Liverpool Cathedrals

“If you want a Cathedral, we’ve got one to spare…” so goes the old Liverpool folk song. Located either end of the aptly-named Hope Street, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (Catholic) are vastly different in architecture but both majestic and beautiful. Halfway along Hope Street, outside Hope Street Hotel, two bronze statues represent the life and work of Bishop David Sheppard and Archbishop Derek Worlock. The two religious leaders, working together and with others, were a uniting force in the city during the less prosperous years of the 1970s and 1980s.

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is Britain’s biggest Cathedral, and took 74 years to build from the foundation stone being laid in 1904. Sir John Betjeman called it ‘one of the great buildings of the world.’  The Cathedral has a full programme of events and hosts many conferences, large-scale gala dinners and functions. The Tower is open every day and boasts spectacular views across the city.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King was originally conceived as a huge structure in a similar style to the neo-gothic Anglican Cathedral. Of that design, only the Lutyens Crypt was built and due to the pressures of war and rising costs, the design was abandoned. The current modern, circular Cathedral opened in 1967, and features modern works of art and glorious multi-coloured windows. The majestic barrel vaults of fine brickwork and granite pillars of the original Lutyens Crypt can still be seen.