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09 November 2011

Cathedrals

St Philip's Cathedral

St Philips Cathedral was originally a church for the more well to do who did not wish to negotiate their way through the busy market area to get to church. Although consecrated as a church in 1715, St. Philip's became a cathedral in 1905. The designer or architect, Thomas Archer, used baroque styling and ornate stone carving and crowned the cathedral with a tower formed of four concave sides.

The Anglican cathedral is small by city standards and miniscule in comparison with the great shire cathedrals such as Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford. It does however have its own individual character. The windows are by Burne-Jones of Birmingham and are excellent examples of pre-Raphaelite Art. The cathedral is the smallest of the English cathedrals. It is built of brick and faced with stone like the town hall

St Chad's Cathedral

One of the finest neo-gothic church buildings in England, built to the design of Augustus Welby Pugin and opened in 1841. Much of the work is by Hardman & Co. The mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, it contains some splendid 19th century stained glass made by Hardmans, a 16th century Flemish pulpit, and a late medieval statue of the Virgin Mary, as well as one of the largest new manual organs in the UK, built by Walkers & Co in 1993.

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(Apologies for the grey text filler. The items were copied from an old post and I was unable to remove it. Also apologies for mistakenly pressing Publish instead of Save, causing at least two friends to see this before they should.... if you know what I mean.)

8 comments:

  1. Great shot, Valerie!

    And I LOVED reading about the history of this cathedral!!

    It's funny, because even though I am not of any one particular religious belief, I adore visiting churchs/cathedrals. There is something sacred and lovely in ALL of them.

    Thanks for sharing, dear lady!

    Hope you're having a smashing Wednesday!

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  2. Good morning Valerie,

    Very lovely. I always try and visit at least one place of worship when I travel.They attract both me for many reasons, including for photography!

    My thing is to also to sit and spend a few quiet moments during a visit.

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  3. I had to Google the two cathedrals to recognise where they were. Despite its city status one doesn't immediately conjure up thoughts of grand cathedrals when you think of our second city. But they are splendid buildings - thanks for bringing them to my attention.

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  4. Ron, you are right. Whatever religious belief churches are lovely places to visit.

    Hi Barb, at home and abroad we always take delight in visiting places of worship.

    Alan, I have often got the impression that you don't much care for my hometown. We have many wonderful and historic buildings to boast about in our fine upstanding and newly modernised city.

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  5. That Cathedral is just gorgeous! Very Regal.

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  6. I also love to visit cathedrals, churches and places of worship Valerie. And although I am not too religious I still find them a nice place to escape from the hustle and bustle of the world around us. Plus their architecture is always interesting and inspiring!

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  7. I love architecture. The wife and I went to London for our honeymoon and we were blown away by the amazing buildings and the rich history. We really don't have that sort of thing here in America. I can't wait to go back and revisit London someday!

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  8. I am such a history hound for this kind of information. Cathedrals always fascinate me. Thanks Val.

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