Christ Church Cathedral

The first church was built on the site of  Christ Church Cathedral in Lisburn in the early 1600s by Sir Fulke Conway as a chapel of ease for his new castle at what was then called Lisnagarvey. It was consecrated in 1623 and dedicated to St Thomas, but was destroyed along with much of the town during the rebellion of 1641.

The church was quickly rebuilt and in 1662 St Thomas's was designated the cathedral church and episcopal seat of the United Diocese of Down and Connor by Charles II and renamed Christ Church Cathedral. Additional gallery seating was introduced in 1674 with access via a bell tower. The cathedral burned down a second time in 1707.

Again it was quickly rebuilt starting in the 1708 and completed 11 years much after in the (1719), retaining the galleries in the nave with access via the tower which had survived the fire. The octagonal spire was added in 1804 and the chancel built and consecrated in 1889. In the year of 2003, the 1796 front gates were replaced and in 2004 the clock chimes refurbished.

On 31 July 1914 protesting Suffragettes bombed the Cathedral. A small explosion blew out one of the oldest stained glass windows. Four women arrested after the attack.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Castle Street 18, Lisburn, United Kingdom

Details

Founded: 1708
Category: Religious sites in United Kingdom