St. Paul's Cathedral is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in the city of

Dundee, Scotland Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. It is the cathedral and administrative centre of the

Diocese of Brechin The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brechin, also known as the Diocese of Angus, was one of the thirteen pre-Scottish Reformation, Reformation dioceses of Scotland. History The diocese was believed to have been ...

in the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

Church

In 1847,

Alexander Penrose Forbes Alexander Penrose Forbes (16 June 18178 October 1875) was a Scottish Episcopalian divine. A leading cleric in the Scottish Episcopal Church, he was Bishop of Brechin from 1847 until his death in 1875. Biography Forbes was born in Edinburgh, t ...

was elected new

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is a title held successively, since c. 1150: (firstly) by bishops of the Catholic church until the Reformation of 1560; (secondly) by bishops of the Church of Scotland until that church declared itself presbyterian in ...

and chose to make Dundee his permanent residence. At the time of Bishop Forbes' arrival, St. Paul's Chapel met in rooms in nearby Castle Street, which Forbes considered to be dreary and "unworthy of the worship of the Almighty". Thus, he "urged his people to take on the holy work of building, to the glory of God, a stately church", a place which would offer refuge to the many poor that lived in the surrounding tenements. The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid on 21 July 1853 and it was completed in 1855.Gough, John Edward; Notes on the History and Fabric of the Church of St. Paul, Dundee; Winter, Duncan & Co., Castle Street, Dundee; 1888 It was designed by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

and is in the style of the Middle or Decorated period of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

. The total cost of the building exceeded £14,000, and ten years passed before the congregation could pay off all the debts incurred. The church was dedicated on

All Saints Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christianity, Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether ...

, 1 November 1865. St. Paul's was raised to cathedral status in 1905 and is now a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The tower contains a set of eight bells hung for

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), 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 ...

, with the tenor bell weighing 21cwt or 1067kg. The bells were cast in 1871 and 1872 by

Mears & Stainbank Mears or Meares may refer to: People * Ainslie Meares (1910–1986), Australian psychiatrist and authority on medical hypnotism *Anna Meares (born 1983), Australian cyclist * Ashley Mears (born 1980), American sociologist * Bob Mears (born 1933), A ...

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, London, and the bells were last rehung in 1999 on a modern steel frame by Hayward Mills of Nottingham. Dundee is one of only three cities in Scotland to have more than one set of change ringing bells, the others being

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. The other set of change ringing bells in the city is located at the

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

References

External links

St. Paul's Cathedral, Dundee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul's Cathedral, Dundee Churches completed in 1855 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Dundee Listed cathedrals in Scotland Paul's

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland Provosts of St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee Diocese of Brechin (Episcopal)