St. Edmundsbury Cathedral

Infobox UK cathedral
building_name =St Edmundsbury Cathedral
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caption =Cathedral from the east
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location =Bury St. Edmunds
full_name =Cathedral Church of St. Edmund
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county =Suffolk
country =England
ecclesiastical =yes
denomination =Church of England
tradition =Liberal Catholic
province =Canterbury
diocese =St Edmundsbury & Ipswich
bishop =Right Reverend Nigel Stock
dean =Very Reverend Neil Collings
precentor =Reverend Canon Michael Hampel
canons =
archdeacon =
other =Reverend Canon Christopher Burdon (theologian)
Reverend Canon Peter Barham (pastor)
director_music =Mr James Thomas
organist =
website = [http://www.stedscathedral.co.uk www.stedscathedral.co.uk]
building =yes
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architecture_style =Gothic (and Gothic revival)
became_cathedral =1914
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year_built =1503-2005
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St Edmundsbury Cathedral is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in Bury St Edmunds.

History

A church has stood on the site of the cathedral since at least 1065, when St Denis's Church was built within the precincts of Bury St. Edmunds Abbey.cite web|url=http://www.stedscathedral.co.uk/830.htm |title= History - Building The Church|accessdate= 2008-03-10|publisher= St Edmundsbury Cathedral] In the early 12th century the then Abbot, Anselm, tried to make a pilgrimage along the Way of St. James to Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. He was unsuccessful, so instead rebuilt St Denis's and dedicated the new church to Saint James, which served as the parish church for the north side of Bury St Edmunds.

This church was largely rebuilt, starting in 1503, with more alterations in the 18th and 19th centuries. When the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich was created in 1914, St James Church was made the cathedral. In 1959 Benjamin Britten wrote the Fanfare for St Edmundsbury for a "Pageant of Magna Carta" held in the cathedral grounds.

From 1960 onwards, there was renewed building work designed to transform the parish church into a cathedral building, with the rebuilding of the chancel and the creation of transepts and side chapels. The architect for this work was Stephen Dykes Bower. In the cathedral grounds a new choir school and visitor's centre were built which were opened in 1990. Most recently, a Gothic revival tower was built between 2000 and 2005.

Organ and Organists

Organ

[http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=A00956 Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register]

Organists

* 1896 C.H.J.Shann
* 1937 Edwin Percy Hallam
* 1958 Harrison Oxley
* 1985 Paul Trepte
* 1990 Mark Blatchly
* 1993 Mervyn Cousins
* 1997 James Thomas

See also

*List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.stedscathedral.co.uk/ Official site]
* [http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=Bury+St+Edmunds+Cathedral&m=text Flickr images tagged Bury St Edmunds Cathedral]
*IoE|466649