Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities ...

es serving

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

, near the city of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, ...

, in central

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-standing, with an upper part added in the 15th century. Most of the rest of the building is Gothic, from the 13th century. The building was restored by Rowand Anderson from 1889 to 1893.

History

The church is dedicated to the 6th century saint, St Blane, and this gives its name to the settlement: dunblane meaning hill of St Blane. The church also had an altar to St Laurence. The oldest surviving part of the church is the lower four storeys of the tower which date from around 1100AD. The upper two storeys of the tower date from around 1500. The cathedral was once the seat of the bishops of Dunblane (also sometimes called 'of

Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (, from gd, Srath Èireann) is the strath of the River Earn, in Scotland, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east.http://www.strathearn.com/st_where.htm Derivation of name Strathearn was o ...

'), until the abolition of

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

in 1689. There are remains of the vaults of the episcopal palace to the south of the cathedral. Technically, it is no longer a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

, as there are no bishops in the Church of Scotland, which is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

denomination. After the abolition of prelacy, the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

became the parish church but the nave fell out of use, and its roof had fallen in by about 1600. It contains the graves of Margaret Drummond of

Stobhall Stobhall (or Stobhall Castle) is a country house and estate in Perthshire in Scotland, from Perth. The 17th-century dower house and several other buildings are Category A-listed with Historic Environment Scotland. The lands at Stobhall have b ...

, a mistress of King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

and her two sisters, all said to have been poisoned. Unusually, the building is owned by

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, and is looked after by

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

rather than the church governance; there is no entrance charge. The building is largely 13th century in date, though it incorporates an originally freestanding bell-tower (like the example at

Muthill Muthill, pronounced , is a village in Perth and Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland. The name derives from scottish gaelic Maothail meaning “soft-ground”. The village lies south of Crieff, just west of the former railway line connecting Crieff ...

) of 11th century date on its south side. This tower was increased in height in the 15th century, a change clearly visible in the colour of the stonework, and in the late Gothic style of the upper storey's windows. The choir dates from the 13th century and has a long vaulted chamber which served as

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

and

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locat ...

on its north side. The choir contains the mural tomb of the cathedral's founder, Bishop Clement. Many of the 15th century choir stalls, which have carved

misericord A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...

s (including one with an unusual depiction of a bat) are preserved within the choir. Further, more elaborate, canopied stalls are preserved at the west end of the nave. Dunblane has the largest surviving collection of medieval Scottish ecclesiastical woodwork after King's College Chapel, Aberdeen. Some detached fragments are displayed in the town's museum. The cathedral was restored in the late 19th century under the control of Rev Alexander Ritchie DD, who commissioned architect

Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his m ...

to oversee the works, with these works completed by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Goth ...

in 1912.

Stained Glass

*West window -

Tree of Jesse The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, shown in a branching tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David. It is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a ge ...

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832� ...

placed 1906 by Robert Younger, Baron Blanesburgh *Baptismal window (over

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

)

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in the

River Jordan The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

, by

Douglas Strachan Douglas Strachan (26 May 1875, Aberdeen, Scotland – 20 November 1950) is considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th century. He is best known for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherl ...

1926 *Window over south-west door,

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

and Hope by Louis Davis 1915 in memory of Col. J Boyd Wilson, a church elder *The Barty window, the Song of Solomon by Louis Davis erected 1917 *The Apostles (south-east corner) in memory of Mr and Mrs Wallace of Glassingall *John the Baptist and the Good Shepherd (south-east corner) in memory of Rev Dr Henry M Hamilton c.1905 *Main East Window (choir), the Life of Christ by

Charles Eamer Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lich ...

1901 in memory of John Alexander Hay *South window (choir) Three Holy Children from the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ( ...

by Louis Davis presented by Robert Younger, Baron Blanesburgh *Allegory window (choir), four angels, four directions *Chaos window (choir), a curiosity representing Scott's tragic journey to the South Pole and naming the five men killed *The Earth window (choir) *The Humanity window (choir)

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

with

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl ...

*Memorial window (Lady Chapel) St Blane and a Crusader, Bishop Maurice and a WWI soldier, by

c, 1922 *

The Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

(Lady Chapel) by

c.1922 *The Healing of the Sick (Lady Chapel) by

c.1922 *The Transfiguration (Lady Chapel) by Gordon Webster c.1922 *Christ justifying harvesting on the Sabbath (Lady Chapel) by Gordon Webster *Christ on the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest f ...

(Lady Chapel) by Gordon Webster *Ruskin window (over west door) only visible from outside

Burials

Preserved within the arcaded nave are two early Christian stones, a cross-slab and a possible architectural frieze, survivals from an early medieval church on the same site, founded by or dedicated to the 'Blane' whose name is commemorated in the name of the town. Dunblane Cathedral churchyard contains two

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, including that of William Stirling, a gunner in the

Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

during World War I.

Monuments of interest

*Bishop Clement of Dunblane (d.1258) *

Malise II, Earl of Strathearn Máel Ísu or Malise II (Modern Gaelic: ''Maol Íosa''; died 1271) is the fifth known mormaer, or earl, of the Scottish region of Strathearn. He was the son of Robert, 4th Earl of Strathearn. Biography Malise first appears on record in 1244, whe ...

(d.1271) * The Three Drummond Sisters, poisoned, 16th century * Rev James Finlayson DD (1758-1808) * Sir David Russell (1809-1884) *

James Stirling (mathematician) James Stirling (11 May O.S. 1692, Garden, Stirlingshire – 5 December 1770, Edinburgh) was a Scottish mathematician. He was nicknamed "The Venetian". The Stirling numbers, Stirling permutations, and Stirling's approximation are named after h ...

(1690-1770) and the Stirlings of Garden *John Stirling of Kippendavie (d.1812) by Peter Turnerelli *

Jane Stirling Jean ("Jane") Wilhelmina Stirling (15 July 1804 – 6 February 1859) was a Scottish amateur pianist who is best known as a student and later friend of Frédéric Chopin, who dedicated Nocturnes, Op. 55 to her. She took him on a tour of England a ...

(1804-1859) daughter of the above

Dunblane Commemoration

In the nave of the cathedral is a

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

by the monumental sculptor

Richard Kindersley Richard Kindersley is a British typeface designer, stone letter carver and sculptor. Career Kindersley studied lettering and sculpture at Cambridge School of Art and in the workshop of his father David Kindersley, who was also a noted sto ...

which commemorates the events of 13 March 1996 – the

Dunblane Massacre The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, and injured 15 others, before killing himself. It remains the deadlies ...

. The quotations on the stone are by E. V. Rieu ("He called a little child to him..."),

Richard Henry Stoddard Richard Henry Stoddard (July 2, 1825May 12, 1903) was an American critic and poet. Biography Richard Henry Stoddard was born on July 2, 1825, in Hingham, Massachusetts. His father, a sea-captain, was wrecked and lost on one of his voyages while R ...

("...the spirit of a little child"),

Bayard Taylor Bayard Taylor (January 11, 1825December 19, 1878) was an American poet, literary critic, translator, travel author, and diplomat. As a poet, he was very popular, with a crowd of more than 4,000 attending a poetry reading once, which was a record ...

("But still I dream that somewhere there must be The spirit of a child that waits for me") and

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

("We are linked as children in a circle dancing").

Other churches in Dunblane

Dunblane Cathedral is one of at least seven churches in the town. The others are St Blane's (another Church of Scotland congregation, named after the town's founder), St Mary's (a

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

congregation), the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...

, the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

Meeting House, the (independent Evangelical) Dunblane Christian Fellowship, and the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

parish dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

; unusually, this Orthodox community is

Old Calendarist Old Calendarists (Greek: ''palaioimerologitai'' or ''palaioimerologites''), also known as Old Feasters (''palaioeortologitai''), Genuine Orthodox Christians or True Orthodox Christians (GOC; ), are traditionalist groups of Eastern Orthodox Chri ...

and thus comes directly under the authority of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

rather than the nearest Orthodox bishop.

Gallery

File:Dunblane Cathedral interior 2017.jpg, The nave looking east. File:Scotia Depicta - Dunblane Cathedral -Plate-.jpg, Etching of Dunblane Cathedral by

James Fittler James Fittler (October 1758, in London – 2 December 1835) was an English engraver of portraits and landscapes and an illustrator of books. He was appointed by King George III to be his marine engraver. Life Fittler was born in London in Octo ...

in Scotia Depicta File:Dunblane Standing Stone.jpg, The Dunblane Commemoration standing stone File:Dunblane Cathedral (BM 1863,0214.1514).jpg, A mid-19th-century

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German au ...

of the cathedral

Notable people and events

;Ministers and clergy * Michael Potter (minister) 1692 * The Very Rev James Cockburn,

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Asse ...

(1941–42) *The Very Rev John Rodger Gray, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (1977–78) (father of James Gray MP) ;Burials * Malise II,

Mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental ...

of Strathearn * Margaret Drummond, mistress of

* James Finlayson, Church of Scotland minister and writer *

, pianist ;Weddings *In April 2015, tennis player and Dunblane native

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...

returned to his hometown to marry his long-term partner Kim Sears in a private service at the cathedral.

References

External links

Dunblane Cathedral
* *
Dunblane Cathedral Arts Guild
*Engraving o
Dunblane Cathedral
by

in the digitised copy o
Scotia Depicta, or the antiquities, castles, public buildings, noblemen and gentlemen's seats, cities, towns and picturesque scenery of Scotland
1804 at

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in th ...

Engraving of Dunblane Cathedral in 1693
by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunblane Category A listed buildings in Stirling (council area) Churches in Stirling (council area) Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Stirling Cathedrals of the Church of Scotland Listed cathedrals in Scotland Medieval cathedrals in Scotland Protestant churches converted from Roman Catholicism Culdees Romanesque architecture in Scotland Gothic architecture in Scotland Listed buildings in Dunblane