Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral stands on the reputed burial ground of Saint Mungo, also known as Kentigern, the city’s patron saint, who established a monastic cell here and was laid to rest at the site in 614. The first stone cathedral was consecrated in 1136 during the reign of King David I, and the present Gothic building was consecrated in 1197, rising over the centuries that followed. It is the oldest cathedral on the Scottish mainland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The structure measures roughly 87 metres in length and reaches some 32 metres in height, with a central tower and spire completed during the thirteenth century. Its plan includes a nave, choir, chapter house and sacristy, together with the Lower Church, or crypt, at whose centre lies the tomb of Saint Mungo. The late-medieval Blacader Aisle adjoins the building. After the Reformation of 1560 the cathedral passed from Roman Catholic use to the Church of Scotland, which continues to worship here as a parish church. Along with St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney, it is one of only two medieval Scottish cathedrals to survive the Reformation virtually intact. It became Crown property in 1587 and is a Category A listed building.