The first architect of Belfast Cathedral was Sir Thomas Drew.
The foundation stone being laid on September 6, 1899 by the
Countess of Shaftesbury. Initially, only the nave of the Cathedral
was built, and this was consecrated on June 2, 1904. The old Parish
Church of St Anne continued in use, up until 31 December 1903,
while the new cathedral was constructed around it; the old church
was then demolished; the Good Samaritan window, to be seen in the
Cathedral Sanctuary is the only feature of the old church to be
retained in the Cathedral. In 1924 it was decided to build the west
front of the Cathedral as a memorial to to the Ulstermen and women
who had served and died in the First World War. The foundation
stone for this was laid by Governor of Northern Ireland, the Duke
of Abercorn on June 2, 1925 and the completed facade, to an amended
design by the architect Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, was
dedicated in June 1927. Meantime, the central crossing, in which
the choir sits, was built between 1922 and 1924. The Baptistry, to
plans drawn up by the late W H Lynn, who had assisted Sir Thomas
Drew, was dedicated in 1928, and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit,
with its beautiful mosaics depicting Saint Patrick, was dedicated
July 5, 1932, the 1500th anniversary of the arrival of St Patrick
in Ireland. In 1955 work began on the construction of the
ambulatory, at the east end of the Cathedral. This work was
dedicated in 1959, but it was not for another ten years that it was
possible to begin work on the north and south transepts.
The Troubles and inflation led to long delays and major problems
with the financing of this work. The south transept, containing the
Chapel of Unity, and with the organ loft above, was dedicated in
1974, and the north transept, with the large Celtic Cross designed
by John MacGeagh on the exterior, and housing the Chapel of the
Royal Irish Rifles, was completed in 1981.
The Spire of Hope which was dedicated on "Nine/eleven" 2007
during a service at which the preacher was the Bishop of New York.
In April 2007 the 100 metre stainless steel spire was installed on
top of the cathedral. The structure is illuminated at night and is
part of a wider redevelopment planned for the Cathedral Quarter.
The base section of the spire protrudes through a glass platform in
the Cathedral's roof directly above the choir stalls, allowing
visitors to view it from the nave.
Thirty years ago, the then Dean of Belfast, Very Rev Samuel B
Crooks, started his annual Christmas 'Sit Out', spending the week
leading up to Christmas on the steps of the Cathedral, accepting
donations large and small, from passers by, which were then
distributed amongst many local charities. Dean Crooks soon became
known as the "Black Santa", because of the outfit he wore to keep
warm. The tradition has been continued by his successors. The week
before Christmas each year, the Dean (currently Dr. Houston
McKelvey) and members of the Cathedral Chapter sit outside the
Cathedral from 10am til 5pm each day to raise money for charity and
are still collectively known as the 'Black Santa'. Since the
tradition began in 1976 £2.2million has been raised for charity.
The cache earns its name from the "Black Santa".
THE CACHE is a replacement of a tablock box cache we had
previously placed in the area to bring you to St. Anne's cathedral.
Sadly there were issues with litter so we decided to replace the
cache with a micro. Like all urban caches there will be
muggles-a-plenty. Please use discretion when retrieving and hiding
the cache.
IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO USE THE CLUE FOR A QUICK FIND AND
MINIMISE MUGGLE ATTENTION, AS IT CAN BE A BUSY AREA.