Christ Church Cathedral is the
cathedral of the
diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the
chapel of
Christ Church, a college of the
University of Oxford.
History
The cathedral was originally the church of
St Frideswide's Priory. The site is claimed to be the location of the abbey and relics of
St Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, although this is debatable.
In 1522, the priory was surrendered to
Cardinal Wolsey, who had selected it as the site for his proposed college. However, in 1529 the foundation was taken over by
King Henry VIII. Work stopped, but in June 1532 the college was refounded by the King. In 1546, Henry VIII transferred to it from
Osney to the see of Oxford. The cathedral has the name of
Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis, given to it by King Henry VIII's foundation charter.
There has been a choir at the cathedral since
1526, when
John Taverner was the organist and also master of the choristers. The statutes of
Cardinal Wolsey's original college, initially called
Cardinal College, mentioned sixteen choristers and thirty singing priests.
Christ Church Cathedral is often claimed to be the smallest cathedral in
England, and although it did once hold this distinction there are now smaller cathedrals, as several parish churches were elevated to cathedral status in the 20th century.,
Archive.org, 2004.
The nave, choir, main tower and transepts are of the...
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