Arundel Cathedral

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Arundel Cathedral from the north-west
Arundel Cathedral from the north-west
Interior of Arundel Cathedral.
Interior of Arundel Cathedral.

Arundel Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in West Sussex, England. Dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it was not designated a cathedral until the foundation of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1965. It now serves as the seat of the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

The Cathedral's location, construction, design, and dedication owe much to the Howard Family, who, as Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Arundel are the most prominent English Catholic family, and rank first (below the English royal family) in the Peerage of England.

While Arundel Castle has been the seat of the Howards' ancestors since 1102, Roman Catholic worship was suppressed in Arundel and elsewhere in England by the Conventicle Act of 1664. Thus, all churches and cathedrals in England were transferred to the Church of England in the period before the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.

In 1868, forty years after the foundation of Roman Catholic parishes became again legal, Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk commissioned architect Joseph Hansom to design a new Roman Catholic sanctuary as a suitable counterpart to Arundel Castle. The architectural style of the cathedral is French Gothic, a style that would have been popular between 1300 and 1400—the period in which the Howards and the Dukes of Norfolk rose to national prominence in England.

The church was originally dedicated to Our Lady and St Philip Neri, but in 1971, following the Canonisation of Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel and the reburial of his relics in the Cathedral, the dedication was changed to Our Lady and St Philip Howard.

[edit] Related Images

  • Cathedral exterior image [1]
  • St. Philip Howard image [2]