The first Cathedral to be built in the British Isles after The Reformation

St Columb’s Cathedral was built in 1633 at the highest point in Derry City on the site of a former Cistercian Nunnery. It is Derry’s oldest surviving building and is also the first Protestant Cathedral to be built in the British Isles after The Reformation. It was built for the new settlers who arrived from England and Scotland during the plantation of Ulster and was paid for by the Corporation of London. It was designed to resemble a medieval English parish church in what was known as ‘Planters Gothic’. It is dedicated to St Columba who established the first Christian settlement near this location in the 6th century AD. It has seen lots of action during Derry’s turbulent history and even has marks on the tower made by a cannon that was fired during the Siege of Derry in 1689. The Cathedral has interesting stained glass windows, memorabilia, and furnishings some of which date back to 1600.