Brentwood Cathedral

The Cathedral of Brentwood ( Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Helen ) in Brentwood, East Anglia, Essex, is the Episcopal Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brentwood and parish church of the local Catholic community. It was built with the involvement of a neo-gothic predecessor church from 1989 to 1991 after plans by London architect Quinlan Terry in forms of Italian Renaissance and Baroque English.

History

The first post-Reformation Catholic Church in Brentwood was built in 1837. The brick building now serves as a meeting place. 1861 a new, larger church of stone was built in the Gothic Revival style for the growing community adjacent to the old, a three-aisled basilica with geostete spire tower and a rectangular choir.

1917 was established from part of a territory of the Archdiocese of Westminster, the diocese of Brentwood. The parish church was raised to cathedral. In the 1970s, she received an extension of reinforced concrete. However, this was felt to be unsatisfactory, and anonymous major donors together contributed the funds for the present building, which was consecrated on 31 May 1991 the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume.

Architecture and Facilities

Quinlan Terry reached for the Kathedralneubau with classical orders of columns, triangular pediments, pilasters and semi-circular portico so consistently style forms of the 16th, 17th and 18th Century, and that the actual time of origin only at second glance it can be seen, even for experts. The floor plan is a rectangle with an aspect ratio of 3:5. The two-story, laternenbekrönte main room is surrounded on three sides by single-storey, detached with wide round arches aisles; on the fourth side to the south corresponding to these the central and south aisle of the old church, which now form the choir room.

In the white and light gray interior combined are on the shorter axis of the main entrance to the old church room liturgical places ambo, altar and bishop's throne, all also in the style of the classical Baroque style. The flat ceiling, in the middle opens the lantern is richly decorated with gold leaf ornaments. While in the Gothic area produce behind the altar and bishop's throne, the stained glass windows from the 19th century, a colored semi-darkness, the arched windows of the new building are based on prototypes of the 18th century handmade clear glass panes in lead grid structure, which make the daylight einfluten bright. From the ceiling hang large brass chandelier. Between the nave arches round reliefs are mounted with the Stations of the Cross by Raphael Maklouf.

Organ

The organ was built in 1993 by organ builder Percy Daniel in an existing organ case. The instrument has 49 registers on three manuals and pedal. The tracker action is electro-pneumatic.