Lancaster Cathedral
OS Grid ref:- SD 481 615
Lancaster Cathedral, also known as The Cathedral Church of St Peter and Saint Peter's Cathedral, is located in St Peter's Road.
The neo-Gothic building was designed by the Lancaster architect Edward Paley (later of Paley and Austin) and built between 1857 and 1859. This church superseded a Catholic Chapel contained within a late eighteenth-century terrace in Lancaster’s Dalton Square. In 1924 on the creation of the Diocese of Lancaster, the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral.
The interior of the building consists of six-bay north and south arcades, and a west gallery carried on marble piers. Along the sides are chapels and confessionals. The former sanctuary has been converted into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which has painted walls. To the west of the chapel, behind the high altar, is a large reredos designed by Scott; this consists of a triptych containing paintings and carvings.
The baptistry contains a central marble font, an altar with a reredos, and stained glass windows by Shrigley and Hunt. There is more stained glass by the same firm elsewhere in the cathedral, and other windows are by Hardman.
The original organ in St Peter's was moved from the mission church in Dalton Square, this was replaced in 1889 by a new three-manual organ by Henry Ainscough of Preston. The ring consists of ten bells. Eight of these were cast in 1879 by John Warner and Sons, the other two in 1848 by Mears and Stainbank at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
Directions
From the north:- exit the M6 at Junction 34, follow the signs for city centre and look out for brown tourist signs marked ‘Cathedral’.
From the south:- exit the M6 at Junction 33. Follow signs for Lancaster and then city centre. Once on the one-way system keep right and look out for brown tourist signs marked ‘Cathedral’.