Liverpool Cathedral

Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool
Liverpool Cathedral viewed from the south-east
Basic information
Location	Liverpool
Full name	Cathedral Church of Christ
County	Merseyside
Country	England
Ecclesiastical information
Denomination	Church of England
Province	York
Diocese	Liverpool
Diocese created	1880
Website	www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk
Building information
Dates built	1904-1978
Architect(s)	Giles Gilbert Scott
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
Length	188.67m
Height (nave)	36.5m
Height (choir)	35.3m
Towers	1
Tower height(s)	100.8m

Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James' Mount near the centre of the city of Liverpool, England and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin. It is the largest cathedral in the United Kingdom and the fifth largest in the world.^[1]

The Anglican cathedral is one of two cathedrals in the city. The other, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool, is situated approximately half a mile to the north. The cathedrals are linked by Hope Street, which takes its name from William Hope, a local merchant whose house stood on the site now occupied by the Philharmonic Hall, and was named long before either cathedral was built.

Construction

The Rt Rev John Charles Ryle was installed as the first Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, but the diocese had no cathedral, merely a "pro-cathedral" in the rather ordinary parish church of St Peter's, Liverpool. Following much debate, church and civic leaders agreed that a new cathedral should be built and in 1902 held an open competition to select a design.

For architects, this was a very significant event; not only was it to be one of the largest building projects of the 20th century, but this was only the third opportunity to build an Anglican cathedral in England following the Reformation of the 16th century (St. Paul's Cathedral being the first, rebuilt from scratch after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and Truro Cathedral being the second, begun in the 19th century).

The competition attracted over 100 entries including designs from noted architects such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Charles Herbert Reilly. In 1903 the assessors, George F. Bodley and Norman Shaw, selected a proposal submitted by the 22-year-old student Giles Gilbert Scott despite the fact that he had no previous buildings to his credit. The choice of winner was even more contentious with the cathedral committee when it was discovered that Scott was a Roman Catholic, but the decision stood. (Ironically and conversely, the original architect of the Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, Sir Edwin Lutyens, was an Anglican.)

Drawing of Gilbert Scott's original twin towered design

The Lady Chapel was the first part of the cathedral to be completed. It is noticeably more elaborate than the rest of the cathedral and retains features of Scott's original Gothic design, whilst also showing the influence of George Frederick Bodley.

Although young, Scott was steeped in ecclesiastical design and well versed in the Gothic revival style with his grandfather, George Gilbert Scott, and father both designing numerous churches. Due to Scott's inexperience, the cathedral committee appointed Bodley to oversee the detailed architectural design and building work. Bodley and Scott's collaboration, however, was a stormy one, with Scott reportedly verging on resignation before Bodley's death in 1907.^{[citation needed]}

The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII in 1904, with the first element, the Lady Chapel, opening in 1910. It was at this time that Scott, free of Bodley and growing in confidence, submitted an entirely new design for the remaining (main) part of the structure. While Scott's original design was based on Durham Cathedral and had two towers at the west end, the revised plan called for a single central, exceptionally tall tower topped with a lantern. At the same time Scott changed the style somewhat, losing much of the Gothic detailing and introducing a significantly more modern, monumental style, even incorporating elements from Rennie Mackintosh's competition entry. The cathedral committee approved the new plans, which also made the cathedral's interior much more spacious. On the completion of the altar, the church was consecrated in 1924, but regular services were not held until 1940. Construction of the tower was finished in 1942, but the Second World War and inflation hindered the work and the completion of the building only came in 1978: too late for Scott, who had died in 1960.

Details

The interior of the cathedral, looking up in to the vault below the central belltower.

Liverpool Cathedral occupies a total area of 9,687 square metres (104,270 sq ft) and was built mainly of sandstone quarried from the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. The cathedral's belltower is the largest, and also one of the tallest in the world (see List of tallest churches in the world), rising to a height of 100.6 metres (330 ft). It houses the highest (67 m, 219 ft ) and heaviest (31 tons) ringing peal of bells in the world ^[2]. One of the cathedral's stained glass windows shows the artisans who designed and built it — Bodley and Scott are both shown, sitting together.

The cathedral's west window. The uppermost window is the Benedicite window.

Admission to the cathedral is free but with a suggested donation of £3.^[3] It is open daily year-round from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, and regular services are held every Sunday.

Liverpool Church of Scotland congregation

The eastern end of the cathedral featuring the high altar and stained glass window

The Liverpool St. Andrew's congregation of the Church of Scotland uses the Western Rooms of the Cathedral for Sunday services. Until the early-1980s the congregation worshipped in St Andrew's Church, Rodney Street (built in 1823 by the architect John Foster Jr, but now derelict).

Liverpool Cathedral bells

At 67 metres (220 ft) above floor level, the bells of Liverpool Cathedral are the highest and heaviest ringing peal in the world. There are 13 bells, named the Bartlett Bells after Thomas Bartlett (d September 4, 1912): Bartlett was a native of Liverpool who bequeathed the funding. They weigh a total of 16.5 tons and are grouped in a circle around the great 14.5 ton bourdon bell. The bells vary in size and note from the comparatively light 9 cwt treble to the tenor weighing 4.1 tons. The 13th bell (sharp 2nd) is extra to the main peal, and its purpose is to make possible ringing in a correct octave in a higher key. All 13 bells were cast by bellfounders Mears & Stainbank of Whitechapel in London. The initial letters of the inscriptions on the 13 bells spell out the name “Thomas Bartlett” (from tenor to treble).

The bourdon bell "Great George" was cast by Taylors of Loughborough and at 14.5 tons is the second only to "Great Paul" of St Paul's Cathedral in London. "Great George", named in memory of King George V, is hung in a pendant position and is sounded by means of a counter-balanced clapper.

A K6 telephone box, also designed by Giles Gilbert Scott, in the cathedral

Organ and organists

Organ

The organ, built by Henry Willis & Sons, is the largest pipe organ in the UK with two five-manual consoles, 10,268 pipes and a trompette militaire. There is an annual Anniversary Recital on the Saturday nearest to 18 October, the date of the organ's consecration.

Notable organists

• 1910 — Frederick William Burstall
• 1915 — Walter Henry Goss-Custard
• 1955-1980 — Noel Rawsthorne
• 1980- Ian Tracey (Now Organist Titulaire)

Assistant organists

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Noel Rawsthorne 1949 - 1955 (afterwards organist)
• Ian Tracey 1976 - 1980 (afterwards organist)
• Ian Wells 1980 - 2008

Organ Scholars

• Ian Tracey (now Organiste Titulaire)
• Ian Wells (Now Holy Trinity, Southport)
• Stephen Disley (now Assistant Organist and Director of the Girls' Choir, Southwark Cathedral)
• Paul Daggett
• Martin Payne 1994 - 1995
• David Leahey 1995 - 1997
• Keith Hearnshaw GBSM, FRCO, ARCM, ABSM. 1997 - 1998
• Michael Wynne
• Gerrard Callacher
• Daniel Bishop (now Sub-Organist)
• Shean Bowers 2004 - 2006 (now Director of Music, St. Saviour's Church, Oxton)
• Samuel Austin 2007 - 2008 (now Organ Scholar at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral)
• Martyn Noble 2009 - 2010

Artists and sculptors

In 1931 the architect Giles Gilbert Scott asked Edward Carter Preston to produce a series of sculptures for Liverpool Cathedral. The project was an immense undertaking which occupied the artist for the next thirty years. The work for the cathedral included fifty sculptures, ten memorials and several reliefs. Carter Preston was an excellent carver of letter forms and many inscriptions in the cathedral were jointly written by the late Dean Dwelly and the sculptor who subsequently carved them. In 2003 Liverpool artist, Don McKinlay[1],who knew Carter Preston from his youth, was commissioned by the cathedral to model an infant Christ to accompany the 15th century Madonna by Giovanni della Robbia Madonna now situated in the Lady Chapel.

Stained Glass Artists

Over the course of the construction of this great edifice, several stained glass artists contributed to the beauty of the Cathedral. The firm of Powell & Sons (Whitefriars), Ltd., of London, provided most of the stained glass designs. John William Brown (1842-1928) designed the Te Deum window in the East end of the Cathedral, as well as the original windows for the Lady Chapel, which unfortunately was heavily damaged during German bombing raids in World War II. The glass in the Lady Chapel was replaced with designs, based on the originals, by James Humphries Hogan (1883-1948). He was one of the most prolific of the Powell & Sons designers, and a great talent whose designs for the large North and South windows in the Central Space of the Cathedral (each 100 feet tall) are breathtaking. Hogan designed several other windows in the Cathedral. Later artists include William Wilson (1905-1972), who began his work at Liverpool Cathedral after the death of Hogan, Herbert Hendrie (1887-1946), and Carl Edwards (1914-1985), who designed the Great West window.

Dimensions

The Cathedral's official website gives the following information:

• Length of the Cathedral 188.67 metres (619 feet)
• Area: 9687.4 sq. metres (104,275 sq. feet)
• Height of Tower: 100.8 metres (331 feet)
• Choir Vault: 35.3 metres (116 feet)
• Nave Vault: 36.5 metres (120 feet)
• Under Tower Vault: 53.3 metres (175 feet)
• Tower Arches: 32.6 metres (107 feet) ^[4]

Sources

• The Book of Liverpool Cathedral, Vere E. Cotton, Liverpool University Press, 1964.
• Cotton, Vere E. (comp.) (1924) The Liverpool Cathedral Official Handbook. Liverpool: Littlebury Bros. for Liverpool Cathedral Committee.
• Liverpool Cathedral Website
• The Stained Glass of Liverpool Cathedral, Jarrold Publishing and Liverpool Cathedral, Great Britain, www.jarrold-publishing.co.uk, 2002

References

1. ^ "Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King". http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
2. ^ http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/content/About/FactsAndFigures2.aspx
3. ^ There is a charge for those who wish to go up the tower, and it is closed during times of particularly bad or windy weather.
4. ^ http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/content/About/FactsAndFigures2.aspx

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

• Liverpool Cathedral website.
• http://choral-evensong.spaces.live.com/ [website containing daily Cathedral blog, and all sermons, talks, lectures and courses given in the Cathedral in text and mp3 file format
• The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival Annual theatrical performance inside the Cathedral
• Virtual Tours of Liverpool Cathedral Virtual Tours of Liverpool Cathedral
• Video and pictures of the Bells in the Cathedral
• New Bridge design
• Description and pictures of the cathedral organ.
• Details of the main organ from the National Pipe Organ Register
• Details of the organ in the Lady Chapel from the National Pipe Organ Register
• Interview with Canon Justin Welby, dean of Liverpool Cathedral

Map of the cathedral at Grid Ref SJ 354 894

Anglicanism portal

Coordinates: 53°23′51″N 2°58′23″W / 53.3975°N 2.97306°W / 53.3975; -2.97306