Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Lutyens's original design for the Roman Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King would have created a massive classical/byzantine structure that would have been the second largest church in the world. The dome was to have been the world's largest. Financial restrictions caused the abandonment of this building after only the crypt had been built.

The new cathedral, designed by Sir Frederic Gibberd and consecrated in 1967, was built over the crypt.

The church is circular in shape, with chapels built in between the buttresses that support the tent-shaped spire (which represents the crown of thorns of Jesus Christ) like tent poles.

The church's exterior is concrete, which has not worn well and suffers from leaks. There is a belfry to the east of the church. A new stepped approach has recently been built.

The cathedral stands on the site of the Liverpool Workhouse, on Hope Street. Facing it at the opposite end of the street is Liverpool Cathedral, the city's Anglican Cathedral.

The Cathedral is affectionately known as "Paddy's Wigwam" because of its largely Irish Catholic congregation and its general resemblance to a Native American teepee. If the possibility of causing offence is to be avoided, the alternative nickname "the Mersey Funnel" can be used.

A short film, Crown of Glass, documents the construction of the Cathedral's rainbow-coloured stained glass windows.

External link

• Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral official site (http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/index.htm)