Description: St Barnabas Roman Catholic Cathedral was designed by A W Pugin, at a cost of £15,000, a substantial amount of this being paid by the prominent Catholic Lord Shrewsbury. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was a Catholic convert with little formal architectural training, Pugin's architectural theories and practice transformed English Church building (he was also famed for his Houses of Parliament interiors). Despite his death at just 40, he both galvanised the British Gothic Revival and stimulated Gothic revivals internationally. Within a few years of his death, Gothic revival architecture had become a worldwide movement. Saint Barnabas' Cathedral is considered to be one of his three best churches. The plan of the church is cruciform, and is one hundred and ninety feet long from east to west. At the base of the spire are images of SS. Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist, and Barnabas. It was first consecrated in 1842, thirteen years after the repeal of the ban on Catholicism in the United Kingdom. With the establishment of a new Catholic hierarchy in the UK in 1850 it was raised to Cathedral status. It is the seat of the Bishop of Nottingham. The Convent and Schools adjoining are dedicated to 'our Lady of Mercy,' and are located to the rear of the Cathedral. The bishopric was first created in 1850 when the Catholic hierarchy was restored in the United Kingdom. There have been nine Bishops of Nottingham since 1850. Joseph Hendren 22 June 1851-3 February 1853, Richard Roskell 21 September 1853-10 October 1874, Edward Gilpin Bagshaw 12 November 1874-May 1901, Rober Brindle 6 December 1901-1 June 1915, Thomas Dunn 25 February 1916-21 September 1931, John Francis McNulty 11 June 1932-8 June 1943, Edward Ellis 1 May 1944-31 October 1974, James Joseph 31 October 1974-8 December 2000, Malcom Patrick 8 December 2000-Present. Another notable person associated with the Cathedral is The Venerable Mary Potter, who is revered as Nottingham Cathedral's own 'saint in the making', along with her 'Little Company of Mary'. Her work began in 1877 in Hyson Green where she established the first Catholic religious congregation of women specifically dedicated to nursing. Mary Potter's care of the poor, the sick and the dying were recognised by the present pope in 1988 when he declared her to be venerable: the first stage in the process of sainthood. The mortal remains of the Venerable Mary Potter were re-buried in the north ambulatory of the Cathedral in 1997.