Inverness Cathedral (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Cathair-Eaglais Inbhir Nis), also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew (1866–69), is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

situated in the city of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

close to the banks of the

River Ness The River Ness (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Nis'') is a river in Highland, Scotland, UK. It flows from Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, north-east to the mouth of the Beauly Firth at Inverness, a distance of about , with a fa ...

. It is the seat of the

Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness The Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. The bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Inverness, Scotland Scotland (, ) is ...

, ordinary of the

Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness The Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers Caithness and Sutherland (the old Diocese of Caithness), mainland Ross and Cromarty (the old Diocese of Ross), and mainland Inver ...

. The cathedral is the northernmost extant diocesan cathedral in mainland Britain -

Dornoch Cathedral Dornoch Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral and is currently a Church of Scotland parish church serving the small Sutherland town of Dornoch, in the Scottish Highlands. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyt ...

Fortrose Cathedral Fortrose Cathedral was the episcopal seat (''cathedra'') of the medieval Scottish diocese of Ross in the Highland region of Scotland. It is probable that the original site of the diocese was at Rosemarkie, but by the 13th century the canons ha ...

and Elgin Cathedral are no longer acting as diocesan cathedrals. It was the first new Protestant cathedral to be completed in Great Britain since the Reformation.

History

Bishop Robert Eden decided that the cathedral for the united Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness should be in Inverness. The foundation stone was laid by the Archbishop of Canterbury,

Charles Longley Charles Thomas Longley (28 July 1794 – 27 October 1868) was a bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Ripon, Bishop of Durham, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1862 until his death. Life He was born at Ro ...

, in 1866 and construction was complete by 1869, although a lack of funds precluded the building of the two giant spires of the original design. The architect was Alexander Ross, who was based in the city. The cathedral is built of red Tarradale stone, with the nave columns of Peterhead granite. The cathedral congregation began as a mission in 1853, on the opposite side (east) of the River Ness.

Bells

The cathedral contains a ring of ten bells, which are noted as being the most northerly peal of

change-ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memory ...

bells in a church in the world. The tenor bell weighs 17 cwt.Dove ''Bellringer's Guide''; 6th ed., 1982, p. 181

List of provosts

The following have served as Provost of Inverness Cathedral: *

Robert Eden Robert Eden may refer to: *Sir Robert Eden, 1st Baronet, of West Auckland (c. 1644–1721), MP for County Durham * Sir Robert Eden, 3rd Baronet, of West Auckland (died 1794) * Sir Robert Johnson-Eden, 5th Baronet, of West Auckland (1774–1844) * S ...

* James Kelly *

Herbert Mather Herbert Mather (1840–1916) was an Anglican bishop in the last decades of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th. Mather was educated at St Andrew's University and Trinity College, Cambridge and ordained in 1867. He began his ordained ...

(1891 to 1897) * Allan Webb (1898 to 1901) * Vernon Staley *

Reginald Mitchell-Innes Reginald John Simpson Mitchell-Innes (1848-1930) was an Episcopalian priest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Life He was born in Berwickshire on 19 June 1848 and educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond. He then studied divinity at ...

(1911 to 1918) * Alexander MacKenzie (1918 to 1949) *

Leslie Pennell James Henry Leslie Pennell (1906-1996) was Provost of St Andrew's Cathedral, Inverness from 1949 to 1965. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh and ordained in 1930 after a period of study at Edinburgh Theological College. He began h ...

(1949 to 1965) *

Frank Laming Frank Fairbairn Laming (24 August 1908 – 3 June 1989) was an Anglican priest in the 20th century. He was born on 24 August 1908 and educated at Durham University and Edinburgh Theological College and ordained in 1937. His first post was as A ...

(1966 to 1974) * Jack Woods (1975 to 1980) * Arthur Wheatley (1980 to 1983) * Gordon Reid (1984 to 1988) * Alan Horsley (1988 to 1991) *

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

(1991 to 2002) * Michael Hickford (2003 to 2004) *

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professio ...

(2005 to 2014) * Sarah Murray (2017 to present)

Gallery

File:Inverness Cathedral Nave 1, Scotland, UK - Diliff.jpg, The nave looking south towards the choir File:Inverness Cathedral Nave 2, Scotland, UK - Diliff.jpg, The nave looking north towards the entrance File:Inverness Cathedral Choir, Scotland, UK - Diliff.jpg, The choir and altar

References

External links