A Brief History

The status of a city having been formally conferred on Belfast by a Royal Charter of Queen Victoria in 1888, it was decided to build a new cathedral on the site of the existing St Anne's Parish Church which had been founded in 1776 by the first Marquis of Donegall.

A local architect, Sir Thomas Drew first made plans in the gothic style but these were discarded in favour of "Hiberno-Romanesque". The foundation stone was laid on 6th September 1899 and worship continued in the old church as the nave of the cathedral rose up around it. In December 1903 a final service was held in the church prior to its demolition.

The Nave was consecrated on 2nd June 1904 although the West front was not completed until 1927. The Baptistry was added in 1928 and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in 1932. It was not until 1955 that work on the Eastern Apse and Ambulatory commenced. These were consecrated in 1959. Ten years later, work began on the transepts with the South transept and the Chapel of Unity being consecrated in 1973 and the North transept in 1981, its huge Celtic Cross dominating the surrounding area.

A Short Guided Tour

On entering the Great West Door, the floor around you is of black and white marble in the form of a maze symbolising the path to eternal life. If you follow the black marble pattern you will come to a dead end whereas the white will lead you towards the sanctuary. Above the West Door the tympanum is filled with a mosaic of angel musicians on a background of gold, a memorial to former choristers who died in the First World War. The Great West Window contains three lights each over 25 feet high. Christ is depicted in the central light surrounded by angels while David and Solomon are seen to the left and right.

The Chapel of the Holy Spirit

The Chapel lies to the left of the west door and, above its entrance, a mosaic commemorates the 1500th anniversary of St Patrick coming to Ireland. Inside the chapel, gold mosaic with four archangels depicts the glory of God. The East Window shows the Holy Spirit descending in fire upon the Apostles at Pentecost.

The Nave

The pillars of the Nave are each crowned with capitals representing different aspects of life in the city :

The Pillar of Science shows Archimedes, Roger Bacon, Isaac Newton and the Belfast born, Lord Kelvin.

The Pillar of Industry shows the four stages of linen production - harvesting, spinning, weaving and selling.

The Pillar of Healing illustrates the healing of the paralysed man, the parable of the good Samaritan, the healing of the blind man and St Luke, the Physician. The Pillar of Agriculture shows ploughing, sowing, reaping and harvesting.

The Pillar of Music shows 4 angels singing, playing an organ, an Irish harp and a stringed instrument. The Pillar of Theology shows four great theologians - Thomas Cranmer, Richard Hooker, St Athanasius and St Augustine

The Pillar of Shipbuilding Belfast is well known for its ship building tradition and four contrasting ships are shown on this capital - Noah's Ark, a Norse Galley, an old wooden sailing ship and a modern vessel.

The Pillar of Freemasonry When the Cathedral was being built virtually all significant citizens of Belfast would have been members of the Masonic Order which they saw as the modern representation of the medieval guilds.

The Pillar of Art Visual and spoken arts are represented by Sir Christopher Wren, Michelangelo, Sir Joshua Reynolds and William Shakespeare.

The Pillar of Womanhood shows a mother teaching her child, a woman making a garment, a nurse praying and Mary Nursing the Infant Jesus Carved corbels above the capitals show nine prominent church people including Henry Stewart O'Hara, first Dean of the Cathedral, and Mrs CF Alexander writer of many great hymns such as There is a green hill far away and Once in Royal David's City.

The lines of pillars begin and end with a "Respond", or half-column, depicting the carnal virtues of Courage, Justice, Temperance and Wisdom.

The Regimental Chapel

This is the newest part of the building and was consecrated in 1981. It is the Chapel of the Royal Irish Regiment and contains many items of military interest. The great window contains in its corners the regimental crests of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Royal Ulster Rifles, the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the London Irish Rifles

The Organ

The Cathedral Organ is one of the largest and finest in Ireland. It was built in 1907 and rebuilt in its present position in 1975 with four manuals and seventy speaking stops, by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, England.

The Ambulatory

This part of the Cathedral contains several items of interest including early photographs and drawings of the old parish church and the early days of the Cathedral, Remembrance Books and memorial plaques referring to incidents affecting the lives of local people including the Kegworth Air Accident in 1989. The East Window behind the High Altar came from the old Parish Church of St Anne and depicts the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Baptistry

The ceiling of the Baptistry contains over 150,000 pieces of coloured glass each individually placed in position by hand and depicts the Creation by showing the four basic elements of earth, water, air and fire over which the hand of God is raised in blessing.

A hypertext link to the official Belfast Cathedral website is available on the “Links” page