"If stones could speake
then London's prayse
should sound who
built this church and
cittie from the grounde"
Foundation Stone St Columb's Cathedral
The first English and Scottish settlers worshiped in the ruins of the former Augustinian abbey. In 1613 the City of London merchant companies sent a silver gilt chalice as a promise of their commitment to build a cathedral to grace their new city. This priceless artifact is still a treasured possession of the Cathedral and still in use! The building was built between 1628 - 1633, and is the oldest standing building in the city, and was the first cathedral to be built in the British Isles after the Reformation. It is both the Parish church of Templemore and mother church to the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Donegal.
The Promise Challace
The Cathedral origionally had a wooden spire covered in lead but this was later dismantled and the lead used to make bullets in the Great Siege of Londonderry in 1689. During the Great Siege Cannon was positioned on the roof, and the tower, the largest place inside the walls became a signaling position and look out, and was where the city's crimson flag flew. This flag flies on significant siege aniversaries
Many Siege heros are burried in the Cathedral, the mound in the graveyard is a monument to the siege dead. In the porch is a hollow shell which was fired into the city, and concealed terms of surrender, which were rejected. In 1778 Bishop Hervey increased the hight of the cathedral by adding the stone spire. The Cathedral may also have inspired John Newton to write the world famous hymn "Amazing Grace." Newtown was a slave trader and after avoiding shipwreck in an Atlantic storm in 1748 his ship took shelter in the port of Londonderry. He then went hunting with the mayor and narrowly avoided a hunting accident His near death experiences brought him to God, and he prayed twice daily in the Cathedral until his ship "Greyhound" was ready to sail. He then gave up from his sinful trade, wrote the hymn and became one of the main figures in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
The hollow shell in the Cathedral Porch
Daily services are held Monday - Friday at 10:30AM, Sunday Services at 08:00AM, 11:00AM and 04:00PM Visitors are welcome Monday - Friday from 09:00AM - 05:00PM.
Care should be taken when retriving and replacing this cache