Where is the smallest cathedral in United Kingdom?

Answer 1

I can start this answer off by confirming that the smallest cathedral city in England is Wells in Somerset. Wells is not much more than a small market town, but is granted city status by virtue of its cathedral. Wells cathedral - the cathedral church of the diocese of Bath and Wells - is one of the finest in Britain and has what is believed to be the finest west front in Europe. The Bishop's Palace next door is a large moated fortified building and is the oldest continually inhabited home in the country.

However, the smallest cathedral city in the UK is in Wales. St David's is a city in far west Pembrokeshire in south Wales. The city is smaller than many villages and yet boasts a fine cathedral and the shrine of David, patron saint of Wales.

There are many cathedrals that are smaller, but are in larger cities or even small towns (and hence do not count) - for example, St Asaph cathedral is regarded as the smallest in Wales and is not much bigger than an average parish church (as it used to be one anyway). Newport Cathedral (the cathedral of St Woolos - or Gwynlliw in Welsh - is also very small but larger than St Asaph, and is of course situated in the large City of Newport. In England Oxford Cathedral is actually the chapel of Christ College Oxford and generally regarded as the smallest cathedral in England, although Oxford is nowhere near a small city. Another very small cathedral is that of the diocese of Sodor and Man on the Isle of Man, but as Man is not strictly part of the UK, this does not count.

The top twenty are as follows:

1 St David's p. 1,797

2 The City of London p. 7,185

3. Wells p. 10,406

4. Bangor (Wales) p. 11,173

5. Armagh (NI) p. 14,590

6. Ely p. 15,102

7. Ripon p. 16,468

8. Truro p. 20,920

9. Chichester p. 23,731

10. Lichfield p. 27,900

11. Salisbury p. 44,450

12. Winchester p. 41,420

13. Canterbury p. 43,432

14. Hereford p. 47,201

Inverness (Scot), p. 51,832, was a medieval cathedral city, but lost that status during the reformation. It was granted city status by royal charter in 2000. The former cathedral is now a presbyterian parish called the Old High Kirk.

15. St Albans p. 64,038

16. Lisburn (NI) p. 71,465

17. Carlisle p. 71,733

18. Chester p. 77,040

19. Derry/Londonderry (NI) p. 83,652

Bath, p. 83,992, comes next but does not have a cathedral. Its does however have a magnificent cathedral-sized abbey, which was a joint cathedral for the diocese of Bath and Wells in the middle ages.

20. Lincoln p. 87,600

Answer 2

The Cathedral of the Isles in Millport, Scotland.