Liverpool​​​​

                                   By chance we arrived at the Cathedral on the day that the Bishop of Liverpool announced his retirement.                                                     It was just after nine am, so we were able to park in front of the building which we had been able to see                                                         from afar. It is on top of a hill and looms large. It has the longest nave in the country and is the biggest                                                         Cathedral in England outside London and fifth largest in the world. It is a statement in itself.                                                                           The land was bought in 1900, and it was completed in 1974 according to the design of Giles Gilbert Scott                                                     in red sandstone. At the time of the commissioning of the new building he was twenty-one years.

                                                 We walked the dogs round St James Park and cemetery taking in the graves and greeting other dog                                                               walkers. We admired the monument to William Huskisson who was a local MP and economist.                                                                       His lasting claim to fame is the way he died – in the first ever railway accident death at the opening of the                                                   Liverpool to Manchester line.

We continued down Hope Street to take in the statute halfway featuring the faces of Derek Warnock and David Shepherd fine men who did so much for ecumenicalism. The Roman Catholic Cathedral is of course at the far end of the street. Being round it is different to the Anglican one.

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The Cathedral is dedicated to Christ as we are reminded by the green Christ sculpture by Elizabeth Fink above the entrance. The dogs were able to come along with us. There is a café, the Welsford bistro, a bell tower and a well-stocked large shop and toilets. We enjoyed a tasty brunch of local sourced food in the café and found items of worth to purchase in the shop.

 The interior is imposing and powerful in scope with lovely warm red arches that are fluted and joined with white cement. The font is a tall ornamental structure.

The altar is spectacular and has a gold image of The Last Supper. There is a Whispering Arch with an acoustic quirk. The Gilbert Scott memorial is in the centre directly under the central tower. He also designed the red telephone box. The Chapter House is a contrasting quiet space with simple wood panels and seating. It is preceded by the Children’s chapel. The huge window at the entrance has a bright pink neon sign beneath it by Tracey Emin saying “I felt you, and I knew you loved me."

We were able to view all three parts of the Threads of the Bible including the Threads of the Cross which was in Ripon in 2024. Also, the Threads of the Revelation and the Threads of Creation. These stunning tapestries took ten years of crafting and contain twenty-five million stitches.

We attended Holy Communion in the Lady Chapel in the Under croft. The chapel is the oldest part of the Cathedral being consecrated in 1910. It contains the Noble Women’s Window celebrating the life and work of inspirational women. Over twenty people attended the service. The chapel is the size of a small church. Canon Dr Neal Evans led the service. We prayed amongst other things for the family of the Bishop of Liverpool and the Liverpool Diocese. The pilgrims were fortunate in being blessed along with the four-legged companions.
Canon Neal was kind enough to discuss the Jeel Scholarship Fund with us after the service.

There was drama going on the day of our visit. The welcomers; Chaplain on duty; the Canon and vergers could not have been more helpful and supportive.

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