Trivia: STATIONS IN CATHEDRAL TOWNS

[jopsuk]

As always, English lacks proper rules, it just has vague guidelines which are always broken.

 

[FenMan]

The Cathedral of St Michael and St George (RC) is 1 mile from Aldershot station.

 

[Robert Taggart]

I couldn't believe Clifton (Bristol) RC Cathedral ...

Indeed. A fine modernist edifice, but, not what one would call 'cathedralesque' ! The reddish concrete panelling does its aesthetics no favours.
The Pro-Cathedral ( a Romanesque golden stone building nearby) was to have been more impressive, alas, it was never completed.
A good description can found about buildings on Wikipedia.

 

[Busaholic]

Indeed. A fine modernist edifice, but, not what one would call 'cathedralesque' ! The reddish concrete panelling does its aesthetics no favours.
The Pro-Cathedral ( a Romanesque golden stone building nearby) was to have been more impressive, alas, it was never completed.
A good description can found about buildings on Wikipedia.

Didn't know about the Pro-Cathedral. Will have to go and investigate one day: haven't had a day out in Bristol for years. Thanks for the info

 

[CockneySparrow]

There are cathedrals (a mix of C of E and RC) in 27 towns (as opposed to cities) in the U.K.
I wonder (A) if they are all within a mile or two of a railway station
and (B) which rail service connects the optimum number
For the pedantic amongst you, all cathedrals within Greater London are excluded from the above total.

Is there such a thing as a Cathedral town, thought that Cathedrals made a location a city

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Is there such a thing as a Cathedral town, thought that Cathedrals made a location a city

That's a common misconception. There are several towns, including my home one, with cathedrals, that have never gained city status:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Towns_with_cathedrals_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[route:oxford]

Perhaps... If my memory is correct, the road-sign as you enter from Bridge Of Allan says "City of Dunblane" and when growing up nearby I was taught that it was a city, unlike (then) Stirling, despite Stirling being far larger.

Indeed it does.

It doesn't matter whether you enter from BofA/Stirling, Perth or Doune the signs do say "City of Dunblane".

It's a historic thing, similar to the address putting it, Doune, Callander and Killin in Perthshire - but within the Stirling Council area. There are a fair few people who'd rather it be in Perth & Kinross...

Sadly no longer officially a city, but history is important.

 

[Deerfold]

Is there such a thing as a Cathedral town, thought that Cathedrals made a location a city

Did you read the thread at all?

A good start is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[Doctor Fegg]

We do of course have the Cathedrals Express every weekday on the Cotswold Line, from London to the three cathedrals at Oxford, Worcester and Hereford.

 

[northwichcat]

And also, when the Roman Catholic church was allowed to establish itself again (from 1829), and subsequently established a hierarchy (this necessitating cathedrals to contain cathedrae for the newly appointed bishops), it made a point of, mostly, establishing them in places that did not have an already existing cathedral. There were a few exceptions from the start, and more occurred later as the initial dioceses were sub-divided.

Maybe that was to avoid confusion e.g. if you mention the Bishop of Manchester then no-one would think you were talking about the other Bishop of Manchester? In cities like Liverpool and Birmingham the Catholic bishop is actually an archbishop.
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We do of course have the Cathedrals Express every weekday on the Cotswold Line, from London to the three cathedrals at Oxford, Worcester and Hereford.

Why is that specifically a Cathedral Express when Liverpool-Newcastle serves more Cathedrals - Liverpool, Liverpool Metropolitan, Manchester, Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle and St Mary's Newcastle? Although, Liverpool-Newcastle could also be referred to as a University Express.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Why is that specifically a Cathedral Express when Liverpool-Newcastle serves more Cathedrals - Liverpool, Liverpool Metropolitan, Manchester, Leeds, York, Durham, Newcastle and St Mary's Newcastle? Although, Liverpool-Newcastle could also be referred to as a University Express.

It's just one of FGW's many named trains, though I wouldn't be surprised if it goes back several decades to when the whole railway romance thing was at its zenith. Of course it is not the service that serves the most cathedrals, it's just a name banded about to describe the service, much like the other 20-30 they have.

Surely Plymouth-Edinburgh serves more unis?

 

[northwichcat]

It's just one of FGW's many named trains, though I wouldn't be surprised if it goes back several decades to when the whole railway romance thing was at its zenith. Of course it is not the service that serves the most cathedrals, it's just a name banded about to describe the service, much like the other 20-30 they have.

It just seems a bit strange to me for a long distance service serving so few cathedrals to be called Cathedral express.

Surely Plymouth-Edinburgh serves more unis?

There's already a thread on most unis served by a train: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=97410

 

[MidnightFlyer]

It just seems a bit strange to me for a long distance service serving so few cathedrals to be called Cathedral express.

I don't think it's so much the number of them, more the age: between the three of them they just fall short of three millenniums' worth of existence. As I said before it's just to retain the identity rail travel had way back when. TPE are of course more than free to introduce named trains, it just doesn't fit their network...

 

[Welshman]

It's just one of FGW's many named trains, though I wouldn't be surprised if it goes back several decades to when the whole railway romance thing was at its zenith.

Indeed.
"The Cathedrals Express" was first introduced by the Western Region of British Railways in 1957.

It's interesting to learn that the title has now been revived by FGW.

It's also a name borrowed by Steam Dreams for some of their heritage excursions.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Maybe the Cathedrals Express should be rerouted via Gloucester rather than Oxford and could become the Three Choirs Express. (No, I'm not serious.)

 

[Welshman]

Maybe the Cathedrals Express should be rerouted via Gloucester rather than Oxford and could become the Three Choirs Express. (No, I'm not serious.)

And if it could be hauled by the re-named 50007, then what pomp and circumstance there would be.

But if the said loco was not available, any variation would be a bit of an enigma.

 

[Marton]

And also, when the Roman Catholic church was allowed to establish itself again (from 1829), and subsequently established a hierarchy (this necessitating cathedrals to contain cathedrae for the newly appointed bishops), it made a point of, mostly, establishing them in places that did not have an already existing cathedral. There were a few exceptions from the start, and more occurred later as the initial dioceses were sub-divided.

Whilst Catholics initially didn't use the same places as the C of E when the England and Wales hierarchy was established in 1850 this was actually prohibited in the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851.

A number of CofE cathedrals followed the Catholics late, eg Liverpool, Newcastle ( RC Hexham and Newcastle) Southwark and Portsmouth.



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