Westminster," the final movement from Suite no. 3 (op. 54) of Pièces de Fantaisie, was composed for it and dedicated to the builder. The apse organ of fifteen stops is older. Although the Grand Organ has its own attached console, a console in the apse can play both instruments.

See also

Literature

  • Patrick Rogers. Westminster Cathedral: from Darkness to Light. Burns & Continuum International Publishing Group, London (2003). ISBN 0860123588

External links

Coordinates: 51°29′46″N 0°08′23″W / 51.49611, -0.13972

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Cathedral"

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