Peter McGovern’s ‘In my Liverpool Home‘ notes that if you want a cathedral “we’ve got one to spare …” and there are indeed two cathedrals in Liverpool, at opposite ends of the same street, perhaps fittingly called Hope Street. The Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ was only finished in the late 70’s and is a gothic style stone building on St James’s Mount. It took seventy plus years to build and is visible for miles. From the top of the tower you can even see Blackpool Tower, about forty-five kilometres away.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is the Catholic cathedral, and is an attractive modern design built over the crypt of an earlier, unbuilt design by Lutyens. It is the largest Catholic cathedral in the UK.

Walking along Hope Street from St James Mount there are several other interesting places to see. My old school, the Liverpool Institute, is on the left on Mount Street, the Philharmonic Hall is on the right and opposite is the art deco Philharmonic Dining Rooms. A little further along on the right is the Everyman Theatre, founded by some notable locals; I recall that my English teacher, Alan Durband, was involved in the group.

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From the top of the tower of the Anglican cathedral one gets a great view, and there are no spiral stairs to climb, in fact there is a small lift for most of the way! The Embroidery Room is well worth the visit on the way down, the eclessiastical robes and the detailed stitching on them and the altar fronts is amazing.

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