Tuesday 22 February 2011

Liverpool sights

Until quite recently I lived for 20 years opposite the cathedral shown above in Liverpools Hope st. in a succession of Georgian townhouses ( now trendy and very expensive) In those 20 years I never once tired of the view whether in rain,snow,mist or especially the view when floodlit at night. The Anglican cathedral whilst not being my place of worship, anchored the south end of the street whilst the metropolitan cathedral that of the north end. The two religions being linked by a street called hope struck many people myself included as rather apt. The huge mass of red sandstone looms above the gorge like ex graveyard that surrounds the building, a bulk that never seems intimidating,it is in fact rather comforting. The deconsecrated graveyard has for years been a great amenity to locals including my younger self ( a drink and a chat in the sun with friends long ago) and even now provides a place to take a walk,safely away from the inner city hustle and bustle.The cathedral itself is a rewarding place to visit on many levels and if given a chance I would advise visitors to Liverpool to take the time to do so. By a happy coincidence I inherited the stoneworking tools of the last master mason to work on the Cathedral during its building phase plus a bird bath made in his dotage from offcuts of the cathedrals fabric....a humble reminder of times past.

9 comments:

Putz said...

such massive, gothic, enormus amounts of stone<><><>here the treand is to bring massive rocks to surround our ticy tacky homes all made the same><><>well you know cause half your life is with schwartznager's world

monkey said...

time to get that bird bath in place this summer i think.

Shandon Belle said...

Hi! Have you seen our proposal for a Holy Year for Nuns?

http://catholicheritage.blogspot.com/2011/02/proclaim-holy-year-for-nuns.html

We've be very glad if you would adopt it and promote it.

We'd also love it if you could add us to your list of blogs.

God bless you!

Lord Roby said...

A good place for that bird bath would be right next to the pizza oven!!

Vinogirl said...

A truly wonderful building (and that book we read about it being built, is one of the best books I have ever read.) I do love our Paddy's Wigwam though and I am looking forward to a proper mass in April :)

phlegmfatale said...

Very lovely! I hope I get to see it someday.

Ablert said...

My two grand kids were christened in the Lady chapel,a Liverpool family christening in one of the cathedrals is a sight to behold a football match doesn't compare,they come from far and wide and even further to be there,the organ being played in the cathedral under the tower is very scary but beautiful it's sounds reverberate around and you think the building will fall on you.

We don't talk about the other one as it's a funnel turned upside down. :-)

Well we do, it's a modern beauty and inside is just as lovely, both buildings stand proud on each side of Hope st and the thieving wheel trim scousers look proudly at both.

But we woolybacks have another cathedral that's just as good, Chester, slightly older by a few years (we say that because we don't want to upset the scousers)because it is OLD, anybody from the colonies visiting do need to visit the Liverpool area and not just London or York or Edinburgh.

Thud said...

Phlegmy...feel free to visit anytime.
albert...true enough.

Brian said...

I'm probably being daft but I prefer to work with second hand tools (not borrowed, of course) where possible as they seem to retain a memory of the craftmanship that flowed through them and any extra help is appreciated (and needed :( ! )