Sutherland

Dornoch Cathedral

A cathedral of honey-coloured stone in the middle of Dornoch, founded by Bishop Gilbert de Moravia in 1222, burned in 1570 and restored, with 27 stained-glass windows.

Welcome

In the middle of Dornoch, on its green, stands a cathedral of warm, honey-coloured stone: squat and solid outside, cross-shaped with a broad tower and spire, and surprisingly spacious within.

It has been in use since 1239.

Bishop Gilbert de Moravia chose Dornoch for the cathedral of the Diocese of Caithness in 1222, perhaps because his predecessor had been killed by angry farmers at Halkirk. He lived to see the first service here, died at Scrabster in 1245, and was made a saint. In 1570 a feud between the Murrays and the Mackays ended with the cathedral set on fire and its nave destroyed, and it was not fully restored until the 1830s. Today it is a Church of Scotland parish church that keeps its old title.

Inside, the Victorian plaster was stripped off in 1924 to show the stone again. Look for the carved pulpit and oak pews of 1911, and for the light through twenty-seven stained-glass windows, changing as the sun moves round.

Before you go

The cathedral is open to visitors during daylight hours, free, with a chance to make a donation.

Sunday worship is at 11am.

Where: Cathedral Square, in the middle of Dornoch.
Services: Sundays at 11am.

Did you know

An arched wooden door sits beneath a Gothic church's stone gable, autumn leaves at its threshold.

Did you know

Not quite square.

None of the four arches at the crossing is quite the same height.

A Gothic sandstone church's arched doorway stands behind a row of gravestones.

Did you know

Twenty-seven windows.

The cathedral has twenty-seven stained-glass windows.

A church tower's spire and clock face rise above autumn-coloured trees.

Did you know

A saint's church.

Its founder, Bishop Gilbert de Moravia, was made a saint after his death in 1245.

Hidden Scotland

From our guide to Sutherland

In the middle of Dornoch, on its green, stands a cathedral of warm, honey-coloured stone, squat and solid outside and surprisingly spacious within. Bishop Gilbert de Moravia began it in the 1220s, and services have been held here since 1239. In 1570 a feud between the Murrays and the Mackays ended with the cathedral set on fire, and it was not fully restored until the 1830s. Today it is a Church of Scotland parish church that keeps its old title. Go inside on a bright day for the light through its stained glass.

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