Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin,

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which ...

was created in 1914 and is the seat of the

Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is Guli Francis ...

History

Parish church

Chelmsford Cathedral Nave 1, Essex, UK - Diliff

The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

of St Mary the Virgin in Chelmsford was probably first built along with the town around 1200. It was rebuilt in the 15th and early 16th centuries (starting around 1520), with walls of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

rubble, stone and

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. The church has a tower with a spire and a ring of thirteen bells, twelve of which were cast by

John Warner & Sons John Warner and Sons was a metalworks and bellfoundry based in various locations in the UK, established in 1739 and dissolved in 1949. Previous businesses A company was founded by Jacob Warner, a Quaker, in 1739 and originally produced water pu ...

at Cripplegate and were dedicated in 1913. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

partially collapsed in 1800, and was rebuilt by the County architect John Johnson, retaining the Perpendicular design, but using Coade stone piers and tracery, and a plaster ceiling. The upper part of the chancel was rebuilt in 1878.

Cathedral

In 1914 the church became the cathedral for the newly created diocese of Chelmsford. The south porch was extended in 1953 to mark Anglo-American friendship after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the many US airmen stationed in Essex. In 1954, the cathedral was additionally dedicated to Saints Peter and Cedd. In 1983, the interior of the cathedral was extensively refurbished, with a new floor, seating, altar, bishop's throne,

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 mo ...

and artwork. In 1994 and 1995 two

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

s were installed, the first in the nave and the second in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

. The stained-glass windows were all installed in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 2000 a sculpture, ''Christ in Glory'' by

Peter Eugene Ball Peter Eugene Ball (19 March 1943) is an English sculptor. He is best known for his religious work which can be seen in churches and cathedrals throughout Britain. He also produces secular sculpture using predominantly driftwood and found obje ...

, was placed above the chancel arch. In 2004 two further major works of art were commissioned, and are now in place: Mark Cazelet's ''Tree of Life'' painting in the North Transept, and Philip Sanderson's

altar frontal An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'' "to hang before"; pl: ''antependia''), also known as a ''parament'' or ''hanging'', or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium altaris ...

in the Mildmay Chapel. The cathedral celebrates its links with

Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...

, who was Chelmsford Town Lecturer between 1626 and 1629. He fled to the New World because of his

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

views and founded the town of

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

and was one of the founders of American

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

Dean and chapter

As of 8 August 2019: *

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

– Nicholas Henshall (installed 2 February 2014) *Vice Dean & Canon Pastor – Ivor Moody (canon, Vice Dean & Pastor since 17 April 2010 installation) *Canon for Worship & Music (i.e., precentor) and Tutor in Liturgy and Worship,

St Mellitus College St Mellitus College is an English theological college established in 2007 by the Diocese of London and the Diocese of Chelmsford of the Church of England. It has campuses in Earl's Court, Chelmsford, Liverpool and Plymouth, with growing links wit ...

– Alison Kennedy (since 16 September 2018 installation) *Canon for Evangelism & Discipleship (i.e., Missioner) – Imogen Nay (since 16 June 2019 installation)

Music

Chelmsford Cathedral Organ, Essex, UK - Diliff

*The cathedral music department, led by the Organist and Master of the Choristers, includes the Assistant Organist and Director of the Girls' Choir, Organ Scholar, Music and Liturgy Assistant and Choir Matron. *The cathedral choir consists of boys and a combination of school age and postgraduate choral scholars, lay clerks, and volunteer singers. The choir sings the daily choral services and the Eucharist and Evensong on Sundays. *The Cathedral Girls' Choir sings Evensong on Tuesdays and every other Thursday and on a number of Sundays each term; their annual performance of Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols has become a highlight of the Cathedral's preparations for Christmas. *The Voluntary Choir was formed in 2001 and sang at services often during the holiday periods after Christmas, Easter and through the summer; the choir was disbanded in 2017. *The cathedral choir contributed choral passages to "I Believe in You", a track on

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...

's 1988 album ''

Spirit of Eden ''Spirit of Eden'' is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. The songs were written by vocalist Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene and the album was compiled from a lengthy recording ...

''.

Cathedral organs

*The Nave Organ is situated at the west end of the cathedral under the Tower. It is a four-manual instrument with mechanical action built by Mander Organs in 1994. *The Chancel Organ is a two manual mechanical instrument built by Mander Organs in 1995. It incorporates 19th-century pipework by Hill and Holdich and is widely admired for its character and versatility. The Nave Organ's great, swell, solo and pedal divisions can be played via an electric link from the Chancel Organ console. A specification of the organs can be found at th
National Pipe Organ Register

Directors of Music

*182? Charles Ambrose *1876 Frederick Frye *1945 Roland Middleton (later Organist of

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Sa ...

) *1949 Stanley Vann (later Master of the Music at

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...

) *1953 Derrick Edward Cantrell (later Organist of

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the ...

) *1962

Philip Ledger Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge in 1974–1982 and of the Royal Scot ...

(later Director of Music at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

) *1965 John Willam Jordan *1981 Graham Elliott *1999 Peter Nardone (later Organist and Director of Music at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...

) *2012 James Davy ob title changed to Organist and Master of the Choristers in 2013

Assistant Organists

* Geoffrey Becket *1963 John Jordan *1966 Peter Cross *1968 David Sparrow *1986 Timothy Allen *1991 Neil Weston

Assistant Directors of Music

*1999 Edward Wellman *2003 Robert Poyser (later Director of Music at

Beverley Minster Beverley Minster, otherwise known as the Parish Church of Saint John and Saint Martin, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a parish church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest parish churches in the UK, larger than one-thi ...

) *2008 Tom Wilkinson (later Organist at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, Scotland) *2009 Oliver Waterer (later Organist at St. David's Cathedral) *2013 Laurence Lyndon-Jones *2019 Hilary Punnett

Gallery

File:Chelmsford Cathedral Nave Ceiling, Essex, UK - Diliff.jpg, The ceiling of the nave File:Chelmsford Cathedral Chancel Ceiling, Essex, UK - Diliff.jpg, The ceiling of the chancel File:Chelmsford Cathedral Nave 2, Essex, UK - Diliff.jpg, The nave looking towards the west

References

Bibliography

* ''Essex Chronicle'' newspaper article, 14 July 2011, pp. 4–5.

External links

Chelmsford Cathedral website
{{Authority control Churches in Chelmsford (town) Anglican cathedrals in England Grade I listed churches in Essex Grade I listed cathedrals English Gothic architecture in Essex Provosts and Deans of Chelmsford