Cathedral Church Of St Peter

A Roman Catholic cathedral originally functioning as a parish church, located in Lancaster. Built in two phases—1857–59 and 1895–96—by the architect Edward Paley, with a later baptistry designed by Paley and Austin. The building is executed in Gothic Revival style, constructed of sandstone ashlar with slate roofs throughout, except for the baptistry which has a copper roof.

Exterior

The building comprises a tall aisled five-bay nave with transepts, an aisled two-bay chancel with a semi-octagonal apse and side chapels, a tower and spire occupying the north-west corner, and an octagonal baptistry attached to the north transept.

The west facade displays a five-light window with Geometric tracery surmounted by a deeply recessed doorway featuring two shafts with foliated capitals and orders of crockets and fleurons in the arch. The side elevations contain three-light aisle windows with Decorated tracery and paired clerestory windows flanked by blind arches. The north transept is lit by a four-light window with Geometric tracery, whilst the south transept features a distinctive round window composed of a ten-light wheel window surrounded by ten circles. The clerestory windows of the chancel are spherical triangles, and the tall three-light windows in the apse display Decorated tracery. The baptistry is slightly more richly decorated, with two-light windows featuring panelled tracery and deep buttresses.

The tower comprises four stages separated by string courses, with a stair turret in the north-west corner. The lowest stage has, on the west side, a three-light window with intersecting tracery and, on the north side, a recessed porch beneath a shallow gable. Above this porch stands a canopied niche containing a statue of St Peter. The second stage displays on each face a row of six gabled and shafted arches, of which only the central two contain windows. The third stage holds a single small window, whilst the belfry stage has paired openings, each containing two sub-arches. The graceful spire rises to a height of 73 metres, with three tiers of lucarnes on the cardinal faces.

Interior

The five-bay nave features two-centred arches of two orders of quarter-round mouldings carried on slender round columns with foliated capitals and high octagonal plinths. Directly above each arch is a pair of clerestory windows whose cusped rear-arches are supported by a central colonnette. Between these windows, other colonnettes on foliated corbels carry the principal trusses of the arch-braced roof. The aisles have simple, steeply pitched rafter roofs. On the south side are two chantry chapels, each approached through a pair of arches.

The arches north and south of the crossing are slightly higher than those of the nave and possess clustered shafts. The chancel arch, also featuring clustered shafts, rises considerably higher to the ridge of a wooden vault decorated with arabesques and angels. This vault contains tierceron ribs and foliated bosses, except for the boss over the original position of the high altar (now moved to the west bay of the chancel), which depicts Christ in Majesty. On the south and north sides, pairs of arches lead respectively to the Convent Chapel and to the Lady Chapel, whose wooden panelled ceiling is painted with fleurs-de-lys and crowns. Above these chapels, beneath the clerestory windows, runs a deep band of painting depicting on the south Our Lady enthroned surrounded by female saints, and on the north St Peter with male saints. Around the base of the apse are two rows of five gabled canopies containing paintings of saints, with angel musicians depicted above.

The carved oak choir stalls feature crocketed canopies. The baptistry, accessed through fine wrought-iron gates flanked by niches under nodding ogee heads containing statues, is covered by an octagonal stone vault. The floor and font are of polychrome marble, the font bowl being supported on four short columns. The oak font cover is a spirelet suspended from a chain.

In the south transept is a triptych by Giles Gilbert Scott, with carved and painted panels representing scenes from the Passion (this served as the reredos of the high altar in 1909). At the west end of the north aisle stands a large seated bronze figure of St Peter. The west gallery contains an organ.

The stained glass in the apse windows and west window is original and executed by Hardman, depicting the Ascension and St Peter and St Paul in the east window and Christ in Glory in the west window.

Setting

The cathedral forms the finest and dominant feature of an important group of buildings constructed between 1847 and 1859, which also encompasses a graveyard, school, convent, and presbytery.