October 1929 Archives

The design proposed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is one of the great unrealised buildings of the 20th century. At a time when architects were rejecting historicism and tradition, Lutyens' cathedral drew inspiration from Byzantine and romanesque architecture, from the architecture of ancient Rome, from its revival during the Italian renaissance and from Christopher Wren's 'English renaissance'. Lutyens planned an awe-inspiring building of immense size. It would have dominated the Liverpool skyline, far outstripping Giles Gilbert Scott's Anglican cathedral in prominence.

 

Work was halted in 1941 because of the war, leaving parts of the crypt unfinished. By this time four million bricks and 40,000 cubic feet of granite had been laid and 70,000 tons of earth had been excavated--this was a building operation of enormous size even though it formed only a minute proportion of the projected structure. (4) After the war, the construction of the crypt was resumed under the direction of Adrian Gilbert Scott and the building was brought to a uniform level, leaving a vast paved floor slab above the crypt.

 

A project for a smaller domed building by Adrian Gilbert Scott was put forward but soon abandoned, and in 1959 a competition was held for a cathedral in a 'modern' style on the site. The present building, by Sir Frederick Gibberd, was opened in 1967. Built on a centralised plan in accordance with the new liturgical requirements, it is entirely different in its architectural language, materials and philosophy.

Lutyens' design can be reconstructed from the many surviving drawings. It can also be partially experienced in the crypt, where the massive vaulted spaces, constructed of brick (and intended to be faced in granite), inspire the feelings of mystery that Lutyens envisaged for the main interior. But the best way to understand his conception is from the great wooden model in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (Fig. 2). The model illustrates, as no drawing could, the complexity and sophistication of Lutyens' conception. It is the most elaborate architectural model attempted in Britain in the 20th century and the most ambitious British architectural model of any century, after the 'Great Model' of Sir Christopher Wrens rejected design for St Patti's Cathedral. It is an exemplar of a tradition that has now been superseded and whose techniques have largely been lost.

The Cathedral would have been far and away the largest church on earth... go Scousers!