Hereford Cathedral is located in Hereford, Herefordshire in England.
The Cathedral was built around the year 676.
In 794 the young King of Angles, Ethelbert arrived in Mercia and wanted to marry King Offa’s daughter. Ethelbert was the murdered by order of either King Offa or Offa’s wife the Queen. Ethelbert was later Canonised. Saint Ethelbert’s body now rests in Hereford Cathedral which is now the place of a pilgrim cult.
In 1055 a Welsh Army destroyed the Cathedral.
Between 1107 and 1158 much of the Cathedral was rebuilt.
In 1282 the Bishop of Hereford, Thomas Cantilupe died in Italy and in 1283 Thomas’ bones were buried in the Lady Chapel. In 1287 the bones of Thomas Cantilupe were relocated to the Shrine in the north transept.
On 17th April 1320 Thomas Cantilupe was Canonised as Saint Thomas of Hereford.
A new shrine was made in the Lady Chapel in 1349 and Saint Thomas’ bones were moved once again to the new shrine.
During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the shrine in the Lady Chapel was destroyed.
In the 1640′s during the Civil War the Parliamentarians invaded Hereford and abolished the Cathedral administrations while confiscating everything under the Commonwealth.
The Cathedral administrations were restored along with the Monarchy under the rule of Charles 2nd in 1660.
The west front and west tower of the Cathedral collapsed on Easter Monder 17th April 1786. James Wyatt restored the Cathedral Between 1787 and 1795.
Between 1841 and 1848 the Cathedral was restored further by L.N. Cottingham and Dean John Merewether. During this particular restoration the Medieval screen was removed along with many 17th and 18th century monuments.
Between 1858 and 1863 there was further restoration work by Sir George Gilbert Scott who installed the wrought iron choir screen which was made by Francis Skidmore.
Between 1897 and 1903 restoration work was lead by Dean James Wentworth Leigh.
In 1967 the choir screen was removed which George Gilbert Scott installed and was later restored in 2001 at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In 2009 the Heritage Lottery Fund helped to begin even more restoration to the Cathedral.
Reported Paranormal Activity
During the Three Choirs Festival many years ago dozens of people were astonished to see the ghost of a Monk standing at the North-East of the Cathedral just before the stroke of midnight. This particular Monk was believed to have been murdered in the Cathedral in 1055 by a Welsh Man.
