St Eugene's Cathedral
Derry Ciry, County Derry
Between an elegant Georgian district and the green tranquillity of Brooke Park, stands the Catholic cathedral dedicated to St Eugene in 1873 by Bishop Kelly, to whose memory the glass canopy was built.
Christ Church was originally built as a four bay Gothic style Nave with king post trussed roof and four stage square tower by John Ferguson with chancel and transepts added in 1862 and 1881 by his son, John Guy Ferguson. It was internally reordered in 1996 following a major fire and is built of local schist with pale sandstone dressings. Christ Church is charming, with a devoted congregation who create a warm family feeling in its well maintained, light and bright interior.
There are a number of important stained-glass windows including the fine five lancet Chancel window added in memory of Caroline Potter, the second wife of Canon Joseph Potter, who died in 1881. It is thought to be by Ward & Hughes, rebuilt by Campbell Glass Studios of Belfast after the 1996 fire. There is also a poignant commemoration to the Williams brothers killed in the First World War, three of the 54 Christ Church men lost in Gallipoli, France and Belgium, many of them in the Battle of the Somme. They form a significant proportion of Londonderry’s sons lost in that conflict.
The nave contains a beautiful Wells-Kennedy organ and a grand piano which accompany the church choir in services and are often used in the many concerts held here given by local choirs and ensembles, including University of Ulster, the annual Londonderry International Choir Festival, Altnagelvin Hospital Choir, Sestina Music, Londonderry Britannia Band and local schools. The church is also used for nationally important recitals featuring the events of BBC Radio 3 and renowned international musicians such as Ruth McGinley, Barry Douglas and Mark Chambers.
Christ Church enjoys a close effective inter church co-operation with the magnificent Roman Catholic Cathedral, St Eugene’s, construction of which began in July 1851 following substantial local fund raising. It lies just across the road as does the Cathedral Hall, the former Christ Church Craig Memorial Hall of 1878; the whole area is part of the Clarendon Street and Magee Conservation Areas which includes Derry City Council's flagship heritage site, Brooke Park abutting Christ Church and also the Magee Campus of University of Ulster, a short distance away.
