Manchester Cathedral began as a collegiate church in 1421 and was elevated to a cathedral after four centuries. Though the college was officially dissolved several times (often due to national politics in the 16th century), it remained an important part of the community for much of the city’s history. It is unique in that it did not receive the scorn of lay residents for most of its history.
Though Manchester Cathedral: A History of the Collegiate Church and Cathedral, 1421 to the Present was published on the sexcentenary of the founding of the Collegiate Church of Manchester, it is more than just a commemorative monograph. Rather, its stated goal is to provide a history of Manchester’s church that is both academic and accessible to a popular audience. Over the past few centuries, a handful of Mancunian antiquarians and historians have published histories of the church, usually focusing on specific aspects, such as the architecture or charters. This book attempts to bring a modern scholarly treatment to the subject. Previous efforts were largely a single historian’s attempt to write a history of an institution spanning several centuries. Recognizing that no single researcher has the necessary skills to provide a comprehensive history of an institution spanning more than six centuries, this current project, edited by Jeremy Gregory, is a collaborative effort between several scholars. Each scholar has written a chapter that focuses either on a time period or a subject, like stained glass.
Most of the book’s chapters are chronological, but five chapters at the end of the book are devoted to thematic issues. They focus on the cathedral’s music, architecture, memorials, misericords, and stained glass. These chapters are more descriptive than analytical. They do, however, contribute to an overall understanding of the cathedral and are genuinely interesting. Terry Wyke’s chapter on the memorials of the cathedral is especially remarkable because the cathedral’s monuments took on the unique qualities of an industrial city. For example, monuments were erected to 19th-century businessmen Thomas Flemming and Humphrey Chetham, lauding their charitable contributions to the city. This is in stark contrast to other cathedrals, whose monuments are often tombs of bishops and other notable church figures. These chapters go beyond the history presented in most of the book to discuss features of the church that add insight.
In collections of essays, it is often difficult for editors to create a throughline that unifies the volume. Happily, this book is different. Each chapter of the book fits together quite nicely to create a comprehensive history of the cathedral. Every author makes a concentrated effort to tie Manchester’s church and community to larger national developments. For example, Lucy Wooding points out that the creation of a chantry dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus reflected a larger trend found throughout late medieval England. Throughout her chapter, she accentuates that despite Manchester’s location in the north of England, it was still firmly connected to developments and trends in the south. Likewise, Henry Rack emphasizes in his chapter on the 1660-1829 era that Manchester followed Gloucester’s example in establishing a nondenominational Sunday school organization in 1784.
Peter Arrowsmith’s chapter on the church’s history before it became a collegiate church in 1421 is also notable. It would have been easy to gloss over this period, since so much of the church’s history during this period is unknown. However, Arrowsmith provides a thorough examination of archaeological evidence and surveys modern theories on the origins of the church. His chapter is both interesting and informative. Ian Atherton’s chapter on the church in the 16th and 17th centuries is another insightful chapter that delves into some of the notable figures who lead the collegiate church.
The book does not shy away from more sensitive topics in its appraisal of the cathedral’s modern history. Jeremy Morris acknowledges the sexual abuse allegations raised against Robert Waddington, dean of Manchester Cathedral from 1984 to 1993, after his death in 2007. Yet Morris separates those serious allegations from Waddington’s public actions in order to discuss the changes made to the cathedral as it adapted to a new and changing age. This is a successful decision that balances empathy with scholarship. Morris achieves the book’s goal of providing a history of the church itself, not the deans of the church. He finishes the chapter by discussing the place of the church today. Morris, though eschewing a final appraisal of the tenure of the current dean (Rogers Govender), sees the current era as one of both continuity and change, with more of a focus on issues such as diversity and social justice. This is a sensical approach, since both the successes and failures of a tenure are often only known several years afterwards.
Unlike most modern scholarly monographs, this book contains numerous color photographs of the cathedral and illustrations throughout. Some are used to help the reader better understand a topic, such as the beautiful photographs of stained glass in Marion McClintock’s chapter on the subject. Others are more artistic than informational, especially the various cathedral photographs placed between chapters. Nonetheless, it is refreshing to see so many images in a book with scholarly intentions. The publisher must be commended for including them.
The editor and authors are successful in creating a study that meets the standards of an academic historical study, yet is accessible and interesting to a public audience. The authors of chapters on the early history of the cathedral go to great lengths to interweave manuscript sources with their accounts. All contributors cited their sources according to the standards demanded by academic audiences. Despite doing so, the chapters remain accessible to a wider audience, with clear prose that situates the church’s history in the context of English history. I visited the cathedral several years ago and my trip would have been enriched by reading this book beforehand. This collection provides more information than a simple guidebook. It provides a definitive history of Manchester’s collegiate church from its beginning to the early 21st century.
Justin S. Kirkland earned a PhD in history from the University of Iowa.
Justin Kirkland
Date Of Review:
June 19, 2024
