Description of the attraction
Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas in Newcastle-upon-Tyne - Anglican Cathedral, seat of the bishop of Newcastle. It is the second tallest church in the city and the sixth tallest building in the city.
The cathedral is named after Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and boats. The first wooden cathedral, built on this site in 1091, burned down in 1216. The first mention of the fact that this cathedral bears the name of St. Nicholas dates back to 1194. By 1359 the cathedral was restored in stone, but it became cathedral only in 1882 in connection with the formation of the Newcastle diocese. The cathedral is famous for its openwork tower, which resembles a lantern. There are only three such towers in the whole of Great Britain. This spire was built in 1448 and for many years served as a beacon for ships sailing along the Tyne River. The height of the tower is 62 meters.
The interiors of the cathedral were badly damaged during the Scottish occupation in 1640, and in 1644, during a nine-week siege, Scottish troops threatened to bomb the cathedral tower. They abandoned this idea when the Scottish prisoners were placed in the tower. The tower has a belfry with 12 bells, three of them were cast in the 15th century, and one, of course, bears the name of St. Nicholas.
The interiors of the cathedral were mainly executed in the early 20th century according to sketches by local artist Ralph Headley, after the cathedral became a cathedral in 1882. Medieval stained glass windows were broken during the Civil War, only a round stained glass window depicting the Madonna and Child has survived. All other stained glass windows in the cathedral were made in the 18th century.
There are several memorials in the cathedral, one of them, made in the 13th century, depicts an unknown knight, most likely the court king Edward I. This is one of the oldest objects in the cathedral.
For centuries, the cathedral has been famous for its musical and singing traditions.
