Cathedral

The history of Britain and the aspirations of her Christian communities can be traced in the glorious excesses of the cathedrals. From Norman grandeur to the modern interpretations found in Liverpool and Coventry, explore the changing styles of the cathedrals in our midst.

As the first Gothic cathedral to be built in Britain, Canterbury was at the forefront of an architectural revolution. But the building we know today has its origins in the most famous murder of the medieval age – that of Thomas Becket in December 1170.

St. Giles’ in Edinburgh is among our most modest cathedrals, yet became the symbolic heart of Scottish Christianity. When Charles I tried to change the way Scots worshipped and turn the church into a cathedral, he was playing with fire. Here, the building’s unsettled history is brought to life.

In the early 19th century the grand architecture of York Minster was an enigma. But then in 1829 “the voice of God” drove Jonathan Martin to burn the cathedral down. While locals became obsessed with finding and punishing the perpetrator, architect John Browne became equally enthralled by the secrets the decimated structure began to reveal.

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