St Patrick and Down Cathedral Northern Ireland

Down Cathedral, Northern Ireland/ Geoff Sutton 2019

Down Cathedral, on English Street, atop Down Hill, is clearly visible above the town of Downpatrick, County Down, Ulster Province, Northern Ireland. 

Christians have worshipped here for about 1,600 years. It is also the traditional site for the burial of the British missionary, St Patrick, as well as Saints Brigid and Columba (also called Columbkille, Colmcille).

The current Cathedral has been rebuilt on the site of an old Benedictine Monastery dating from 1183. Inside are box pews, stained glass windows, and a box organ.

Down Cathedral, Northern Ireland / Geoff Sutton 2019

St Patrick is honoured for his missionary work in Ireland. According to minimal writings and traditions, he was born in Roman Britain, captured as a youth by pirates and enslaved.

 

He escaped back to Britain and saw a vision calling him to Ireland.

He appears to have lived most of his life in the 400s.

The traditional burial site of St Patrick is on the left  as you face the Cathedral.

You can see Celtic Crosses in the front and in the back of the Cathedral.

Nearby the Cathedral is the Southwell School and Almshouses built for poor boys and girls in 1733.

A visitor's centre is below Down Hill.

You can learn more about St Patrick's life here. Although buried somewhere in Ireland, no one is sure of his birthplace in Great Britain.

Cathedral Admission: There is no charge to enter the Cathedral or visit the burial site.
Cathedral website:  http://downcathedral.org/

*****

Visitor Centre Admission: The fees for the St Patrick Centre are on the website
     https://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/

Shops: There is a store in the Cathedral and in the Visitor's Centre.

Toilets: Available in the Visitor's Centre.

Food: There are places to eat near the Visitor's Centre.


If you visit the British Isles and Ireland, you may find this book interesting.

Mind the Gap  on AMAZON

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Notre Dame Paris France

Notre Dame 10 March 2012 / G Sutton

It is a sad day this 15 April, 2019—a day when Notre Dame is burning before our eyes. As I write, the spire and roof have fallen and the smoke on this 850 year old cathedral rises (BBC).

It is difficult to know the extent of the damage, but one can surely hope its grandeur will be restored so future generations can appreciate the craft, beauty, and devotion of those who created such a magnificent edifice as an expression of their faith.

Notre Dame (aka Our Lady) is located on a small island (Ile de la Cite) in the River Seine. Construction began in 1163 when Louis VII was the king of France. The remarkable gothic structure was completed two centuries later.

Below is a brief clip from a service when we visited 10 March 2012-- just a year before the 850 year celebrations. The video is limited in scope due to the crowd but you can see it is a living church and you get a sense of the music, which of course sounded much better in person.

Chester Cathedral England

Chester Cathedral is a working place of worship as well as a trove of English history.

Originally, a Benedictine abbey was founded here in 1092 (abbey of St. Werburgh). However, there are references suggesting the possibility that it was the site of worship since the Roman era.

You can still see parts of the old Norman building. The church has been rebuilt and modified over the centuries. The current Gothic style building took 275 years to create. In 1541 it was known as the cathedral of Christ and St. Mary.

Chester Cathedral was one of six cathedrals "refounded" by Henry VIII following his break with Rome.

Inside the cathedral complex you will find open spaces, a falconry, and gardens.

The stained glass windows are mostly of recent origin (19th-20th century). Earlier windows were lost to Parliamentary troops during the English Civil War. The cathedral also suffered some damage in World War II.



















The art work is magnificent.





The massive organ is impressive.




In addition to walking about the Cathedral, we purchased a guided tour to the top of the Cathedral.

As part of the tour, we learned about the clock and bells. Only a couple of bells remain in the Cathedral. Other bells are in a separate clock tower building built in the 20th century.




In addition to great view of the inner courtyard and campus buildings, you can see much of Chester, the hills of Northern Wales, and a glimpse of Liverpool from atop the Cathedral roof. We thought the tour worthwhile.





When we visited in 2018, a LEGO model of the cathedral was under construction. Visitors can add to the project for a small donation. The model is 4m by 2m and, on completion, will include 350,000 bricks. You can follow their progress on the cathedral website.




Check the cathedral website for current information about hours, fees, and so forth.

Website: https://chestercathedral.com

More on Chester: http://suttontravels.blogspot.com/2018/06/chester-england-worth-visit.html

Visiting Notes

Entry is free

It is open most days but check the website for visiting hours and service times.

There is a store with a range of gifts for people of all ages and a wide price range.

There is a cafe, which serves baked goods and meals.

The toilets were clean and well maintained

There are several eateries nearby. We enjoyed a take-away lunch on a bench outside the main entrance facing the old town hall.

The falcon event looked interesting but when we watched from the walls, it seemed as if the falcon was reluctant to return as many attempted bird calls went unanswered.

The tour to the height of the cathedral requires a certain level of fitness and tolerance of heights and closed-in spaces. The winding staircases are narrow at points and we needed to duck our heads even though we are not tall persons.

Read more history at this British History link.

Connections

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FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

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LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Qaqortoq Greenland

We arrived in Qaqortoq, Greenland 31 August, 2016 via small tenders. It's a small settlement with a Viking history. Most of the people of Greenland are Inuit.

The popular stone carvings called "Stone & Man" are not far from the dock. The project organised by artist Aka Hoegh attracted other artists from several Nordic countries.

Up the hill tourists perused items in the grocery store before checking out historic sites.

An old church has incredible views of the ocean.

As we climbed a nearby hill, we noticed a lot of teens gathering blueberries.

Here's a video clip of the Inuit gathering blueberries.

 We stopped by a cemetery on the way down and noticed how the community respects their dead.

It's a picturesque village and a great escape from the summer heat.

As others have observed...

Iceland is more green than Greenland.

The population of Greenland is about 56,000-- about 1/6 that of Iceland but

Greenland is much larger than Iceland.

Credits

My wife and I took all posted photos.

My web page is www.suttong.com