Peterborough Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, UK

Photo donated to Wikimedia Commons by DLiff.

 A Romanesque/Gothic cathedral built by the Anglo-Saxons between 1118 and 1237 A.D., Peterborough is located north of London in the province of Canterbury, Cambridgeshire, England.  It is directly east of Birmingham and northwest of Cambridge University.  A Wikimapia view of the cathedral grounds may be found here.

For reasons that become very clear as one explores the interior, Peterborough Cathedral is one of the UK's Top 10 landmarks.  Additional video views and 360-degree Full-screen Virutal Tours may be found at Peterborough Cathedral's home page here. 

According to Wikipedia's Peterborough Cathedral article, the church is "properly the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Andrew -- also known as St. Peter's Cathedral," and it is the seat of the Bishop of Peterborough.  "With Durham and Ely cathedrals, it is one of the most important 12th-Century buildings in England to have remained largely in tact, despite extensions and restoration."

Above: The Hedda Stone, an excellent example of Anglo-Saxon art, has been kept in Peterborough Cathedral since the 8th Century, when the cathedral was a monastery known as Medeshamstede.  Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Below: The grave of  Katharine of Aragon, Queen of England (1485 - 1536), is at Peterborough.  Those who have read Shakespeare's Henry VIII, who have watched The Other Boleyn Girl (2003) or who have seen the TV-series The Tudors (2007 - 2010) will recognize Katharine as the long-suffering first wife of King Henry VIII. 

In 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was also once buried at Peterborough, after her execution at nearby Fotheringay Castle, but Mary was later removed to Westminster Abbey by her son, King James I.

Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral in England

Above:  A 360-degree panorama of the second oldest cathedral in England, Rochester Cathedral, established by St. Justus and St. Augustine of Canterbury at Rochester, Medway, Kent in 604 A.D.  Panorama by Gary Davies courtesy of 360Cities.net.

The official Rochester Cathedral page offers an interesting history timeline page here, and buried at the bottom of that page one may find a hyperlink to a truly excellent 360-degree panoramic tour here.  An interactive map seamlessly combines several 360-degree panoramas, allowing one to choose one's point of view within the cathedral plan.  This 360-pano tour was created in 2004 to celebrate the cathedral's 1400th anniversary.

According to the cathedral's Wikipedia article, Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, was  "founded by Saint Justus, one of the missionaries who accompanied Saint Augustine of Canterbury to convert the pagan Southern English to Christianity in the early 7th century."

Originally an Anglo-Saxon church built on land donated by King Ethelbert of Kent, the church was already 400 years old and dilapidated when William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded in 1066.  Consequently, it was rebuilt 

In 1082, Rochester became the Benedictine Priory of St Andrew, established by Gundulf of Rochester, himself a Benedictine from Bec, France, and the first Norman Bishop of England.  Gundulf designed several castles and other buildings for King William, including Rochester, Colchester and the White Tower of the Tower of London.

Work on the Norman cathedral's new nave was begun in 1083.

The new cathedral was consecrated on Ascension Day in 1130 and King Henry I attended the ceremony.  Rochester Cathedral remained a Benedictine priory until the dissolution of the monastery in 1540.

Above: Rochester Cathedral seen from the west.  Source: Wikimedia commons.


Only seven years after its consecration, in 1137, fires destroyed the wooden roof of the Nave and damaged the Quire.  In 1180, work began on re-building the cathedralk in the Gothic style, starting with the Quire.

In 1201 the bloody murder of a simple Scottish baker took place in Rochester, and the moving story of William of Perth (later known as Saint William of Rochester) transformed Rochester Cathedral into a famous shrine and pilgrimage site. Largely thanks to St. William, Rochester remains a popular pilgrimage site to this day.

Wikipedia tells the story of William of Perth as follows:

"He went to Mass daily, and one morning, before it was light, found on the threshold of the church an abandoned child, whom he adopted and to whom he taught his trade. Later he took a vow to visit the Holy Places, and, having received the consecrated wallet and staff as a palmer, set out with his adopted son, whose name is given as "Cockermay Doucri", which is said to be Scots for "David the Foundling". They stayed three days at Rochester, and purposed to proceed next day to Canterbury (and perhaps thence to Jerusalem), but instead David willfully misled his benefactor on a short-cut and, with robbery in view, felled him with a blow on the head and cut his throat.

"The body was discovered by a mad woman, who plaited a garland of honeysuckle and placed it first on the head of the corpse and then her own, whereupon the madness left her. On learning her tale the monks of Rochester carried the body to the cathedral and there buried it. He was honored as a martyr because he was on a pilgrimage to holy places. As a result of the miracle involving the madwoman as well as other miracles wrought at his intercession after death, he was acclaimed a saint by the people."

Pilgrims visiting St. William's shrine brought in money to help the monks re-build the cathedral, and in 1201 the Presbytery was begun and roofed in by 1214.

The cathedral was plundered when King John held it against the rebel barons.  It was later desecrated by Simon de Montfort’s troops when they captured the city.

The new Quire was consecrated in 1227 and the North Transept completed in 1240.  Hamo de Hythe, bishop of Rochester, vaulted the Transepts, raised the central tower and spire, and re-decorated the Quire.  The Chapter Library door depicts his soul rising to heaven.

In 1440 the present Nave clerestory replaced a smaller Romanesque one, and the Great West window was put into place.

Above:  The Great West Door, which has remained substantially unchanged from Ernulf's time. Photo Credit:  Wikimedia Commons, donated by Chris O.

 In 1490, "the present Lady Chapel, the latest part of the cathedral, was enlarged as a Quire for the new-style polyphonic choirs who sang at the Lady Chapel altar in the South Transept."

The cathedral was damaged by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers in 1642.

Major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1872.   Scott was an English leader of the Gothic revival movement in the 19th century.

After the 2004 celebration of the Cathedral's 1400th anniversary, the cathedral began a Musical Endowment fund in an effort to "ensure the continuity of Rochester's choral tradition."  Albums and works produced by the Rochester Cathederal Choir may be found here.  Free music and mixes may also be found on the Rochester Cathedral Choir's My Space page here.

St. Albans Cathedral

St Albans Abbey Cathedral in England

A classic Benedictine abbey built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles between 1077 and 1893, St. Albans Abbey became a cathedral in 1877 and is now officially titled The Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban.

The second largest abbey in England, after Winchester, St. Albans still acts as a parish church within the Church of England. Nevertheless, British Express gives the cathedral a four-star rating as a Heritage site, both for its extraordinary architecture and fascinating history.

St. Albans humbly boasts the longest nave of any cathedral in England, and much of its architecture dates from Norman times.

It is built near the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Verulamium, about 22 miles north of London, in Hertfordshire. Indeed Alban was a simple pagan peasant living near the Roman hill fort settlement at Verulamium ca. 300 A.D., when he ran afoul of the Roman authorities.

The Venerable Bede tells us that when "the cruel emperors first published their edicts against the Christians" Alban committed the crime of providing shelter for a Christian in his home.  According to a 3rd-century manuscript found in Turin:  

"Alban received a fugitive and put on his garment and his cloak that he was wearing and delivered himself up to be killed instead of the priest  …  and was delivered immediately to the evil Caesar Severus."

Above: A window in St. Albans cathedral portrays Alban's martyrdom.  Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Enfuriated by the deception and the escape of the priest, the local magistrate asked Alban if he himself were a Christian. Alban declared, "I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things."

Dragged to the top of a nearby hill, Alban was beheaded.  He  thus became the First Christian Martyr of England.  Scholars have recently suggested that he might make a worthy replacement for St. George as the patron saint of England.

St. Albans Cathedral is believed to be built on the very hill where Alban was executed.  Local legends say that the first executioner was so shaken by Alban's self-confidence that he immediately converted to Christianity and refused to strike the blow.

After successfully decapitating Alban, the second executioner's eyes fell out of his head.  See the illustration found in an ancient manuscript at Dublin's Trinity College, below.

As the executioner took a moment to gather what this meant, St. Alban's head went tumbling down the hill and picked up speed as it went. Where it finally stopped a well sprang up. To this day there is a well nearby the church, and the road leading to the cathedral is called Holywell Road.

Above: The Shrine of St. Alban at St. Albans Cathedral.  Photo by: Michael Reeve (Wikimedia Commons)

Alban is often portrayed in religious iconography as holding his head between his hands. According to the Wikipedia article on St. Alban:

The Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius is named in part after Alban.

Every year on the weekend closest to his feast day [June 22],  St Albans Cathedral holds the "Alban Pilgrimage" with huge puppets re-enacting the events of Alban's martyrdom.

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral in England

Above:  A 360-degree panoramic view of the southwest exterior of Salisbury Cathedral, in Wiltshire, England, one of the greatest Anglican cathedrals in the United Kingdom. Built from 1220 to 1258, its Chapter House contains one of the original copies of the Magna Carta.  Photo Credit: Randy Myers, from the 360 Cities website. 

For an online gallery of photos and a 360-Degree virtual tour of the cathedral's interior, please see the official home page of Salisbury Cathedral.  One may find an overhead map of the cathedral grounds at Wikimapia here.

Formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Salisbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury, and seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.  It is considered one of the greatest examples of Early English Gothic architecture.

The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (404 ft), according to the Wikipedia article on Salisbury Cathedral here.  "Visitors can take the 'Tower Tour' where the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wood scaffolding, can be viewed. The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain (80 acres)^. The cathedral contains the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of the Magna Carta (all four original copies are in England)."

 

Above: The Salisbury Cathedral plan.  Source: Wikipedia

Old Sarum Cathedral: Salisbury Cathedral's Invisible Ancestor

Above: A museum model of what Old Sarum Cathedral must have looked like, ca. 1200 A.D.  Photo source: Wikimedia commons.

Two miles north of Salisbury, England, and only six miles from Stonehenge lies an empty field that was once the site of Old Sarum Cathedral, the administrative seat of William the Conqueror and, for more than 4,000 years, one of the holiest sites in all of Britain.

A zoom-in zoom-out Wikimapia overview of the Old Sarum grounds may be found here.  For photos, visit the English Heritage Old Sarum page, the Old Sarum Facebook Page or more than 70 visitor photos posted at TripAdvisor.co.uk's Old Sarum Page.

According to Sacred Destinations.com, “Old Sarum was occupied since about 3,000 B.C. by a Neolithic community who built communal burial places, stock enclosures, and large ritual enclosures known as henges (the same sort of structure, on a less monumental scale, as nearby Stonehenge and Avebury Henge).

“From about 500 B.C., during the Iron Age, the hilltop site was given further protection with double ditches and used as an administrative center and fort.  It was later settled by the Romans (from c. 60 A.D.) who called it Sorviodunum. “

The Roman soldiers probably built a shrine to one of their gods on the top of the hill, and Sorviodunum remained a key military stronghold because it was located near a major intersection of several Roman roads, notably the roads from Winchester to Exeter, from Silchester, and from the Severn via the Mindip Hills.

After the withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain, Saxons took over the Old Sarum hillsite around 552 A.D.  They renamed it Searobyrig.  It became a royal estate of the Saxon kings, who re-fortified the hill and used their hill-fort to protect the local farmers and townsfolk for more than 500 years.

After the Norman conquest of 1066, William the Conqueror immediately recognized the importance of Old Sarum, chose it as his residence and began constructing a wooden castle on the site in 1069.  It became the seat of the Norman king’s court and the county government in Salisbury from 1070 forward.  The Norman cathedral that became known as Old Sarum Cathedral was built next to the king’s castle between 1075 and 1092.  Wikipedia provides an Old Sarum Cathedral article with model and maps here.

Above: An early wood-cut image of Old Sarum.

An Uncomfortable Place for Christian Worship

According to legend, Old Sarum Cathedral was first completed in 1092, but it was hit by lightning and burnt to the ground only five days after the church’s consecration.  The cathedral was rebuilt with stone, and completed around 1190.  Located within a military hill-fort on a gloomy hilltop, the location proved unpopular with superstitious townsfolk, who believed in local legends about the ancient hill on which Old Sarum was founded.

Soon after completion of the stone cathedral, the local council of bishops petitioned the Pope in Rome for permission to build a new cathedral in Salisbury, a much more popular, comfortable and convenient location.  They cited severe weather amongst their reasons for wishing to relocate.

The Pope granted his permission, and the bishops moved to Salisbury Cathedral in 1219.  Old Sarum Cathedral fell into disuse, and the nearby royal castle was finally demolished by King Henry VIII in 1591.

Sarum Missal Remains Popular

Despite the eventual abandonment and demolition of Old Sarum Cathedral, the Sarum Missal or guidebook for the ritual Mass that was practiced at the Old Sarum Cathedral survives and remains popular to this day. 

The Anglo-Catholic Sarum Missal is seen by modern church scholars as a quaint, curious, peculiar and fascinating gem that clearly reflects Catholic practice in Medieval England prior to the Protestant Reformation.

Free ebook copies of the Sarum Missal in several formats may be found at Google Books here and at Archive.org here.

A Wikipedia article on the Sarum Rite summarizes the Missal’s contents and explains the reasons for the continued popularity of the Sarum Rite amongst English-speaking Catholics and church historians.

Nodal Point of 10 Major Ley Lines

Despite the fact that Old Sarum Cathedral no longer exists, the Old Sarum hillsite remains an English Heritage site of great importance to students of British history, astro-archaeology, sacred geometry and ancient pre-Christian religions.  

For example, Stephen Skinner dedicates an entire section to Old Sarum in his 2006 book Sacred Geometry: Deciphering the Code.  Skinner takes pains to distinguish between “unanchored” landscape geometry (fanciful geometry superimposed on landmarks by wishful thinking) and “anchored” landscape geometry. 

The sacred geometry surrounding Old Sarum’s landscape is very well anchored indeed. According to Skinner, the Old Sarum hillsite remains the focal point of “10 main ley lines that fan out over Salisbury Plain connecting it with other prominent sites such as Stonehenge.”

What are ley lines? 

Skinner says “I believe that ley lines are manmade alignments radiating out from major stone circles and earthwork-ringed settlements . . . . The principle purpose of ley lines was to link major sites, such as Old Sarum and Avebury, with other settlements, hillforts, smaller circles and sacred religious sites . . . .  Effectively the leys formed an intricate and sacred geometry – the geometry of individual sites is related to the horizon points that were determined by the rising and setting points of the Moon and the Sun.  This geometry creates the magic that ties together the whole land, under one chief, king or priesthood.  If this sounds too mystical, then add the additional function of allowing rapid military communication along lines of sight using beacons.”

Skinner lists the following ley lines radiating northward from Old Sarum:

Ley 1: Roman Road toward Dunstable Pond

Ley 2: Toward Figsbury Ring

Ley 3: Portway Roman Road toward Quarley Hill (Fort) then Silchester (pre-Roman town)

Ley 4: Toward Sidbury Camp (Iron Age Fort)

Ley 5: Toward Ogbury Camp, Woodhenge, Durrington Walls

Ley 6: Toward Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, Clearbury Ring, Frankenbury Camp

Ley 7: Toward Yarnbury Castle (Iron Age Fort)

Ley 8: Toward Codford Circle, Wilsbury Ring

Ley 9: Toward Grovely Castle

Ley 10: Toward Bilbury Ring

By comparison with Old Sarum, Stonehenge has only two major ley lines, which indicates that Old Sarum was far more important to the sacred geometry of the British landscape than Stonehenge.  The radiance of so many ley lines from the abandoned field upon which Old Sarum Cathedral once stood suggests Old Sarum was the spiritual and administrative center of the ancient megalithic culture that built Stonehenge and Avebury on Salisbury Plain more than 4,000 years ago.

Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire, England

 Above:  The Southwest face of Southwell Minster, the Cathedral and Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The official website, here, provides surprisingly few photos on its home page, but one may find a truly amazing Southwell Minster Virtual Tour at the Panodesign.co.uk website.

For a 360-degree panoramic view of the interior Nave, see  the Aztec 360 Digital Media site here. At the same website, a 360-pano of the Southwell Minster Chapter House may be found here. 

The Wikimapia page for Southwell Minster provides zoom-in zoom-out interaction with links to surrounding attractions, such as the Big Wood, Nottingham City Center and nearby cities: Sheffield, Kingston Upon Hull and Birmingham.


From Wikipedia:

Built between 1208 and 1520, Southwell Minster has its Norman façade intact, except for the insertion of a large window in the Perpendicular Style to give light to the Norman nave. The particular fame of Southwell is its late 13th century chapter house which contains the most famous medieval floral carvings in England, described by Nikolaus Pevsner as “throbbing with life”.

Above: The Southwell Pulpitum, seen from the Quire  (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
Below: The Presepe window

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

St Paul's Cathedral, London, UK - In front of the High Altar and choir stalls in London By Matthew Field

Note: Clicking on the link above takes you to the 360-Cities website, where one may find an interactive map of the St. Paul's Cathedral grounds and even more 360-panoramic views.  For a much more detailed map with zoom-in and zoom-out capabilities, please see the Wikimapia St. Paul's Cathedral Page here.

Above: St. Paul's Cathedral in 1896

The St. Paul's Cathedral's Home Page, here, offers slideshows, videos and cathedral history.

From Wikipedia: 

St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother church of the Diocese of London. The present church dating from the late 17th century was built to an English Baroque design of Sir Christopher Wren, as part of a major rebuilding program which took place in the city after the Great Fire of London, and was completed within his lifetime.

The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren's City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet (111 m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world. In terms of area, St Paul's is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.

 Above: St. Paul's Cathedral survives bombing, 28 December 1940

St Paul's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity of the English population. It is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as postcard images of the dome standing tall, surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz. Important services held at St Paul's include the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, the launch of the Festival of Britain and the thanksgiving services for the Golden Jubilee, the 80th Birthday and the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. St Paul's Cathedral is a busy working church, with hourly prayer and daily services.

Above: Interior view, looking upward at the Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral    Source: Wikimedia Commons


Films and TV programmes featuring St Paul's Cathedral include:

• St Paul's Cathedral has appeared numerous times in Doctor Who, most notably the 1968 episode, The Invasion. In one scene, a group of Cybermen are shown climbing out of some manholes in Central London, before descending a stairway in front of the Cathedral.
• Saint Paul's is seen briefly in the Goodies episode, Kitten Kong. During his rampage through London, Twinkle does damage to various London landmarks, including Saint Paul's Cathedral, which has its dome knocked off when he bursts out of the centre of the famous church.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban shows the Geometric Staircase in the South West Bell Tower.
• The Madness of King George shows the Geometric Staircase in the South West Bell Tower.

Above: The Geometric Staircase at St. Paul's cathedral is the setting for the opening sequence of the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes, and also appears in The Madness of King George

• Mary Poppins shows the front and outside of the Cathedral, though it shows the space from the missing clock, when that was caused by bombing during World War II, 30 years after the film was set.
• Sherlock Holmes (2009) shows the North side of the West Steps, and the Geometric Staircase in the South West Bell Tower.
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962) shows the exterior of the building and T E Lawrence's bust. 

The Spherical Images interactive photography website provides a 360-degree gigpixel pano (15.5 billion pixels) of the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral in "beyond HD" quality, which has been reproduced as an interactive pano in Wired Magazine, but it is very heavy in more ways than one.

Below: The Floor Plan of St. Paul's Cathedral from Picturesque England: Its Landmarks and Historic Haunts by Laura Valentine (1891)