Derby Cathedral

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Derby Cathedral is a cathedral church in the City of Derby, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Derby, and is the smallest cathedral in England.

History

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. The rest of the building was rebuilt in a classical stype to the designs of James Gibbs of 1725.

The building became a cathedral by Royal Charter in 1927, unusual because Derby remained a town at the time. Previously it was known as All Saints' Church.

Trivia

The cathedral contains the oldest ring of ten bells in the United Kingdom. Other treasures include an eighteenth-century nave with a wrought iron 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.

The cathedral tower is 64.8 metres tall, and as such was (until 1927) the second tallest non-cathedral church tower in England after Boston Stump. It is now the third tallest (Anglican) cathedral church tower in England after Liverpool and Canterbury.

In 2005, it was discovered that several Peregrine falcons had taken up residence on the Cathedral Tower. In 2006 a nesting box was installed, and it is believed that the falcons made a nest in this box in April.

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County: Derbyshire

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