Liverpool Cathedral

Liverpool Cathedral stands on St James Mount in Liverpool, England, and is the Anglican cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool and the largest cathedral in Britain by volume. A competition in 1903 was won by the 22-year-old Giles Gilbert Scott, and King Edward VII laid the foundation stone in 1904. The Lady Chapel was completed in 1910, the cathedral was consecrated in 1924, and construction continued through two world wars until the building was declared complete in 1978, with Queen Elizabeth II attending a service of thanksgiving. Scott's design is late Gothic Revival in dark red sandstone from local quarries, on a monumental scale: the central tower rises to about 101 metres and the nave vault is among the highest in the world. The cathedral houses one of the largest pipe organs in the United Kingdom, the Willis organ with over 10,000 pipes, and the tower contains the heaviest and highest ringing peal of bells in the world. Notable works include Elisabeth Frink's bronze Welcome Christ and Tracey Emin's neon artwork For You, installed in 2008. The Lady Chapel, the Rankin Rededication of memorials and the Noble Chapel show Scott's changing style across the decades. Restoration work has focused on stone conservation, since the sandstone weathers. The cathedral remains a working place of worship and also hosts concerts and exhibitions. Visitors can climb the tower, which has views over the city and the Mersey, and enjoy the vast vaulted interior. It forms an architectural pair with the Metropolitan Cathedral nearby, along Hope Street, which is a short walk away.