GP
ST GERMAN’S CATHEDRAL
PEEL, ISLE OF MAN CHURCH OF ENGLAND
PAUL SCOTT
Having created websites for a great many cathedrals around the British Isles, my attention turns to the Isle of Man. Are there cathedrals here? There are! And one of these is St German’s Cathedral in the town of Peel.
Unfortunately I have never visited the Isle of Man, so none of the photographs used here are mine.
There are two main sources. One is Gill Poole [GP] who has an excellent collection of photographs of this Cathedral and its lovely windows. I have requested Gill’s permission to use her photos. Her photos are all labelled GP, and more details are given in the Conclusion.
The other main source is the Google Street View’s photographic collection [GSV]. Photos from this source are labelled GSV in the text, along with the photographer’s name. Further contact details for these photographers are not given, so I am hoping that these photographers will be happy to have their acknowledged work used on this site, so that many viewers can enjoy the Cathedral. Again, further details are given in The Conclusion. If there is any problem, please contact me at paulscott.info@me.com .
A brief history of this Cathedral is given below. The following list of links allows easy access to different points within the tour which follows. A click / tap on a link will take you to the referenced location.
SATELLITE VIEWS
The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland.
Peel is a small fishing port on the western coast of the island. It has very interesting geography, being built right by an island, St Patrick’s Isle, on which there is a ruined castle. Peel has attempted to apply for official city status, due to the presence of the Cathedral, but officially Peel is a town. In 2021 the population of Peel was 5,710.
The map shows several Peel references on the English mainland. The likely explanation is that the word ‘peel’ is Celtic for fortification.
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The lower maps are of Peel itself. The Castle and the Cathedral are of particular interest to us.
The close-up view of the Cathedral shows that it is located in the middle of a large planted area known as the Cathedral Gardens. There is a plan to develop a series of seventeen conceptual gardens within the grounds. More about this can be found here.
We notice that the axis of the Cathedral is just a little off east-west, with the sanctuary at the eastern end. On this site we use liturgical directions, using East (with a capital E) for the direction of the sanctuary, and other directions accordingly. This will not cause any problems here.
PLAN
The Cathedral plan shows the general outline of the Cathedral. In our exploration of the interior, we begin at the entrance, explore the nave, followed in turn by the crossing, transepts and chancel. There are vestry areas to the North and South of the chancel, with no public access.
Below is an Isle of Mann Government plan showing the setting ot the Cathedral. It is a little misleading: for example the War Memorial cross to the West of the Cathedral stands in the middle of a large circular lawn.
HISTORY
Years Built: 1240 – 1400 ; 1879 – 1884
Address: Derby Road, Peel, Isle of Man 1M5 1HH
The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral, renamed Cathedral Isle of Man, is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is also one of the parish churches in the parish of the West Coast, which includes the town of Peel. Built in 1879–84, it was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980.
It is the cathedral church of the Church of England Diocese of Sodor and Man.
The original cathedral of the Diocese of the Isles is on St Patrick’s Isle.
The patron of the cathedral, St German of Man (not to be confused with Germanus of Auxerre), was a Celtic missionary and holy man who lived from about 410 to 474. St German’s Day is celebrated each year on 13 July.
The original cathedral of St German was inside the walls of Peel Castle and was built some time in the 12th century when St Patrick’s Isle was in the possession of Norse kings. At that time the church followed the Sarum Rite, prevalent throughout much of the British Isles. Around 1333 the Lords of Man refortified St Patrick’s Isle and occupied the church as a fortress. In 1392 William Le Scroop repaired the cathedral.
The building fell into ruin in the 18th century. After a considerable period of debate over who owned the ruins and site, it was decided not to rebuild that cathedral. The present building was constructed in 1879–84 to replace St Peter’s Church in Peel’s market place. Although the building of the New Church was intended to become the diocesan cathedral, Bishop Rowley Hill’s Cathedral Bill didn’t make its final reading in Tynwald before he died. His successor abandoned the proposed Bill.
In 1895, Bishop Straton consecrated his chapel at Bishopscourt, his official residence, as a pro-cathedral and instituted a chapter of canons with himself as dean; by 1960, St Nicholas’ Chapel was still a pro-cathedral (or ‘Cathedral Chapel’). Bishopscourt’s sale in 1979 left the diocese without a cathedral, and forced the issue of choosing a new cathedral; after public consultation, Kirk German Parish Church was so designated, and officially made the cathedral in a service on All Saints’ Day (1 November 1980). The arrangement (bishop as dean) persisted even after the consecration of the new cathedral. The bishop was later described by John Betjeman as ‘that luckless Bishop whose cathedral is a beautiful ruin of green slate and red sandstone on an islet overlooking Peel’.
The cathedral has a dean and chapter. Until 15 October 2011, the Bishop of Sodor and Man was dean ex officio, but on that date the vicar of the parish became dean ex officio; this is thought to have been the historical arrangement from the 12th century until the late 19th century. The chapter consists of the Archdeacon of Man ex officio and four canons who are all parochial clergy in the diocese.
St German’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Sodor and Man, which today consists of only the Isle of Man.
In July 2015, Anne, Princess Royal, attended a thanksgiving service at Peel Cathedral as patron of the development campaign; the service also marked the rebranding of Peel Cathedral as ‘Cathedral Isle of Man’.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_Cathedral
