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Alison Baxter's avatar

Really interesting. I was at school in St Albans and although I know the abbey is a cathedral, I’ve never called it anything other than ‘the abbey’, which somehow makes it feel more homely.

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Shelly Dennison's avatar

I did have a long internal debate with myself on that one! It definitely refers to itself as St Albans Cathedral (on the website etc) but like you, I've only really heard it referred to as the Abbey, which does sound rather nicer, but I guess the official answer aims for clarity. (Not that it's ever troubled York Minster which doesn't bother clarifying it's a cathedral!)

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Rod Hirsch's avatar

Thank you, Shelly, for another informative and inspiring post. Whipsnade tree cathedral is now on the ‘must visit’ list.

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Shelly Dennison's avatar

Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Whipsnade Tree Cathedral is well worth a visit and there are lots of lovely walks around the Downs nearby.

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David Barton's avatar

Before I read the post, the tree cathedral sprung to mind! 🌲🌲

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Sarah Harkness's avatar

How lovely, I had never heard of the Whipsnade cathedral, what a touching idea.

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Liz Gwedhan's avatar

Interesting! What’s the difference Shelly between a cathedral and a minster? Is it about Bishops ?

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Shelly Dennison's avatar

Pretty much. A minster can be a cathedral (York Minster is probably the most well known, but there's also Southwell) but not all minsters are cathedrals. A cathedral will always have a cathedra (the throne meant for a bishop - not always actually used these days!)

The minster name comes from the Latin for monastery so originally they were churches or cathedrals attached to monastic communities and it's often a sign of an early church on the site. Large parish churches are sometimes known as minsters but it doesn't really signify anything other than acknowledging their size - some are bigger than cathedrals.

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Liz Gwedhan's avatar

Thank you! Holy Trinity in Hull was always called just that when I was growing up in East Yorkshire but it seems to have been elevated and is now referred to as Hull Minster. We used to be told it was the largest parish church in England and famously Cromwell’s army turned it into a stable…it has a Suffragan Bishop but not a 'real' one!

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Shelly Dennison's avatar

Looks like Hull was rededicated in 2017. There's a fabulous photo of a crowd not looking terribly thrilled with the celebrations in this report from the BBC! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-39907094

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