Nottingham Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St Barnabas stands on the corner of Derby Road and North Circus Street in Nottingham. It faces the Albert Hall and the Nottingham Playhouse across the circus. Built between 1841 and 1844, it was designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin in Early English Plain Gothic style. Lord Shrewsbury paid much of the £15,000 cost. The cathedral became the largest Catholic church built in England since the Reformation. Bishop Wiseman brought relics of St Barnabas from Rome to place in the high altar stone. The building was raised to cathedral status in 1852, one of the first four Catholic cathedrals in England and Wales after 1850. Pugin’s rich decoration was mostly lost during changes after the Second Vatican Council. Only the Blessed Sacrament Chapel keeps fragments of his original scheme. The tomb of Venerable Mary Potter, founder of the Little Company of Mary, lies within the cathedral. A current project aims to restore more of Pugin’s designs, uncovering whitewashed decoration in the Lady Chapel. Inside, the nave shows plain walls where earlier colour once stood. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel remains the highlight with its preserved fragments. The high altar was replaced twice, finally in 1993 with a design closer to Pugin’s vision. The cathedral’s music tradition continues with choral scholarships for local students. Directors of Music have led the choir since 1850, including Peter Smedley who served for nearly forty years.