Norwich Cathedral | |
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Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity | |
Spire and south transept viewed from the cloisters
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Coordinates: 52°37′55″N 1°18′04″E / 52.631944°N 1.301111°E | |
Location | Norwich, Norfolk |
Country | England |
Denomination | Church of England |
Website | www |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed building |
Designated | 26 February 1954 |
Style | Norman, Gothic |
Years built | 1096–(1121-1145) |
Specifications | |
Length | 140 metres (460 ft) |
Number of spires | 1 |
Spire height | 96 metres (315 ft) |
Administration | |
Diocese | Norwich (since 1094) |
Province | Canterbury |
Clergy | |
Dean | Jane Hedges |
Precentor | Aidan Platten |
Canon(s) | Andrew Bryant, Canon Pastor Peter Doll, Canon Librarian |
Laity | |
Director of music | Ashley Grote |
Organist(s) | David Dunnett |
Norwich Cathedral is an English cathedral located in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites.
The cathedral was begun in 1096 and constructed out of flint and mortar and faced with a cream-coloured Caen limestone. A Saxon settlement and two churches were demolished to make room for the buildings. The cathedral was completed in 1145 with the Norman tower still seen today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead. Several episodes of damage necessitated rebuilding of the east end and spire but since the final erection of the stone spire in 1480 there have been few fundamental alterations to the fabric.
The large cloister has over 1,000 bosses including several hundred carved and ornately painted ones.
Norwich Cathedral has the second largest cloisters in England, only exceeded by those at Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral close is one of the largest in England and one of the largest in Europe and has more people living within it than any other close. The cathedral spire, measuring at 315 ft or 96 m, is the second tallest in England despite being partly rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1169, just 23 months after its completion, which led to the building being set on fire. Measuring 461 ft or 140.5 m long and, with the transepts, 177 ft or 54 m wide at completion, Norwich Cathedral was the largest building in East Anglia.
In 672 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus divided East Anglia into two dioceses, one covering Norfolk, with its see at Elmham, the other, covering Suffolk with its see at Dunwich. During much of the 9th century, because of the Danish incursions, there was no bishop at Elmham; in addition the see of Dunwich was extinguished and East Anglia became a single diocese once more. Following the Norman Conquest many sees were moved to more secure urban centres, that of Elmham being transferred to Thetford in 1072, and finally to Norwich in 1094. The new cathedral incorporated a monastery of Benedictine monks.