Shrewsbury Cathedral 3.28

The Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara, commonly known as Shrewsbury Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Shrewsbury, England. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury and mother church of the Diocese of Shrewsbury which covers the historic counties of Shropshire and Cheshire.HistoryConstructionThe building of the cathedral was originally commissioned by John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, the intended architect being Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin but both men died in 1852 before the work was expected to start. The succeeding nephew, the 17th Earl, Bertram Talbot offered to fund the building of the cathedral from which the new diocese of Shrewsbury would be based. The cathedral's design was taken over by Edward Pugin (the son of Augustus). Originally, a larger cathedral with a tall spire was planned. However, two years into the building of the cathedral, a stratum of sand was discovered very close to the building's foundations, causing them to be weaker than expected, so the spire had to be abandoned and the building scaled down. The Earl of Shrewsbury then agreed to meet the cost of a smaller church, and this was finished at a cost of £4,000, although the Earl died three months prior to its completion. In 1856, the cathedral was completed and was opened by Cardinal Wiseman.