Peel Cathedral

Peel Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St German
Peel Cathedral Shown within Isle of Man
54°13′18″N 4°41′28″W
Location	Peel
Country	Isle of Man
Denomination	Church of England
Website	Peel Cathedral
Administration
Diocese	Sodor and Man
Province	York
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Robert Paterson
Dean	Nigel Godfrey
Precentor	Peter Robinson (Canon of St German)
Canon(s)	Jules Gomes, Canon Theologian (Canon of St Patrick) Paul Mothersdale (Canon of St Columba) Vacant (Canon of St Maughold)
Archdeacon	Andie Brown, Archdeacon of the Isle of Man
Laity
Director of music	Dr Peter Litman

The Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980.

History

Original cathedral

The original cathedral of St German was inside the walls of Peel Castle and fell into ruin in the 18th century. After a considerable period of debate over who owned the ruins and site, the decision was eventually taken to not rebuild that cathedral. In 1895, the bishop consecrated his chapel at the bishop's palace as pro-cathedral and instituted a chapter of canons with himself as dean. That arrangement (bishop as dean) persisted even after the consecration of the new cathedral.

The cathedral has a dean and chapter. Until 15 October 2011, the Bishop of Sodor and Man was dean ex officio, but on that date the vicar of the parish became dean ex officio, as had been the historical arrangement from the 12th century until the late 19th. The chapter consists of the Archdeacon of Man ex officio and four canons who are all parochial clergy.

Vicars of German

• 1575–1585 Philip Hogget
• 1585–1621 John Cosnahan
• 1621–1660 William Cosnahan
• 1660–1661 Thomas Harrison
• 1661–1680 Henry Lowcay
• 1680–1682 John Woods (elder)
• 5 July 1682 – 1710 Samuel Wattleworth
• 10 June 1710 – 1730 Matthias Curghey
• 26 September 1730 – 1733 John Woods (younger)
• 1733–1741 Thomas Christian
• 28 July 1741 – 1742 John Craine
• 1744–1752 James Wilks
• 11 November 1752–December 1754 Robert Christian
• 15 April 1758 – 1761 Robert Brew
• 4 March 1761–November 1801 Henry Corlett
• 23 November 1801 – 1839 James Gelling
• 28 March 1839–? John Stowell

Deans of St German

• 1895–15 October 2011: The Bishop of Sodor and Man
• 15 October 2011–present: Nigel Godfrey

Chapter

• Canon Precentor & Canon of St German – The Revd Canon Peter Robinson (since 31 March 2012 installation)
• Canon Theologian & Canon of St Patrick – The Revd Canon Jules Gomes (since 21 October 2012 installation)
• Canon of St Columba – The Revd Canon Paul Mothersdale (since 10 March 2013 installation)
• Archdeacon of the Isle of Man – The Ven Andie Brown (since 15 October 2011 collation)
• Canon of St Maughold – Vacant since April 2012

Music

Cathedral Choirs:

The Cathedral has two choirs: the Cathedral Choristers (mixed boy and girl trebles aged 7–14 years) which sing a weekly Choral Evensong on Sundays at 3.30pm and an adult voluntary choir 'the Nave Choir', which sing most Sunday morning 10.30am Eucharists.

At the moment and while the trebles develop, for large diocesan services a choir is drawn from the Cathedral Choristers and the Nave Choir, as well as invited singers from across the whole diocese.

Organs:

The Cathedral has a large 2 manual Brindley & Foster organ in the Chancel and a Viscount 3 manual "Physis" organ in the Nave. Across the next 5 years the pipe organ will be rebuilt, re-ordered and significantly enlarged to meet the demands of the Cathedral's choral program.

The Organist & Director of Music is Peter Litman.