Manchester Cathedral was the second worst damaged Cathedral in England (after Coventry) during the Second World War. Two days before Christmas 1940, during the Manchester Blitz, a German land mine exploded at the north east corner of the Cathedral, razing the Regiment Chapel and the Lady Chapel to the ground. All windows in the Cathedral were blown out.
Sir Hubert Worthington RA was the Cathedral Architect who rebuilt the Regimental Chapel after the War. He himself had fought with the 16th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment during the Great War, and had received six German Machine Gun bullets in his leg. The work took five years, and the chapel was re-dedicated in 1951.
Manchester Cathedral keeps its own Archives relating to all aspects of its functions as both a Parish and a Cathedral Church. Although Manchester was only made a Cathedral in 1848, it has been a Collegiate Church since 1421, and the Archives date back as far as 1361.
Material from the Cathedral Archives is available to the public, by appointment, at Chetham's Library. For further details look under 'History' on the Cathedral website: www.manchestercathedral.com
Specifically relating to World War II, there are photographs, service sheets, printed ephemera, minute books etc. There is also currently an Oral History programme underway at the Cathedral. Anybody with memories of Manchester Cathedral, especially during the war period, please contact the Archivist if you would like to be interviewed.
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