Гилдфордский собор: История и архитектура

The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford, Surrey, England. Earl Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett, a former Prime Minister of Canada, purchasing the remaining land and donating it to the cathedral in 1947. Designed by Edward Maufe and built between 1936 and 1961, it is the seat of the Bishop of Guildford. The cathedral was listed as Grade II* by Historic England in 1981. In 1932, a design competition was held, with a brief that the construction costs should be £250,000. but work was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War. The angel on the top of the tower was given in memory of Sgt. Reginald Adgey Edgar of the Intelligence Corps, who died on active service in 1944 during World War II. It was designed by William Pickford and created by four silversmiths, before being positioned in Spring 1963. The supporting pole for the angel houses mobile phone antennas. The wooden cross which stands outside the eastern end of the cathedral was erected in 1933 before construction work began in order to mark the site of the new cathedral. Known as the Ganges Cross, it is made from timbers of Burma teak from the battleship The ship's emblem — an elephant — is embedded in the wood. Sir Edward Maufe's wife, Lady Prudence Maufe – an interior designer, director of Heal and Son Ltd. and member of the Worshipful Company of Broderers – was instrumental in the design of the textiles within the cathedral. Unusually, Maufe's contract included complete control over the internal fittings and colour scheme of the cathedral. This colour scheme references Guildford's wool trade past, notably the blue colour for which Guildford wool was famous. The 1,447 kneelers, using a combination of standard and individual designs, were each reviewed and approved by Lady Maufe and her committee. They were made by over 400 individuals, mainly from the British Isles, but including people from other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. Whilst most were made during the late 1950s and early 1960s, there are examples dating back to the late 1930s, and they collectively form a fascinating record of society and life at that time. 20th century sculptors and artists are well represented at Guildford Cathedral, notably Eric Gill, Vernon Hill, Mary Spencer Watson, Dennis Huntley, Alan Collins and local artists John Cobbett and Douglas Stephen. Charles Gurrey created a series of sculptures above the West Front, to mark the Millennium, whilst Canadian sculptor Nicholas Thompson completed a sculpture of a WWI mother and child in 2016. There are three side chapels. The Children's Chapel is dedicated to children who have died, and holds a book of remembrance for children of any age. The Chapel of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment holds the regimental colours and was dedicated in 1959 to the Honour of King Charles the Martyr. The Queen's Royal Regiment was founded in 1661 as the Tangiers Regiment on the marriage of King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza. The Lady Chapel was built using funds donated by the Canadian people, in recognition of the support for Canadian troops stationed in the area during both world wars. It contains a figure of the Madonna and Child, carved in lignum vitae by Douglas Stephen, the then manager of Barclays Bank, Chelsea. The altar and altar rails were originally used in the chapel in the crypt, the place of worship for the original parish, during the construction of the cathedral. The crypt chapel is now used as the choir room.

The cathedral contains fewer stained glass windows than many comparable church buildings, having a predominantly clear glazing scheme (using opaque glass to soften the light) to complement the modernist architectural style of the building. However it includes works by Moira Forsyth, William Wilson, James Powell and Sons, Ninian Comper and Lawrence Lee. There are etched glass works by New Zealand born artist John Hutton. One set adorns the panel at the west entrance; the other is above the internal doors to the south porch. In January 2024 one of the panes on the west front door was smashed in an act of apparent vandalism. Hutton achieved particular acclaim for his work at Coventry Cathedral, and he worked on both Coventry and Guildford Cathedrals at the same time.

The cathedral organ was installed in 1961 by the Liverpool firm of Rushworth and Dreaper. It is a reconstruction of an organ dating from c. 1866, previously in the Rosse Street Baptist Church in Shipley, West Yorkshire. The organ, probably built by Nicholson of Bradford, was a gift of the Coulthurst Trust. During the cathedral's renovation in 2015 to 2017, the organ was dismantled and refurbished by David Wells Organ Builders. There are approximately 4,600 pipes across both the main and positive organs. A second organ, also supplied by Rushworth and Dreaper, is installed in the musicians gallery of the Lady Chapel. It consists of boy choristers, who sing at Sunday services and Choral Evensong on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and are educated at the RGS Preparatory School. Since 2002, girl choristers have sung on Sundays and Evensong on Fridays. There are six lay clerks, professional adult singers; two altos, two tenors and two basses. They sing on Sundays and at Evensong on weekdays. The Guildford Cathedral Singers are a voluntary mixed voice choir, who sing at special services and when the Cathedral Choir is on holiday.

Guildford Cathedral has a ring of twelve bells; ten of which were cast by Mears and Stainbank in 1965. The bells were augmented to 12 with two Whitechapel trebles in 1975. The largest bell is the tenor which weighs 30 cwt and 43 lbs (1,543.5 kg), and is tuned to the key of D. A team of about 25 volunteer bellringers practice on Tuesdays. In June 2022, the cathedral hosted the final of the National 12 Bell Striking Contest.