Cathedral Church of St. Peter – Bradford, UK - Cathedrals on Waymarking.com

The old church was burnt down in 1327, by it is believed, raiders from Scotland. During the 14th Century the church was rebuilt and the Nave arcades completed in 1458.

2 local families paid to have chantry chapels built and then a tower was added to the West end and was finished in 1508. It is 100 feet high and has walls 11 feet thick. The tower also has 12 bells which are still rung to-day, the heaviest weighing 2.5 tons.

During the English Civil War, Bradford fought against the Royalists and the church tower was protected from attack in 1642 and 1643 by hanging wool sacks on it.

When the diocese of Bradford was formed in 1919 this parish church of St. Peter became the Cathedral.

The building is actually party way up a hill above Bradford and away from the main city centre. It is partly hidden by buildings from the centre and so it does not stand out like is the case with a lot of cathedrals. It is also on a fairly enclosed site and so when it was decided to extend the Cathedral in the 1950s space was at a premium. Some of the extended modern parts of the Cathedral are therefore bounded by roads.

The symbol of St. Peter is a pair of crossed keys, in reference to Jesus Christ telling him he would give him the keys to heaven. Many parts of the outside of the cathedral use a crossed key motif in a number of different ways.

For example a cross on top of the building has some crossed keys at the bottom. The drain pipes also all have a crossed keys motif.
The clock on the tower was the first public clock in Bradford. It only has one face and this is the one above the city below so that the citizens could easily see it.

2011 saw two new innovations to keep the cathedral active involved in the 21st Century. In August it became the first Cathedral to have solar panels installed. This was done partly to cut down its carbon footprint, but it’s also hoped that it will reduce its future power bills. (visit link)

Then in November 2011 a computerised bell simulator was installed. The simulator, known as a wombel, generates the sound of the bells through loudspeakers in the bell chamber. This allows the bell ringers to practice without upsetting the neighbours. Of course the real bells are still used for services. (visit link)

Address: 1 Stott Hill Bradford West Yorkshire United Kingdom BD1 4EH Religious affiliation: Church of England Date founded or constructed: 14th Century Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
1.Describe your visit, including the date, with as much detail as possible
2.Provide at least one original photograph – no need to include your GPS in the picture

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.