---
title: "Shrewsbury Cathedral"
description: "Located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Built 1852–56. Diocese of Shrewsbury. Grade II*. Gothic Revival style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Catholic Church","Shropshire","Shrewsbury","Grade II*","Gothic Revival","Edward Welby Pugin","Cathedral"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/shrewsbury-cathedral"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:40:02.357Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T20:33:08.407Z"
location: "Shrewsbury, Shropshire"
country: "England"
county: "Shropshire"
town: "Shrewsbury"
address: "Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 1TE"
postcode: "SY1 1TE"
built: "1852–56"
consecrated: "1856"
architect: "Edward Welby Pugin; later additions by Edmund Kirby"
denomination: "Catholic Church"
dedications: ["Our Lady Help of Christians","Peter of Alcantara"]
diocese: "Shrewsbury"
grade: "II*"
style: "Gothic Revival"
materials: "Coursed and squared sandstone rubble with plain tiled roofs"
website: "http://www.shrewsburycathedral.org/"
openingHours: "Stewards can be found in the Cathedral from Easter to 31st October on weekdays between 1pm and 4pm and on a Saturday between 10am and 4pm. From 1st November until Easter on Saturdays only between 10 am and 3pm. On Sundays the Cathedral is open for Mass from 7.30am to 12.15pm and from 4.30pm to 7pm. Due to stewards holidays, there may be afternoons when the cathedral cannot be opened."
parish: "Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Peter of Alcantara"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1270562"
gridReference: "SJ 491 122"
accessNotes: "Accessible toilets in church. Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas. Non-accessible toilets in church"
---

# Shrewsbury Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara is the Grade II* Roman Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, on Town Walls beside the River Severn.

## Overview

Historic England records a cathedral of 1856 by Edward Welby Pugin, possibly developing designs begun by his father A. W. N. Pugin. John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, commissioned the project; both he and A. W. N. Pugin died in 1852. Bertram, 17th Earl, funded the building. A planned tower and spire were abandoned after sand was found near the foundations. The church opened in 1856 under Cardinal Wiseman. The fabric is coursed and squared sandstone rubble with plain tiled roofs: nave and two aisles, chancel, and lean-to aisle chapels. The nave arcade is of five-and-a-half bays with octagonal Early Gothic shafts.

Chapels and chancel were decorated by J. Pippet of Hardman and Co. Stained glass includes Hardman work (east window 1862) and windows by Margaret Rope, among them scenes from the Lives of the Saints dated 1917 and the great liturgical west window of the English Martyrs. A rood of 1885 hangs from the chancel arch. Stations of the Cross of 1952 are by Philip Lindsey Clarke. Later additions are by Edmund Kirby. Conservation work from 2019 uncovered nineteenth-century wall paintings by Joseph Aloysius Pippet beneath later paint.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1270562](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1270562)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrewsbury_Cathedral)
- [Taking Stock](https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/shrewsbury-cathedral-church-of-our-lady-help-of-christians-and-st-peter-of-alcantara/)