Annual Conference: The Twentieth-Century Cathedral

This year’s conference looks at the phenomenon of the on-going building and designation of new cathedrals in the twentieth century by the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. Our expert speakers will address a variety of stimulating questions.

In an increasingly secular world, why was it thought necessary to build new cathedrals at all, and why were some newly built and others adapted from existing parish churches?

For what kind of liturgy were the buildings designed, and how successful were they in their own terms?
How do these cathedrals differ in their needs and design from medieval and Victorian notions?
How were new designs arrived at? How and why were particular styles chosen? What was the role of architectural competitions? 
How do Roman Catholic cathedrals differ from Anglican ones?
And finally, how are C20 cathedrals lasting the course? Do they still work? How suited are the older twentieth-century cathedrals for present-day liturgy, and how well, have they been adapted?

The day will broadly be structured around an Anglican morning and a Roman Catholic afternoon.

Introduction: an overview of what drove the creation of new cathedrals in the twentieth century and the common themes between them. (Rev Dr Allan Doig, fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford; historian of liturgy and church architecture.)

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral: formally known as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, Giles Gilbert Scott’s enormous building. (Dr David Lewis, fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford; specialist in church architecture from the late nineteenth century onwards and author of a forthcoming book on Scott.)

Coventry Cathedral: built by Basil Spence as a successor to the destroyed medieval cathedral, with which it relates closely, creating one of the very finest post-War churches (Prof Louise Campbell, University of Warwick; expert in architecture from late nineteenth century onwards and author of a number of books on Coventry Cathedral and Spence.)

Roman Catholic cathedrals in context: exploring the variety within this group of cathedrals and their characteristics (Andrew Derrick, Vice Chairman of the Society and architectural consultant, who has worked with a number of these cathedrals.)

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral: the culmination of a number of aborted plans, starting with Lutyens’ abandoned Byzantine behemoth, this was finally built by Frederick Gibberd (Jon Wright, Senior Heritage Consultant with Purcell, and who has worked on this cathedral.)