ST ANNE’S CATHEDRAL
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND EPISCOPAL
PAUL SCOTT
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. St Anne’s Episcopal Cathedral is a short walk north of the city centre, and is definitely worth a visit.
I have never been to Belfast so this website has only been made possible by the generous contributions of various photographers, and to these I express my gratitude. In fact, judging by the large number of available photographs, this Cathedral seems to a be a popular destination, visited by many.
As is often the case with these websites, I have had problems acknowledging copyright. For some photos, individual links are provided in the text. Most of the excellent window photos are from Gloine, denoted by Gl. In other cases, photographs occur in groups for which individually acknowledgement is either difficult or impossible. Here, most photos come from the Google Street View archive [GSV], and Wikimedia [Wiki], acknowledged here in the text by the photographer’s name. Further details about our contributors are given in the Conclusion. If my use of a photograph and its accreditation cause any concern, I am happy to be contacted at paulscott.info@me.com. It is my hope that contributors will be pleased to help provide the enjoyment of a visit to this interesting Cathedral.
A satellite view, plan and brief history of this Cathedral are given below.
The following set of links is provided to help with quick access around the Cathedral. A click / tap on a link will take you to the named destination.
SATELLITE VIEW
The satellite view shows that St Anne’s Cathedral sits on a paved island surrounded closely by Donegall Street, Academy Street, Exchange Street West, and Talbot Street. Some relief is provided by the grassy Cathedral Gardens (Buoys Park) to the north and tree-lined Writer’s Square to the west. The zone around the Cathedral is known as the Cathedral Quarter.
We see from the satellite view that the main axis of the Cathedral is roughly southwest to northeast in direction, with the sanctuary / apse to the northeast. We shall use liturgical directions here, placing the axis in a West – East direction (using capital letters), and other directions accordingly. The Cathedral has a fairly traditional design, being cruciform in shape with North and South transepts crossing the main axis beneath a square tower on which is mounted a rather unorthodox spire. The nave has covered aisles, and there is an apse to the East with a surrounding ambulatory. A chapel is attached at the Northwest corner, and a round baptistry to the Southwest. South of the apse is a link to a Cathedral hall, offices and private rooms.
PLAN
The Cathedral plan is fairly self-explanatory. We note the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at top left, and the Unity Chapel beneath the organ in the South transept. A Military Chapel is located in the North transept. We shall find that the Choir occupies the crossing.
In our exploration we shall start at the West face and walk around the outside of the Cathedral in a clockwise direction. We then enter through the West door, investigating the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, nave and baptistry, before progressing to the transepts, ambulatory, Unity Chapel, choir, chancel and sanctuary.
Like every cathedral, St Anne’s contains some unique and interesting features.
HISTORY
Years Built: 1899 – 1904; 1922 –2007
Address: Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2HB United Kingdom
Belfast Cathedral, also known as St Anne’s Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral in Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is unusual in serving two separate dioceses (Connor and Down and Dromore). It is the focal point of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.
The first architect was Sir Thomas Drew, the foundation stone being laid on 6 September 1899 by the Countess of Shaftesbury. The old parish church of St Anne by Francis Hiorne of 1776 had continued in use up until 31 December 1903, while the new cathedral was constructed around it; the old church was then demolished. The Good Samaritan window, to be seen in the sanctuary, is the only feature of the old church to be retained in the cathedral. Initially, only the nave of the cathedral was built, and this was consecrated on 2 June 1904.
In 1924 it was decided to build the West front of the cathedral as a memorial to the Ulster men and women who had served and died in the Great War. The foundation stone for this was laid by the 3rd Duke of Abercorn, Governor of Northern Ireland, on 2 June 1925 and the completed façade, to an amended design by the architect Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, was dedicated in June 1927.
In the meantime, the central crossing, in which the choir sits, was built between 1922 and 1924. The Baptistery, to plans drawn up by the late W.H. Lynn, who had assisted Sir Thomas Drew, was dedicated in 1928, and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, with its beautiful mosaics depicting Saint Patrick, was dedicated on 5 July 1932, the 1500th anniversary of the arrival of St Patrick in Ireland.
Edward, Lord Carson, the leader of the Unionist cause at the time of the Home Rule Crisis, was buried (with a state funeral) in the South aisle of the cathedral in 1935. In 1941 the cathedral was almost destroyed by a German bomb, which caused extensive damage to surrounding properties. In 1955 work began on the construction of the ambulatory, at the East end of the cathedral. This work was dedicated in 1959, but it was not for another ten years that it was possible to begin work on the North and South transepts. The Troubles and inflation led to long delays and major problems with the financing of this work.
The South transept, containing the Chapel of Unity, and with the organ loft above, was dedicated in 1974, and the North transept, with the large Celtic cross designed by John MacGeagh on the exterior, and housing the Chapel of the Royal Irish Rifles, was completed in 1981.
In April 2007 a 40-metre stainless steel spire was installed on top of the cathedral. Named the ‘Spire of Hope’, the structure is illuminated at night and is part of a wider redevelopment planned for the Cathedral Quarter. The base section of the spire protrudes through a glass platform in the cathedral’s roof directly above the choir stalls, allowing visitors to view it from the nave.
