Derby Cathedral

Derby Cathedral is a cathedral church in Derby City, England.

• The original church was founded by King Edmund in around 943 as a royal collegiate church however there is no trace of its existence today.

• The current cathedral dates back from the 14th century although it appears to be based on an earlier medieval building which drawings show was about the same size as the present church. One theory is it became structurally unstable and was pulled down.

• The tower dates from 1510 to 1530 and was built in the popular perpendicular gothic style of the time.

• The cathedral contains the oldest ring of ten bells in the U.K. Other treasures include an 18th century nave with a wrought iron screen by Robert Bakewell, the memorial to Bess of Hardwick, the Cavendish brasses, including those of Henry Cavendish and Georgiana Spencer, the wife of one of the Dukes of Devonshire.

• Derby Cathedral became a cathedral by Royal Charter in 1927, unusual because Derby remained a town at the time.

• The cathedral is 64.8 metres tall and is definitely not the second tallest tower in the country.