Manchester Cathedral

I have been to the Manchester Cathedral thrice since I have moved here. For the first few weeks of my stay in the city, the Cathedral was just a beautiful place which I used to pass by on my way to College. I first saw the Cathedral up close on a Historic Tour organised by my college. I did not get a chance to go inside, but I made up my mind to come back on a later date. Very soon I came back with two of my other friends to have a look at this landmark and heritage of Manchester.

On December 22nd 1940 Manchester Cathedral suffered the worst wartime damages of any UK cathedral after Coventry. The Fire Window marks where the bomb fell.

The bombing of the Cathedral happened years ago and since then it has been restored many times. But the uniqueness of the restoration is that the interiors are Gothic as they were originally built but the outside and most restored areas are of Victorian architecture. Thus, you can see both types of architecture in this Cathedral.

Here are some photos from the Cathedral that I took.

This is the Tower of the Cathedral complete with a customary clock and flag , as seen from outside.

On entering the Cathedral from the Southern Gate, you would find these pretty angels praying on a beautiful pedestal in front of a painted glass window. (I will be honest it took me at least fifteen minutes to capture this photograph)

This is another version of the praying angels which I managed to capture from the other side. It shows the vastness of the interiors of the Cathedral in the background. The chairs arranged were for a mass which was to take place in the afternoon.

The Cathedral hosts lots of events. The screen here was for a movie screening.  It was the anniversary of Back to the Future Series and they held a special screening of the movie in the Cathedral. Though it is one of my favourite movies, I did not stay to watch it.

Screen (or Pulpitum ), A fine example of Medieval oak carving. Look for the carved faces on the doors. As you will see, the screen separates the Nave from the Quire.

On entering inside the Pulpitum, the sight that greets you is this one. Seating arrangements are made on either side of the aisle, some even have the names of the counties for whom seats are reserved. The High Altar is present at the end of the aisle. There are seats for members of the Cathedral and guests to come in and attend the mass. Table Lamps and copies of the bible are kept on each desk to make it easier for the people to follow the mass. Two gates at the end of the aisle leads you to two different chapels.

Don’t know why these candles were not lit up but I liked the feel of it and that is why captured them.

The Statue of Sir Humphrey Chetham (1853). In the 17th century Sir Humphrey Chetham left money to a school for boys. This is now the site of the historic Chetham’s Library and the School of Music where our choristers are educated.

This is the same Chetham’s Library where Karl Marx was known to have held secret meetings in order to propagandise his beliefs.

This was in front of the Lady Chapel.

This photo was taken near the seat of the Bishop of Manchester.

Entry to the Manchester Cathedral is completely free and it is open on all days of the week. The Cathedral mostly survives on donations and collections collected by the institution. I personally love the wide range of postcards available. It is an unsaid request to donate whatever one can in order to keep the Cathedral running smoothly. It also organises various competitions thorugh its online website. There are also regular updates about the programmes and mass that it holds.

Here is the link to the website: http://www.manchestercathedral.org/

Address: Manchester Cathedral, Victoria Street, Manchester M3 1SX.

Thus if you visit Manchester, visiting this Cathedral is a must.