List of cathedrals in England

This article lists the cathedrals, former cathedrals and intended cathedrals in the United Kingdom and its dependencies.

It is a commonly held perception that the term 'cathedral' may be applied to any particularly large or grand church. Whilst many cathedrals may be such, this is due to their ecclesiastical status (such a church is grand because it is a cathedral, rather than it being a cathedral because of its grandeur).

A cathedral may therefore be a smaller building, particularly where they exist in sparser or poorer communities. Modern cathedrals may lack the grandeur of former times, focussing on the functional aspect of a place of worship, though it should be borne in mind that many of the grand and ancient cathedrals of today were originally built to a much smaller plan, and have been successively extended and rebuilt over the centuries.

Some cathedrals were purpose-built as such, whilst others were formerly parochial, or parish churches, subsequently promoted in status due to ecclesiastical requirements such as periodic diocesan reorganisation.

A cathedral church is a Christian place of worship which is the chief church of a diocese and is distinguished as such by being the location for the cathedra or bishop's seat. Strictly speaking therefore, only those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy possess cathedrals.

However the label 'cathedral' remains in common parlance for notable churches which were formerly part of an episcopal denomination, such as is the case with many former Scottish cathedrals which are now within the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

In addition former cathedrals which now exist as ruins retain their nominal status.

The following list comprises, for the United Kingdom and its dependencies, all locations of a current cathedral church, or former cathedral church, as well as those locations where no trace remains of the structure, indeed where the precise location is no longer known.

Also included are those structures or sites of intended cathedrals as well as pro-cathedrals (churches serving as an interim cathedral, for instance whilst a permanent cathedral is acquired, or (as a co-cathedral where the diocesan demographics/geography require the bishop's seat to be shared with a building in an alternate location).

The inclusion of the UK dependencies is strictly for ecclesiastical reasons - the included dependencies are those which share a province with the mainland of Great Britain.

On the other hand, Northern Ireland is shown as a link to the List of cathedrals in Ireland page because, although it politically comprises part of the United Kingdom (hence the section), ecclesiastically the island of Ireland comprises a single geographically-based unit.

The following terms not covered in the above preamble include translated, which is the move of a bishop's seat from one location to another, moving cathedral status from the former church and bestowing it on the destination church, such as may occur in a diocesan or provincial re-organisation.

England and Isle of Man

Church of England

Province of Canterbury

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Birmingham	St Philip	1905	former parish church
Bristol	The Holy and Undivided Trinity	1542-1836, 1897 to date	Augustinian abbey 1140-1539
Bury St Edmunds   (St Edmundsbury)	St James	1914	former parish church
Canterbury	The Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of Christ	c.600
Chelmsford	St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd	1914	former parish church
Chichester	The Holy Trinity	1080	translated from Selsey
Coventry	St Michael	1962	replaced the cathedral (parish church till 1918) lost during World War II
Derby	All Saints	1927
Ely	Holy Trinity	1109	convent (with monastery?) 673-800s secular canons 800s Benedictine priory 970-1540 formerly dedicated to St Peter and St Etheldreda
Exeter	St Peter	1050	translated from Crediton
Gloucester	The Holy and Indivisible Trinity	1541	joint with Bristol Cathedral 1836-1897 monastery and convent 681 secular canons 823 Benedictine priory 1022-1539 formerly dedicated to St Peter
File:Guildford cathedral.jpg Guildford	The Holy Spirit	1965
Hereford	St Mary and St Ethelbert	676
Leicester	St Martin	1927	former parish church
Lichfield	St Mary and St Chad	669-803, 1048 to date	archbishopric 785-803 see moved to Chester 1075 joint with Coventry 1048-1826 The three spires known as The Ladies of the Vale
File:Lincolncath.jpg Lincoln	St Mary	1072	joint with Dorchester c.954-1072 translated from Dorchester 1072
London	St Paul	1675	replaced previous cathedral 604-1666 (destroyed in Great Fire of London)
Norwich	The Holy and Undivided Trinity	1094	translated from Thetford; Benedictine priory 1096-1539
File:Oxfordcath.jpg Oxford	Christ Church	1542	translated from Osney 156 convent 727 secular canons 1004 Augustinian priory 1122-1524 formerly dedicated to St Frideswide
File:Peterborough cathedral.jpg Peterborough	St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew	1539	abbey 655 church 1238-1539
Portsmouth	St Thomas of Canterbury	1927	former parish church
File:Rochestercath.jpg Rochester	Christ Church and St Mary	604	secular canons 604-1080 Benedictine priory 1080-1540 formerly dedicated to St Andrew
St Albans	St Alban	1877	Benedictine abbey 976-1539
Salisbury	The Blessed Virgin Mary	1227	translated from Old Sarum
File:Southwarkcath.jpg Southwark	The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie	1905	Augustinian priory 1106-1539
File:TruroCathedral-BVM-fromSW-01.jpg Truro	St Mary	1880	former parish church
Wells	St Andrew	1239	co-cathedral with Bath Abbey from 1218
Winchester	The Holy Trinity, St Peter, St Paul and St Swithun	ante 650	secular canons to 964 Benedictine priory 964-1539
Worcester	The Blessed Virgin Mary	743	Benedictine priory 969-1540

Province of York

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
File:CIMG0392.JPG Blackburn	St Mary	1926	former parish church
Bradford	St Peter	1919	former parish church
File:CIMG0358.JPG Carlisle	The Holy and Undivided Trinity	1133	secular canons to 1092 Augustinian priory 1123-1540
Chester	Christ Church and the Blessed Virgin Mary	1541	convent? to 875 secular canons from 907 Benedictine abbey 1093-1540 originally dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, then to St Werburgh
Durham	Christ Church, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert	997	secular canons 997 Benedictine priory 1093-1540 originally dedicated to St Mary and St Cuthbert
Liverpool	Christ Church	1904
Manchester	The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George	1847	former collegiate parish church (1421)
File:CIMG1862.JPG Newcastle-upon-Tyne	St Nicholas	1882	former parish church
Peel	St German	1980	former Parish Church, built between 1879 and 1884, spire removed 1907 became cathedral in 1980 after several attempts to restore the ruined cathedral on St Patrick's Isle came to no avail
File:CIMG1785.JPG Ripon	St Peter and St Wilfrid	1876	monastery pre-660 later collegiate with secular canons (10th century?)
Sheffield	St Peter and St Paul	1914	former parish church
File:Southwell minster.jpg Southwell	The Blessed Virgin Mary	1884	collegiate with secular canons to 1840
Wakefield	All Saints	1888	former parish church
York	The Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of St Peter	300

Roman Catholic Church

Province of Westminster

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Brentwood	St Mary and St Helen	1917	parish church 1861
Norwich	St John the Baptist	1976
Northampton	Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury	1850	formerly the parish church of St Felix
Nottingham	St Barnabas	1850
Westminster	The Most Holy Precious Blood, St Mary, St Joseph and St Peter	1910

Province of Birmingham

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Birmingham	The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St Chad	1839	pro-cathedral 1839-1841
Clifton	St Peter and St Paul	1973	preceded by The Pro-Cathedral of the Apostles
Shrewsbury	Our Lady Help of Christians and St Peter of Alcantara	1850

Province of Liverpool

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Coulby Newham	St Mary	1983	translated from Middlesbrough
File:CIMG0117.JPG Lancaster	St Peter	1924
Leeds	St Anne	1878	rebuilt 1904 after original site used for road-widening
Liverpool	The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Christ the King	1967	preceded by two earlier unfinished cathedrals
Newcastle upon Tyne	St Mary	1882
File:SalfCath.jpg Salford	St John the Evangelist	1850
Sheffield	St Marie	1980

Province of Southwark

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Arundel	St Philip Howard	1965
Plymouth	St Mary and St Boniface	1858
Portsmouth	St John the Evangelist	1882
Southwark	St George	1850

Bishopric of the British Armed Forces

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Aldershot	St Michael and St George	1927	(used for the Bishopric of the British Armed Forces) built by Sir Robert Lorimer

Other Catholic denominations

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Ukrainian Catholic Church, Exarchy of Great Britain
London	The Holy Family in Exile		former United Reformed Church
Liberal Catholic Church
Putney	All Saints

Eastern Orthodox Churches

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Antiochian Orthodox Church, Diocese of Western Europe
London NW1	St George		1a Redhill Street, NW1 4BG
Armenian Orthodox Church in Great Britain
London W8	St Sarkis		Iverna Gardens, W8 6TP
Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
Manchester	St Nicholas
Eritrean Orthodox Church in Great Britain
London SW12			11 Anfield Close, SW12 0NT
Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Great Britain
London NW1			33 Juniper Crescent, NW1 8HA
Greek Orthodox Church in Great Britain, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
Birmingham	The Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew		8 Arthur Place, Summerhill, B1 3DA former Church of England parish church
Leicester	St Nicholas and St Xenophon		Aylestone Road
London	All Saints		Camden Town, NW1 0JA
	St Sophia (Aghia Sophia)	1922	Westminster, W2 4LQ consecrated 5 January 1882, mother church of the Greek Orthodox church in Great Britain
	The Dormition of the Mother of God		Wood Green, N22 8LB
	The Nativity of the Mother of God		Camberwell, SE5 0TF
	St Andrew	1970	Kentish Town, NW1 9QA
	St Nicholas		Shepherds Bush, W12 8JW
	The Holy Cross and St Michael		Golders Green, NW11 8DA
Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Church in Great Britain, Diocese of Sourozh
London SW7	The Dormition and All Saints		Ennismore Gardens, SW7 1NH
Serbian Orthodox Church, Diocese of Great Britain and Scandinavia
London W11	St Sava		Lancaster Road, W11 1QQ
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Great Britain
London W3			1a Newton Avenue, W3 8AJ

Other Churches (including Continuing Anglican Churches)

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Ancient Catholic Church
Stamford Hill	The Good Shepherd
Ancient and Old Catholic Church
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	St Willibrord and All Saints
Anglican Catholic Church
Lydd	St Nicholas of Myra		Pro-Cathedral
Church of England (Continuing)
Wolverhampton	St Silas		Official Church Website
Free Church of England
Birmingham (Saltley)	Emmanuel		pro-cathedral
Morecambe	Emmanuel		pro-cathedral
Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite)
Stoke-on-Trent	Our Lady of Grace		former Methodist church, translated from Madeley Heath
Traditional Church of England
Windlesham	St George

Former and intended cathedrals (including pre-reformation)

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Bath	The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul	1090	translated from Wells 1090 joint with Glastonbury 1192 co-cathedral with Wells 1218
Beverley	St John of Beverley	1846-1878	Roman Catholic Diocese of Beverley split in 1878 into Diocese of Leeds and Diocese of Middlesbrough, church located in North Bar Without
Bradwell-on-Sea	St Peter-on-the-Wall	654-664	Saxon cathedral
Bristol	The Holy Apostles	1850-1973	Roman Catholic pro-cathedral replaced by Clifton Cathedral
Chester	St John the Baptist	1072/1075-1102	secular canons c.906-c.1547
Chester-le-Street		875-995	location unknown
Clehonger	St Michael and All Angels (Belmont Abbey)	1860-1916	Roman Catholic pro-cathedral see translated to St David’s Metropolitan Cathedral Cardiff
Coventry	The Cathedral and Priory of St Mary	1095-1539	Benedictine priory
Coventry	St Michael	1918-1940	former parish church, destroyed during World War II
Crediton	The Holy Cross	909-1050	translated to Exeter 1050
Domnoc or Dunwich		630-673	a number of locations have been suggested, possibly now under the sea due to coastal erosion translated to North Elmham 673
Dorchester	St Peter, St Paul and St Birinius	634-1072/1092	translated to Lincoln 1072/1092? secular canons 634-1140 Augustinian priory 1140-1536 now a parish church
Douglas	The Parish Church of St George	until 1980	pro-cathedral (acting cathedral)
Fountains		1537-1550	short-term cathedral founded by King Henry VIII
Glastonbury
Hexham	St Andrew	681-821	Augustinian abbey 1113-1537
Hoxne		early 10th century	became subordinate to North Elmham, then Thetford
Kirkmichael	The Chapel of Bishopscourt Palace	prior to 1980	bishop's seat
Leicester		679-874	location unknown, possibly now occupied by a parish church
Lindisfarne		635-875	location unknown (pre-dates priory ruins)
Lindsey (Sidnacester)		c.680-c.875	united with Dorchester
Madeley Heath	St Mary and St John		Holy Catholic Church (Anglican Rite) pro-cathedral translated to Our Lady of Grace cathedral in Stoke-on-Trent
Middlesbrough	Our Lady of Perpetual Help	1878-1983	Roman Catholic see translated to Coulby Newham in 1983 building now demolished following fire damage
North Elmham		673-1070	translated from Domnoc 673 translated to Thetford 1070
File:Sarumcath.JPG Old Sarum		1075-1227	see moved from Sherborne 1075; translated to Salisbury (New Sarum) 1227
Osney		1542-1546	priory; see moved to Oxford 1546
Peel	St German	447 - 1980	ruin on St Patrick’s Isle, replaced by former Parish Church
Ramsbury		909-1058	translated to Sarum 1075 site now occupied by newer church
St Germans	St Germanus	c.936-1042	Augustinian priory c.1184-1539
Selsey	St Wilfred	680-1080	translated to Chichester 1080 site probably now submerged, other sources suggest church at Church Norton is the site. Mr Wilmot a well know source of information has also suggested Chichester Cathedral could have been moved.
Sherborne	St Mary the Virgin	705-1075	suppressed 1058 united with Ramsbury see moved to Sarum 1075 Benedictine abbey 1122-1539
Southend-on-Sea	St Erkenwald		considered for elevation to cathedral status, but ultimately left in disrepair and demolished 1995
Thetford		1075-1091	translated from North Elmham 1075 translated to Norwich 1091 location unknown
Waltham		1550s	proposed Cathedral, proposed by King Henry VIII
Westminster	The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Peter	1540-1550	Benedictine abbey c.960-1540

Scotland

Church of Scotland (including pre-Reformation)

The Church of Scotland is no longer governed by bishops, and so officially has no cathedrals. However, buildings which were cathedrals prior to the Reformation (or in periods of the church's history when it did have an episcopacy) are still commonly called 'cathedrals'. (These buildings are often denoted by the title "High Kirk".)

Former cathedral buildings (still used for worship)

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Aberdeen	St Machar		translated from Mortlach c.1131
Birnie	St Brendan
Brechin	The Holy Trinity	ante 1150	on the site of a former Culdee monastery
Dunblane	St Blane
Dornoch	St Mary	1224
Dunkeld	St Columba	1120	abbey 815
Edinburgh	St Giles
Glasgow	St Mungo (or St Kentigern)	1123
Iona	St Mary		monastery 563 currently used for worship by the Iona Community
Kirkwall	St Magnus	1137	part of the archbishopric of Trondhiem, Norway, 1137-1472
Lismore	St Moluag

Former cathedrals (disused)

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Abercorn	St Wilfred	c.680	monastery established mid 7th century now the site of the kirk
Abernethy	St Brigid		possible seat of bishop in eighth century
Birsay	Christ Church	ante 1035	location unknown; possibly on the Brough of Birsay
Dunfermline			now in the care of Historic Scotland
Egilsay	St Magnus
Elgin	The Holy Trinity	1224	ruins in care of Historic Scotland known as 'The Lantern of the North
Fortrose	St Peter and St Boniface	13th century	ruins in care of Historic Scotland
Halkirk		11th century	translated to Dornoch 1222
Kingarth	St Blane		care of Historic Scotland
Kinneddar
Kilrimont		9th century	abbey 8th century
Mortlach	St Molouc	to 1131	translated to Aberdeen 1131
Rosemarkie		12th century	translated to Fortrose in 13th century
St Andrews	St Andrew	908	archbishopric 1472 ruins in the care of Historic Scotland
Skeabost		15th century	translated to Iona
Spynie	The Holy Trinity	1207/8	translated to Elgin 1224 a parish church 1224-1736
Whithorn	St Martin of Tours	5th century	ruins in care of Historic Scotland known as the Candida Casa ("White House")

Scottish Episcopal Church

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Aberdeen	St Andrew	1817
Dundee	St Paul	1855
Edinburgh	St Mary	1879
Glasgow	St Mary	1871
Inverness	St Andrew	1869
Millport	The Holy Spirit	1882	known as The Cathedral of the Isles
Oban	St John the Divine		co-cathedral with Millport
Perth	St Ninian	1850

Roman Catholic Church

Province of St. Andrews and Edinburgh

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Aberdeen	St Mary of the Assumption	1880
File:AyrRCCathedral.JPGAyr	The Good Shepherd	1957-2007	translated from Dumfries closed in 2007 Transferred to St Margaret's, Ayr
Ayr	St Margaret	1822	translated from Good Shepherd, located in St John's Street, City Centre}}
Dumfries	St Andrew	to May 1961	located in Shakespeare Street, destroyed by fire translated to Ayr 1962
Dundee	St Andrew	1782
Edinburgh	St Mary	1814
Oban	St Columba	1932

Province of Glasgow

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Glasgow	The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St Andrew	1797
Motherwell	Our Lady of Good Aid	1947	church consecrated in 1929
Paisley	Saint Mirin	1948	church consecrated in 1931

Greek Orthodox Church

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Glasgow	St Luke	1954	Belhaven United Presbyterian church 1877

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Wales

Church in Wales

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Bangor	St Deiniol	456	secular canons 1092
Brecon	St John the Evangelist	1923	Benedictine priory 1093/1110-1538
Llandaff	St Peter and St Paul	560	monastery, secular canons 1107 originally dedicated to St Peter and St Teilo
Newport	St Woolos	1921	former parish church
St. Asaph	St Asaph	553	monastery, secular canons 1143
St David's	St David	580	secular canons 1116 originally dedicated to St Andrew and St David

Former and intended cathedrals (including pre-reformation)

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Denbigh		to 1539	Earl of Leicester's church intended as a cathedral to replace St Asaph, but now an unfinished ruin on the walls of Denbigh Castle
Rhuddlan		c.1400	site mooted for replacement to St Asaph following its sacking by Owain Glyndŵr, probably within the curtiledge of Rhuddlan Castle

Roman Catholic Church, Province of Cardiff

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Cardiff	The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David	1916
Swansea	St Joseph	1987	church opened in 1888, located in Convent Street, Greenhill, SA1 2BX
Wrexham	Our Lady of Sorrows	1907	parish church 1847, pro-cathedral 1907-1987

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Gibraltar, St Helena & the Falkland Islands

Church of England

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Gibraltar	The Holy Trinity	1842	church built between 1825 and 1832
St Helena	St Paul	1859	church built in 1851
Stanley	Christ Church	1892	described as the most southernly cathedral in the world. An archway of whale bones was erected in 1933 to mark the centenary of British rule

Roman Catholic Church

Establishment	Dedication	Established	Notes/Provenance
Gibraltar	St Mary the Crowned	15th century	built in 1462, on the site of Gibraltar's mosque

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Northern Ireland

See List of cathedrals in Ireland; the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland form a single ecclesiastical unit.

Records

In November 1998 the SFX Boys Choir, Liverpool, England became the first choir ever, and the only choir to date, to sing official church services in all 49 cathedrals and abbeys in England and Wales. The choir sung its first service in the May of 1994 in St. Edmundsbury Cathedral and completed the feat by finishing off with an Evensong service in their very own Liverpool Cathedral.

• Choir Myspace

References

• Anthony S. B. New, The Observer’s Book of Cathedrals, Frederick Warne & Co Ltd, London & New York, 1972
• David Pepin Discovering Cathedrals, Shire Publications Ltd, 1994
• Richard Fawcett, Scottish Cathedrals, B.T.Batsford Ltd/Historic Scotland, 1997
• David L. Edwards, The Cathedrals of Britain, Pitkin Pictorials, 1989
• Stephen Platten, Cathedrals & Abbeys of England, Jarrold Publishing, 1999
• Peter Galloway, The Cathedrals of Scotland, Scottish Cultural Press, 2000
• Henry Thorold, Collins Guide To Cathedrals, Abbeys and Priories of England and Wales, Collins, 1986

See also

• List of cathedrals
• List of abbeys and priories in the United Kingdom
• List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland
• List of cathedrals in Ireland
• List of tallest church towers
• Religion in the United Kingdom
• Three-spired cathedrals in the United Kingdom
• Parish Church of St Helier (Pro-Cathedral of the Channel Islands)
• List of Cathedrals in United Kingdom by Giga-Catholic Information