Wakefield Cathedral
Grade I listed cathedral in Wakefield, United Kingdom
Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the parish church, it has Anglo Saxon origins and, after enlargement and rebuilding, has the tallest spire in Yorkshire. Its 247-foot (75 m) spire is the tallest structure in the City of Wakefield. The cathedral was designated a Grade I listed building on 14 July 1953.
History
The cathedral, situated in the centre of Wakefield on a hill on Kirkgate, is built on the site of a Saxon church, evidence of which was uncovered in 1900 when extensions to the east end were made. A church in Wakefield is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. In 1090 William II gave the church and land in Wakefield to Lewes Priory in Sussex, and shortly after that a Norman church was built.
The Norman church was rebuilt in 1329, and apart from the tower and spire, was again rebuilt and enlarged in 1469. The church was reconstructed and altered at various times and its spire, damaged in a violent gale, was renewed in 1823. Up to the 16th century the church was known by the Anglo Saxon All Hallows but after the Reformation changed to All Saints.
The public source identifies “Wakefield Cathedral” as grade I listed cathedral in Wakefield, United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wakefield, Cathedral and Grade.
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The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2363343. The Library of Congress control number is n86113984. Authority coordinates are 53.683, -1.497. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1953, 1900, 1086 and 1090.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Wakefield Cathedral” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.