Glasgow Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral, we found a much more plainly decorated church than even the relatively unadorned St. Paul's in London, but it was still an impressive place filled with light and impressive arches. The darker stone work inside give the place the feel of being an older building. And, in fact, it is, dating from 1136. This building was built on the site originally chosen by St. Mungo in the 6th century. The view above is of the door opposite the altar.



From Wikipedia,

Built before the Reformation from the late 12th century onwards and serving as the seat of the Bishop and later the Archbishop of Glasgow, the building is a superb example of Scottish Gothic architecture.^[3][4] It is also one of the few Scottish medieval churches (and the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland) to have survived the Reformation not unroofed.

James IV ratified the treaty of Perpetual Peace with England at the high altar on 10 December 1502.

So clearly, we see that this is a place of significance in Scottish history. I connected with a docent when I walked into the church and learned a little bit more about the place. For example, the wooden roof is, of course, not original. If I recall correctly, it is less than 100 years old.

You'll also notice in the view standing at the cross of the nave, quire, and transepts, that this is not the usual cross shape but one that has the arms of the transepts shortened. I do not know if this was to speed construction, conform to the land, or simply because it is the way the builders wanted it to be.

As you can see, there is lots of colorful stained glass in this church. I gather that the original glass was mostly clear with a stained glass insert showing a reference to the patron who financed the window. Some of the original stain glass, shipped in from Germany, still remains and is much darker than the modern glass which you see above and below. In the image above, the circular window at the top of the transept on the left is an example of the older, darker, stained glass. The rest is all newer by centuries or millenia.

The wood work in the quire is very well done. It all seems to point to a dark sort of "religion noir"... dark stone, heavy wood, imposing carvings, and a darker interior in spite of the tall gothic windows. These windows here are narrower than what one sees in later churches and the light inside is thus reduced. Visiting in winter doesn't help this either.

At the head of the quire is the altar adorned by this red carpet.

From the altar area looking back through the church, we see the pipe organ stored high on the walls on either side of the quire just about even with the quire screen.

In the ambulatory, behind the altar, is a small glass sided case containing a King James Bible dating from 1617. Since the original printing of this version was 1611, this is a quite early copy. Seems it was lots from about 100 years while it lay in someone's attic after it was stolen from the church in the first half of the 19th century.

Looking from the alter back down the length of the church, we clearly see the quire screen the organ, the medallioned wooden roof, and the round window (seen in the first image above) over the original entry door. Entry today is via a side door on the left.

This view along the aisle on north side shows how uneven the ceiling ribs are from section to section. In most churches, these are quite straight. Here, possibly due to settling or construction methods, there are angles at almost every section of the vaulting.

Even though it is dark and has a dark, wooden roof, the overall effect of the height is to give the impression of lightness, especially on this sunny morning.

A bit into the nave we see this view of the quire screen and the transepts.

In the basement is the crypt and the grave of St. Mungo who is credited with bringing christianity to Scotland in the late 6th century.

Under the center of the church is the tomb of St. Mungo. Wikipedia repeats the claim that his remains are still in the crypt.