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Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

 
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

 
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Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
 
 
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Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
 of the diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford

The Diocese of Oxford forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England....
, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury. It is also, uniquely, the chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
 of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
, the largest college of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
.

cathedral was originally the church of St Frideswide's Priory. The site is claimed to be the location of the abbey and relics of St Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, although this is debatable.

In 1522, the priory was surrendered to Cardinal Wolsey, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college.






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Encyclopedia


Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
 of the diocese of Oxford
Diocese of Oxford

The Diocese of Oxford forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England....
, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury. It is also, uniquely, the chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
 of Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
, the largest college of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
.

History

The cathedral was originally the church of St Frideswide's Priory. The site is claimed to be the location of the abbey and relics of St Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, although this is debatable.

In 1522, the priory was surrendered to Cardinal Wolsey, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college. However, in 1529 the foundation was taken over by King Henry VIII. Work stopped, but in June 1532 the college was refounded by the King. In 1546, Henry VIII transferred to it from Oseney to the see of Oxford. The cathedral has the name of Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis, given to it by King Henry VIII's foundation charter.

There has been a choir at the cathedral since 1526, when John Taverner
John Taverner

John Taverner was an England composer and organist, regarded as the most important English composer of his era....
 was the organist and also master of the choristers. The statutes of Cardinal Wolsey's original college, initially called Cardinal College, mentioned sixteen choristers and thirty singing priests.

Christ Church Cathedral is often claimed to be the smallest cathedral in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, and although it did once hold this distinction there are now smaller cathedrals, as several parish churches were elevated to cathedral status in the 20th century.

The nave, choir, main tower and transepts are of the late Norman
Norman architecture

The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries....
 period. There are architectural features ranging from Norman to the Perpendicular style and a large rose window of the ten-part (i.e. botanical) type.

Famous burials

Sir Henry Gage
Henry Gage (soldier)

Sir Henry Gage was born at Haling, in Surrey, the son of the baronet John Gage and Elizabeth Wilford. The family were Catholic and long intermarried with other prominent Catholic families, including that of Sir Thomas More, the former Lord Chancellor....
 (1597–1645) is buried in the Lucy Chapel off the south transept, and the philosopher Bishop George Berkeley
George Berkeley

George Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an Irish people philosopher. His primary philosophical achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism" ....
 and John Urry
John Urry (literary editor)

John Urry was a noted literary editor and medieval scholar of Scottish family....
 are also buried in the cathedral (Berkeley's memorial is in the nave).

Organ

The organ
Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a keyboard musical instrument that produces sound by venting mechanically compressed air through resonant Organ pipe. Each pipe produces sound at one fixed pitch, so they are provided in sets or "ranks" with one pipe or more per note, each rank having a common timbre and loudness throughout....
 is a 43-rank, four-manual
Manual (music)

A manual is a musical keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the Pedal clavier, which is a keyboard that the organist plays with his or her feet....
 and pedal instrument built in 1979 by Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
n firm Rieger Orgelbau
Rieger Orgelbau

Rieger Orgelbau is an Austrian firm of pipe organ builders, known generally as Rieger. The firm was founded by Franz Rieger. From 1873 it was known as Rieger & S?hne, and from 1879 as Gebr?der Rieger, after his sons took over....
. A specification of the organ can be found on the .

List of organists

  • 1530 - ???? John Taverner
    John Taverner

    John Taverner was an England composer and organist, regarded as the most important English composer of his era....
  • 1564 - ???? Bartholomew Lant
  • 1611 - 1613 Matthew White
  • ???? - 1630 William Stonard
  • 1630 - 1682 Edward Lowe
  • 1682 - 1690 William Husbands
  • 1690 - 1691 Charles Husbands
  • 1691 - 1718 Richard Goodson (snr)
  • 1718 - 1741 Richard Goodson (jnr)
  • 1741 - 1776 Richard Church
  • 1776 - 1790 Thomas Norris
  • 1790 - 1807 William Crotch
    William Crotch

    William Crotch was an England composer, organ and artist.Born in Norwich to a master carpenter he showed early musical talent . The three and a half year old Master William Crotch was taken to London by his ambitious mother, where he not only played on the organ of the Chapel Royal in St....
  • 1807 - 1825 William Cross
  • 1825 - 1846 William Marshall
  • 1846 - 1882 Charles William Corfe
  • 1882 - 1892 Charles Harford Lloyd
  • 1892 - 1909 Basil Harwood
    Basil Harwood

    Basil Harwood was an England organ and composer....
     
  • 1909 - 1926 Henry George Ley
  • 1926 - 1928 Noel Edward Ponsonby
  • 1929 - 1932 William Henry Harris
    William Henry Harris

    Sir William Henry Harris was an England organ and composer, affectionately nicknamed 'Doc H' by his choristers.Harris was born in Fulham, London and died in Petersfield, Hampshire....
  • 1933 - 1955 Thomas Armstrong
    Thomas Armstrong

    Sir Thomas Armstrong was an English people organist, conducting, educationalist and adjudicator. He had a substantial influence on British music for well over half a century....
  • 1955 - 1970 Sydney Watson
  • 1970 - 1981 Simon Preston
    Simon Preston

    Simon Preston is an England organist, Conducting, and composer....
  • 1981 - 1985 Francis Greer
    Francis Greer

    Sir Francis Nugent Greer Order of the Bath King's Counsel was a United Kingdom barrister and civil servant.Greer was the son of Judge Samuel McCurdy Greer, a former Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry ....
  • 1985 - Stephen Darlington
    Stephen Darlington

    Stephen Darlington is a British choral director and conductor, and president of the Royal College of Organists from 1999-2001.During the early 1970s Darlington was organ scholar at Christ Church, Oxford, studying under Simon Preston....


Assistant organists

  • Sidney Thomas Mayow Newman 1924 - 1928
  • Ivor Christopher Banfield Keys 1938 - 1940
  • Alex Wyton 1943 - 1946 (afterwards organist of St. Matthew's Church, Northampton)
  • Ivor Christopher Banfield Keys 1946 - 1947
  • Harrison Oxley 1953 - 1955 (formerly assistant organist of St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, afterwards organist of St Edmundsbury Cathedral)
  • Anthony Crossland 1957 - 1961
  • Nicholas Cleobury
    Nicholas Cleobury

    Nicholas Cleobury is an English conducting.He was organ scholar at Worcester College, Oxford and held assistant organist posts at Chichester Cathedral and Christ Church, Oxford before turning to orchestral and operatic work....
     1972 - ????
  • Simon Lawford 1986 - 1990

See also

  • List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
    List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom

    This article lists the cathedrals in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and those in the Channel Islands, by country....
  • Christ Church, Oxford
    Christ Church, Oxford

    Christ Church , is one of the largest Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. As well as being a college, Christ Church is also the cathedral church of the diocese of Oxford, namely Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
    : more information on the College and the Cathedral
  • Bishop of Oxford
    Bishop of Oxford

    The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford....
  • Diocese of Oxford
    Diocese of Oxford

    The Diocese of Oxford forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England....
  • Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
    Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England

    The medieval cathedrals of England, dating from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-five buildings which together constitute a major aspect of the country?s artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of Christianity....
  • English Gothic architecture
    English Gothic architecture

    English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520. As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, Vault roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires....
  • Romanesque architecture
    Romanesque architecture

    Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which evolved into the Gothic architecture style beginning in the 12th century....
  • Church of England
    Church of England

    The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....


External links