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Nottingham Cathedral

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Nottingham Cathedral
Saint Barnabas’ Cathedral, Nottingham
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LocationNottingham, Nottinghamshire
CountryEngland
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitestbarnabascathedral.org.uk
Architecture
Architect(s)Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin
Years built1841-1844
Specifications
Height164 feet (50 m)
Number of spires1
Administration
ProvinceWestminster
DioceseNottingham (since 1850)
Clergy
Bishop(s)Patrick McKinney
DeanGeoffrey Hunton
Laity
Director of musicAlex Patterson
Organist(s)Robert Gower

The Cathedral Church of St. Barnabas in the city of Nottingham, England, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic church. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Nottingham and seat of the Bishop of Nottingham.

Location

It is located on the corner of Derby Road and North Circus Street, on the opposite side of which are the Albert Hall and the Nottingham Playhouse (Wellington Circus).

History

The nave looking east
The nave looking west

It was built between 1841 and 1844, costing £15,000 (equivalent to £1,890,000 in 2023),[1] and was first consecrated in 1844, fifteen years after the Catholic Relief Act ended most restrictions on Catholicism in the United Kingdom. A substantial amount of the cost was paid by the important Catholic Lord Shrewsbury. The architect was Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin who also designed the interior of The Houses of Parliament. It was built in the Early English Plain Gothic style, although in contrast, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was richly decorated and Pugin’s later churches were built in that Decorated Gothic style throughout. Pugin was retained as architect by Rev Robert William Willson, then priest in charge of Nottingham. In 1842 he was named as Bishop-Elect of Hobart, Tasmania, and had to leave the work in Nottingham before completion.

Following the establishment of a new Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850 by the decree of Pope Pius IX, it was raised to cathedral status in 1852, becoming one of the first four Catholic cathedrals in England and Wales since the English Reformation.[2] It is the seat of the Bishop of Nottingham.

The cathedral is a Grade II* listed building of the lancet style of architecture, and is considered to be one of the best specimens of Pugin's work.[3]

The clergy of the Cathedral also serve the church of St. Augustine on Woodborough Road.

Cathedral music

The organ
The Chapel of Our Lady

There has been a choir at the Cathedral Church since the time of its consecration. The first Director of Music, Edmund Hart-Turpin, who was also Organist of St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, and who went on to co-found the Royal College of Organists, was the first conductor of the Nottingham (Sacred) Harmonic Society Chorus (now the Nottingham Harmonic Choir).

A distinguished tradition of plainsong was maintained during the twentieth century, not least by Peter Smedley who reformed the boys’ choir in 1955, directing an all-male choir, until 1979 when the choir once again became an adult ensemble. The introduction of Choral Scholars by Neil Page in 2003 transformed the capabilities of the main Cathedral Choir which has gone from strength to strength since.

Today, the Sunday choral services at the Cathedral are led by various groups which offer opportunities for musicians of all abilities to contribute to the liturgy.

Cathedral Choir

The adult Cathedral Choir is a combination of auditioned local singers and our Choral Scholars. They sing for the 11.15am Solemn Mass each Sunday, occasional Choral Vespers (about once a month at 3.45pm on Sundays) and major Diocesan events. Repertoire spans from plainsong, music by the great Renaissance masters (Palestrina, Lassus, Byrd, etc.) through Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, French music by Duruflé, Fauré, Poulenc, and Widor, through to Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Britten and contemporary music by Jonathan Dove, James MacMillan and Uģis Prauliņš. The choir has also commissioned new music from Antony Le Fleming, Alex Patterson, and Howard Skempton.

In addition to performing music to enhance the liturgy, the Cathedral Choir maintains a lively concert schedule throughout the year. They have recorded numerous CDs and gained an excellent reputation both national and overseas as a result of tours abroad. Previous tours have visited Hong Kong, Rome (including singing Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican), Tuscany, Munich, Ulster and Barcelona.  

The Cathedral's choral scholarships are available to students above or of eighteen years of age who are in full-time tertiary education in the Nottingham area.[4]

Cathedral Youth Choir

The Youth Choir was set up in 2003 by previous choral scholar Sarah Taylor (nee Smith). Open to young people, aged 8 – 18, the choir sings a varied repertoire of both sacred and secular music spanning the centuries, and often sing in two or three parts. Each member is given the opportunity to develop their own musical and vocal skills on a weekly basis through engaging aural games and a focus on good vocal technique. Each child also receives lessons in music theory. In addition to their own concerts, the choir regularly lead the music at the Sunday 6pm Mass and the Christmas Eve 6pm Vigil Mass each year at the Cathedral.

Parish Singers

The Parish Singers are a small group of singers who lead the voices of the faithful at the 10am Parish Mass every Sunday morning. Under the direction of Organist Emeritus, Graeme Vernon, they lead the hymn singing and music for the Mass Ordinary with a cantor chosen from within the group to sing the Responsorial Psalm and Gospel Acclamation.

List of Directors of Music

  • Edmund Hart Turpin 1850 - 1865
  • James Turpin 1866 - 1873[5] (afterwards organist of Londonderry Cathedral)
  • William George Taylor 1874 - 1885[6] - 1898[7] - 1905
  • William Francis Taylor 1905 - 1963 [8]
  • Peter Smedley 1964 - 2003
  • Neil Page 2003 - 2014
  • Alex Patterson 2014 - present.[9]

List of assistant organists

  • Peter Smedley 1954 - 1964

Assistant Directors of Music

  • Christopher Burton 2008 - 2010
  • Paul Hayward 2011 - 2012
  • Alex Patterson 2012 - 2014

References

  1. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  2. ^ Decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, 21 April 1852. The other churches raised to cathedrals by this decree were St George's, Southwark, St Chad's, Birmingham and St John's, Salford: Decreta Quatuor Conciliorum Provincialium Westmonasteriensium, (2nd Edn, London: Burns & Oates), p.56; translation in: Robert Guy OSB, The Synods in English (Stratford-on-Avon: St Gregory Press, 1886) p.101.
  3. ^ Cathedral Church of St Barnabas and Attached Boundary Wall, Nottingham from British listed buildings, retrieved 15 May 2015
  4. ^ "Choirs". Nottingham Cathedral Music. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. ^ Nottinghamshire Guardian - Friday 1 August 1873
  6. ^ History, Gazetteer & Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1885, p.445
  7. ^ Wright's Directory of Nottingham, 1898-99, p.466
  8. ^ Nottingham Cathedral Yesterday and Today, Edward Cocking et al. 2007 p.36
  9. ^ "History". Nottingham Cathedral Music. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
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