WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL

Northgate, Wakefield, WF1 1HG

Contact: Sue Robinson or Chris Haigh, Bookshop managers and Volunteer Co-ordinators

Tel: 01924 373 923 Email: bookshop@wakefield-cathedral.org.uk

Wakefield Cathedral is a landmark building at the heart of the city.  Visitors are warmly welcomed, to look around and enjoy the building, the services, music and exhibitions offered in it.  They are also encouraged to take the Discovery audio tour, browse in the Bookshop in the Nave which also sells cards and gifts, and sample our Cathedral Coffee in the adjacent Treacy Hall.  Admission is free.

Worship began on the site of the Cathedral around Saxon times and the Normans erected the first stone structure sometime in the 11th Century.

Wakefield, as a town, prospered during the 15th century, thanks to the wool trade and during this period many alterations were made to what was then the Church of All Saints, Wakefield, including extending the aisles and putting in the clerestory windows in order to bring in more light. The replacement paneled roofs, with carved and gilded bosses, remain intact today.

A new tower, surmounted by a spire, was erected at the west end. This spire rises to 247 feet, making it the tallest in Yorkshire. Much of this work took place during the Wars of the Roses, even while the Battle of Wakefield was being fought nearby, at Sandal Magna Castle in 1460.

Between 1409 and 1420, the magnificent western tower and spire were added to the church and, after 1440, the present nave clerestory was constructed.  This contains finely carved capitals including one of a wild boar eating acorns.  The eastern half of the mediaeval church also dates from the second half of the 15th century, traditionally under the vicarship of Thomas Rogers 1462-1502.  The five bay quire contains 25 magnificent stalls with misericords and carved animals paid for by Sir Thomas Savil in 1482 in celebration of his marriage to Margaret Bosworth.  The cathedral also contains a complete set of 15th century ceilings throughout the Nave, aisles and east end.  These have a fine collection of carved bosses depicting a wide range of religious and secular themes.

Other gems include the sundial added to the south porch in 1635 and the quire screen, carved by Thomas Grundy of Leeds for the sum of £17.15s in 1636.  The cathedral font also dates from the 17th century and was installed in 1661 to replace the mediaeval font destroyed in the Commonwealth.

During the nineteenth century the population in the area increased hugely; in 1888 the Diocese of Wakefield was formed and Wakefield became a city.  The Eastern extension, with its vaulted roofs, was completed in 1905.  The stained glass windows date between 1850 and 1907; many of them are by Charles Eamer Kempe.  The figures above the screen were designed by 20^th Century architect Sir Ninian Comper.

The Cathedral today is the focal point both in the City and for a busy Northern diocese, eighteenth in size of population which contains towns such as Halifax, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Barnsley and Pontefract. People come in not only for regular worship or special services, concerts, art exhibitions, art workshops and other events held here, but also to light a candle and pray or simply to look at the building and soak up the peaceful atmosphere.

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EVENTS