The Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool 1

I'm back in Liverpool in May 2025, six months after my last visit in December. Six months being the usual follow up period for tests after a cancer treatment. All clear. So I am currently considering myself very lucky.

While there, we had some sightseeing time so we had decided to walk to the Anglican Cathedral, having been to the Catholic Cathedral last time.

This set of photos just show the massive exterior, while Part 2 will show some of the interior. To give some idea of scale it took me a full twenty minutes to circumnavigate the outside. It is Britain's largest church and the fifth largest church in the world, and it is also the longest cathedral in the world at 189 metres.

You may be confused by the style as it looks at the same time, High Victorian, and very twentieth century too. It is also constructed in the same way as a medieval cathedral would have been built. Every inch carved by hand from stone.

It has the distinction of having been listed Grade 1 by English Heritage in 1952, which is strange and unique as it wasn't finished and opened until 1978. In fact they started building it in 1904, but when you visit you can see why it took so long to complete.

The foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII in 1904, and in 1924 the cathedral was consecrated by King George V, the building site was visited by George VI during the war, and the Rankin Porch was opened by the then Princess Elizabeth, his daughter, in 1949. In 1951 Princess Elizabeth returned to dedicate the cathedral bells, in 1960 the architect Giles Gilbert Scott died, and in 1978 the then Queen Elizabeth II returned once more to open the finished building. In 1991 Queen Elizabeth was back again to open "Queen's Walk" a new landscaped thoroughfare on the river side of the building and in 2008 the final phase of visitor centre and restaurant were completed.

In September 2022 a requiem mass was celebrated upon the death of Elizabeth II and the Lady Chapel was opened to those wishing to pay their respects to the late Queen. In 2023 there was a Vigil Mass for the Coronation of King Charles III. This means that five monarchs so far, have played their part in it's story.

These doors are a mystery to me and I cannot find out why they look much older than the cathedral. I can only assume they were brought here from an older building and reused.

The scale of the building is truly awe inspiring. Looking above, it feels medieval, while looking at the details down below brings you back to the modern, with its abstract art, vibrant acres of stained glass, and Art Deco angels.

The west wall was re-designed by Frederick G Thomas and Roger Pinkney in 1967 after Giles Gilbert Scott's death. This makes the later parts of the cathedral differ in style to the oldest parts. The West Door which is the ceremonial entrance has an elaborate carved niche surmounted by the 13 feet (4 metre) high green bronze figure of the "Welcoming Christ" by Dame Elizabeth Frink, 1992.

The massive arched recess contains a 3 light Great West Window with flanking buttresses surmounted with pinnacles. Thomas, who had worked with Scott for many years, drew up a new design for the west front of the cathedral. The Guardian commented, "It was an inflation beater, but totally in keeping with the spirit of the earlier work, and its crowning glory is the Benedicite Window designed by Carl Edwards and covering 1,600 sq. ft.

The main Vestey Tower is 331 feet (100 metres) high, and spans the central space. It was worked on from 1910 onwards with Burnard Green as engineer. The base has a plainer style while the upper levels taper with a more elaborate decoration and octagonal corner turrets surmounted with carved lanterns. There are eight pinnacles at the top with the slightly taller one added in 1942 bearing the carved initials of Scott.

The mortar pointing inside and out, was a deliberate design feature of Scott, intended to highlight the stonework structure.

The Welsford Porch on the north side, with its sculptures by Edward Carter Preston.

Preston's statues were influenced by 13th century French portal figures. Their faces are based on people working in the cathedral at the time and they represent the natural and supernatural virtues, and the liberal arts and sciences

On the right is the Octagonal copper roofed Chapter House with it's taller stair turret. It connects to the main building with a high level bridge.

The row of windows below are the Lady Chapel, the oldest part of the cathedral, consecrated in 1910 by Bishop Chavasse. Work halted during the First World War. By 1920 the workforce had returned and the Woolton quarries reopened to supply the pink-red sandstone needed.

Due to the scale of the structure the first phase was sealed by a temporary wall in 1924 making it usable and weather proof. Work ceased for a year while Scott revised his plans for the next phase. The tower design during this revision became higher and narrower.

Work continued steadily from 1925 and it was hoped to finish that phase by 1940. However another World War was to prevent that. Parts of the structure were also damaged by German bombing. With a workforce reduced from 266 to 35 the work continued and the central section was considered complete enough to be handed over to the Dean by 1941. Scott laid the last stone of the tower pinnacle in 1942. Work then halted until after the war.

Scott produced his plans for the nave in 1942, but work on it did not begin until 1948. The bomb damage, particularly to the Lady Chapel, was not fully repaired until 1955.

The main entrance is the Rankin Porch accessed by a flight of stone steps. Tall iron gates are surmounted by an elaborate cross and fish design. The carved figure sculptures here are also by Edward Carter Preston the cathedral's sculptor between 1931 and 1955.

Liverpool's two cathedrals are linked by Hope Street and many presume that linking the two branches of Christianity, Anglican and Catholic gave the street it's name, but in fact the street predates both buildings and is named after William Hope a local merchant, whose house once stood here.

By chance there is another Royal connection that sees William Hope's 4th-Great Grandchild, Camilla, become Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles III.

We'll see the interior in Part 2.