Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

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Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral main entrance
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is located in Merseyside
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Shown within Merseyside
Basic information
Location Liverpool
Full name Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King
Geographic coordinates 53°24′17″N 2°58′04″W / 53.404754°N 2.967725°W / 53.404754; -2.967725Coordinates: 53°24′17″N 2°58′04″W / 53.404754°N 2.967725°W / 53.404754; -2.967725
County Merseyside
Country England
Ecclesiastical information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Province Liverpool
Diocese Liverpool
Bishop Archbishop Patrick Altham Kelly
Dean Anthony O'Brien
Director of
Music		 Timothy Noon
Organist Richard Lea
Website liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk
Building information
Architect(s) Edward Welby Pugin - 1853
Edwin Lutyens - 1930
Adrian Gilbert Scott - 1953
Frederick Gibberd - 1967
Height (max) 84.86m[1]

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (usually shortened to Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool[2] and the metropolitan church of the ecclesiastical Northern Province.[3] The cathedral was built in 1856 on Domingo Road in Liverpool were it provided 74 years of service until it was moved to its current site at Brownlow Hill where a design by Sir Edwin Lutyens was comissioned and then abandoned due to rising costs. After another failed design by Adrian Gilbert Scott a worldwide compitition was held to design the cathedral, the winning design was by Frederick Gibberd.[4] The design of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is circular in shape with chapels between the buttresses that support the tent-shaped spire.[5]

The Metropolitan Cathedral is one of the two cathedrals in the city. The other, the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, is situated around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the south.[6] In recent years the cathedral has won many awards and titles for its architecture and tourist attractions, most notably it is a Grade II* listed building.[7]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Pugin's design

During the Irish potato famine in 1847 the Catholic population of Liverpool increased dramatically. About half a million Irish, who were predominantly Catholic, fled to England to escape the famine; many embarked from Liverpool to travel to America while others remained in city.[8] Because of the increase in the Catholic population the co-adjutor Bishop of Liverpool, Alexander Goss (1814–1872), saw the need for a cathedral. The location he chose for this cathedral was the grounds of St. Edward's College on St. Domingo Road, Everton.[4]

In 1853 Goss, then bishop, awarded the commission for the building of the new cathedral to Edward Welby Pugin (1833–1875),[9] the joint architect of the Houses of Parliament and champion of the Gothic Revival.[10] By 1856 the Lady Chapel of the new cathedral had been completed. Due to financial resources being diverted to the education of Catholic children, work on the building ceased at this point and the Lady Chapel – now named Our Lady Immaculate – served as parish church to the local Catholic population until its demolition in the 1980s.[11]

[edit] Lutyens' design

Edwin Lutyens design for the cathedral

Following purchase of the present 9-acre (36,000 m2) site at Brownlow Hill in 1930,[4] Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) was commissioned to provide a design which would be an appropriate response to the Giles Gilbert Scott-designed Neo-gothic Anglican cathedral then being built on Hope Street.[12]

Lutyens' design would have created a massive structure that would have become the second-largest church in the world. It would have had the world's largest dome, being 510 feet (160 m) compared to the 450 feet (140 m) on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[13] Work on Lutyens' design began on Whit Monday, 5 June 1933,[13] being paid for mostly by the contributions of working-class Catholics of the burgeoning industrial port.[14] In 1941 the restrictions of World War II wartime forced construction to stop. In 1956 work recommenced on the crypt, which was finished in 1958. Thereafter, Lutyen's design for the cathedral was considered too expensive and so was abandoned with only the crypt complete.[13]

[edit] Scott's reduced design

After the ambitious design by Lutyens fell through, Adrian Gilbert Scott, brother of Giles Gilbert Scott (architect of the Anglican Cathedral), was commissioned in 1953 to work on a smaller cathedral design with a £4,000,000 budget (£80,000,000 as of 2009).[15] He proposed a scaled-down version of Lutyens' building, retaining the massive dome. Scott's plans were criticised and the building did not go ahead.[4]

[edit] Gibberds' design

The cathedral as it is today was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd (1908–1984) who's design was chosen from 300 others applicants from all over the world to design the cathedrals' new look.[4] Gibberds' idea was to create a modern circular building with a height of 84.86m[1] and a crown on the top to represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore during his crucifixion in the Bible.[16] Construction of Gibberds' cathedral began on October 1962 and less than five years later, on the Feast of Pentecost, 14 May 1967 the completed Cathedral was consecrated.[4] Soon after its opening, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral began to exhibit architectural flaws, including a leaking roof and mosaic tiles covering the concrete ribs beginning to come away. This led to the cathedral authorities sueing Frederick Gibberd £1.3 million on five counts, the two most serious being the defects in the aluminium roof and the defect mosaic tiles.[17]

[edit] Sir Edwin Lutyens Crypt

Lutyens crypt is a crypt under Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1930 when Lutyens was commissioned to build the catherdal.[18] The crypt is the only part of the cathedral that was constructed in Lutyens image before construction stopped due to World war two and in 1962 Frederick Gibberds' design was built upon Lutyens crypt.[13]

[edit] Gallery

The Cathedral steps

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral at dusk

The cathedral's four bells

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King – Facts". www.emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=110845. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  2. ^ "Welcome to Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral". Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  3. ^ "The Archdiocese of Liverpool". Archdiocese of Liverpool. http://www.archdiocese-of-liverpool.co.uk/index.htm. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f "History of the Metropolitan Cathedral". Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/history/history.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-04. 
  5. ^ "Metropolitan Cathedral, view from the Liverpool Cathedral". Earth in Pictures. http://www.earthinpictures.com/world/great_britain/liverpool/metropolitan_cathedral,_view_from_the_liverpool_cathedral.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-14. 
  6. ^ "Liverpool Cathedral – Local Interest". Pilgrims' Association. 2006. http://www.cathedralsplus.org.uk/index.php/front_end/member/86/about.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  7. ^ "NOTES ON BUILDINGS OF SPECIAL ARCHITECTURAL ORHISTORIC INTEREST". Liverpool City Council. http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Images/tcm21-63651.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-07-14. 
  8. ^ Redford & Chaloner (1976), pp. 156–157.
  9. ^ Hammond, Lisa (June/July 2008). "No.14: Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral". www.mondoarc.com. http://www.mondoarc.com/built_with_light/226507/no14_liverpool_metropolitan_cathedral.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  10. ^ "Pugin The God of Gothic". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2007_pugin.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  11. ^ Evans, dave (7 April 2005). "St Domingo Road, Everton". Dave Evans. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2007_pugin.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-28. 
  12. ^ "Liverpool Cathedral". Visit North West. http://www.visitnorthwest.com/liverpool/liverpool-cathedral.htm. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  13. ^ a b c d Edmondson, Rick. "Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral". Rick Edmondson. http://www.unfinishedbuildings.org/liverpool.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  14. ^ Cusack, Andrew (January 2007). "The Greatest Building Never Built". andrew cusack. http://www.andrewcusack.com/2007/01/11/the-greatest-building-never-built/#more. Retrieved on 2009-07-05. 
  15. ^ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Measuring Worth: UK CPI.
  16. ^ "Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King". www.skyscrapernews.com. January 2009. http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=430. Retrieved on 2009-07-06. 
  17. ^ Baillieu, Amanda (February 1994). "Paddy's wigwam needs repairs". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/architecture-paddys-wigwam-needs-repairs-1394451.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-16. 
  18. ^ "Welcome to the Crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral". Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/facilities/crypt.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-07. 
Bibliography
  • Redford, Arthur; Chaloner, William Henry (1976). Labour migration in England, 1800–1850. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719006368. 

[edit] Further readings

  • Gibberd, Frederick (1968). Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool. Architectural P. ISBN 0851393888. 

[edit] External links

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