| Derby Cathedral | |
| Cathedral Church of All Saints | |
|---|---|
| Location | Derby, Derbyshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.derbycathedral.org |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic, Neoclassical |
| Years built | c.1350-1725 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of towers | 1 |
| Tower height | 212 feet (65 m)[1] |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Derby (since 1927) |
| Province | Canterbury |
The Cathedral of All Saints (known as Derby Cathedral), is a cathedral church in the City of Derby, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Derby, and with an area of around 10,950 sq ft (1,017 m2) is the smallest Anglican cathedral in England.[2]
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The original church was founded by King Edmund I in about 943 as a royal collegiate church; however, there is no trace of its existence today. The current cathedral dates from the fourteenth century, although it appears to be based on an earlier medieval building, which drawings show was about the same size as the present church. It may be that it became structurally unstable and was pulled down. The tower dates from 1510 to 1530 and was built in the popular perpendicular Gothic style of the time.
Joan Waste was tried for heresy here in 1556. The execution took place on the Burton Road in Derby.[3]
Apart from the tower, the building was rebuilt in a classical style to the designs of James Gibbs of 1725.
The building, previously known as All Saints' Church, became a cathedral by Order in Council on 1 July 1927.[4][5]
The cathedral contains the oldest ring of ten bells in the United Kingdom. Other treasures include an eighteenth-century nave with a wrought iron Rood screen by Robert Bakewell, the memorial to Bess of Hardwick, and the Cavendish brasses, including those of Henry Cavendish and Georgiana Spencer, the wife of one of the Dukes of Devonshire.
According to the Derby Mountain Rescue Team the cathedral tower is 212 feet (65 m) tall. More than 150 members of the Rescue team abseiled down the tower for charity in 2009.[6]
In late 2005, it was discovered that a pair of Peregrine falcons had taken up residence on the Cathedral Tower. In 2006 a nesting platform was installed, and they nested here in April. The same pair successfully reared chicks in 2007, 2008, 2009 and again in 2010. Webcams were installed in 2007 and 2008 to enable the birds to be seen at close-range without being disturbed by human contact. Four eggs were laid in 2007; however, only two chicks eventually hatched. The same number of eggs were laid the following year, but this time all four chicks successfully hatched. Four chicks hatched and fledged in 2009, but only two survived beyond the autumn.
In 1939, an organ was installed by John Compton of London, which was used until being overhauled in 1992.[7] In 1973, an additional instrument was installed in the new retro-choir (east end) by Cousans of Lincoln.[8]
| Year instated | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Arthur Griffin Claypole | |
| 1930 | Alfred William Wilcock | |
| 1933 | George Handel Heath-Gracie | |
| 1958 | Wallace Michael Ross | |
| 1983 | Peter David Gould | Tom Corfield |
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