England Guide
The West Midlands and the Peak District
St Philip's Cathedral
Opening time: Early Sept to late July Mon– Fri 7.30am–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am–5pm; late July to early Sept Mon– Fri 7.30am–5pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am–5pm
Price: Free
Address: Colmore Row
Website: www.birminghamcathedral.com
Consecrated in 1715, St Philips Cathedral is a handsome affair, its graceful, galleried interior all balance and poise, its harmonies unruffled by the Victorians, who enlarged the original church in the 1880s, when four new stained-glass windows were commissioned from local boy Edward Burne-Jones, a leading light of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The windows are typical of his style – intensely coloured, fastidiously detailed and distinctly sentimental. Three – the Nativity, Crucifixion and Ascension – are at the east end of the church beyond the high altar, the fourth – the Last Judgement – is directly opposite.