Latest Manchester Cathedral News

 Following the success of last year’s pop-up DAB radio station, Manchester Cathedral’s Christmas station returns again for 2017.

Manchester Cathedral has received £88,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for an exciting project, appraising a Transformational Heritage Project, in central Manchester.  Made possible from money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on an exploration of how the Cathedral might adapt its buildings to interpret better its heritage and reach out to its community more fully.

On October 26th, Manchester Cathedral will be hosting a free event to offer visitors the rare chance to see the city’s medieval ‘Huntington Deeds’, celebrating one of the unsung pioneers of the early town.

September has been a monumental month for Manchester Cathedral, with two special occasions taking place in the month. The first, was on Thursday 14th September, which saw the blessing of the new Stoller Organ with a recital given by world renowned concert organist, Thomas Trotter.

In the annual competition, hosted by Manchester Cathedral, the winner of the People’s Choice photographer has been confirmed. Almost 300 photographs were submitted for the fifth, annual competition.

Manchester Cathedral has installed a Bee Cam on the roof to welcome over 300,000 resident bees as part of the ‘On a wing and a prayer’ event this Saturday gone.

Alice brings Manchester’s medieval history to life with a playful story which is both fun and educational. Alice hopes that families will be inspired to visit the landmarks featured in the book – Manchester Cathedral and the little known Hanging Bridge which dates back to 1421.

An array of curious creatures and mythical green men were recently rediscovered in Manchester Cathedral. A free talk at the Cathedral on Sunday 5 February at 2pm invites visitors to learn more about the new finds and how they fit with the latest research into this centuries-old church and its fascinating history.

The last phase of a two year grants programme to English cathedrals for urgent repairs has been recently announced. Grants totalling £5,423,000 have been awarded to 24 Church of England and Catholic cathedrals for repairs including to stained glass windows, stone pinnacles, and roofs as well as drainage and lighting.  Manchester Cathedral has been awarded £500,000 for emergency repair works needed to its tower.

Manchester’s imposing Cathedral is quite the unusual backdrop for a ‘pop-up’ DAB digital radio station this Christmaw, however, MCR - Manchester Cathedral Radio ,will broadcast a unique blend of Christmas songs and features from 9:00am on December 1st through until 6:00pm on January 5th!Manchester Cathedral Radio is the creation of Manchester Radio pioneer Mike Shaft who has a long association with the Cathedral. “It never fails to amaze me how radio stations dig out the same tired old Christmas songs year-in year-out”, says Mike. “MCR will be different, with a far wider repertoire of music ranging from traditional carols to popular Christmas classics performed by artists such as Chris Rea, The Carpenters and Elton John. There will also be plenty of Gospel music, old and new”.The station will be informing listeners of the various events taking place at the Cathedral in the run up to Christmas and there will also be a range of features and interviews with key members of Greater Manchester’s Christian community.Dean of Manchester, The Very Reverend Rogers Govender, said: “Manchester Cathedral is fully embracing the communications revolution of the 21st Century. We want to remove all walls and barriers of a church which can date its origins back to the 11th Century. People across the city, across all communities and even the country will be able to hear our inclusive message and share in our glorious celebrations at this special time in the Christian calendar. Radio and the Internet are powerful ways to communicate with people of all faiths or none and MCR - Manchester Cathedral Radio will offer a truly unique soundtrack to Christmas”.MCR - Manchester Cathedral Radio will broadcast across central Manchester on DAB+ digital radio and will also be available online via the Tune-in app.

Nation's choristers will swell the sound of music in St Paul's Cathedral.

A new organ is in the process of being installed at Manchester Cathedral, which will be at the heart of the building and support the worship and musical life of the Cathedral, now and for the future. The Manchester Cathedral Development Project launched the “Paint a Pipe” project to provide educational opportunities for school pupils, to learn about the organ and discover more about Manchester Cathedral itself. Pupils from 24 schools across Greater Manchester decorated pipes from the decommissioned organ (which had C19th origins and was restored after extensive WW2 damage) on the theme of “Musical Manchester”.

Canon Wray’s Sock Day

Christmas has been celebrated at Manchester Cathedral for over 500 years! 

Manchester Science Festival, for three nights only from Monday 26 October to Wednesday 28 October, will be bringing some of the most popular sci-fi films and series of the 21st century back to the future against the stunning medieval backdrop of the Manchester Cathedral’s medieval quire. 

To mark Shrove Tuesday, Manchester Cathedral Choristers took time out of their rehearsals to take part in some pancake fun! The Choristers, aged 8 to 13 and robed up in their cassock, flipped pancakes on the Cathedral grounds. The event was held a few days earlier than usual due to the choristers’ busy schedule.

In a first for Manchester, The Dean of Manchester is inviting volunteers from partner organisations across the city to a very special service that will celebrate their invaluable contribution to the city. The exciting event is taking place towards the end of volunteers Week (3 to 7 June 2013), which celebrates the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK and aims to inspire more people to donate time to their communities. Speaking on behalf of the Cathedral, Lauren Bailey-Rhodes describes how volunteers are "the backbone of so many organisations, we want to celebrate their time, commitment and enthusiasm and give thanks for their continued support."