It’s known locally as the “Wigwam” or the “Mersey Funnel”, although one architect also likened it to “a gargantuan concrete aberration from the Apollo space programme”.
Love it or not, Liverpool’s Catholic cathedral can now be regarded as one of the most important buildings in the UK.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced it has upgraded the 1960s concrete Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King from Grade II* to Grade I status.
The change, following advice from Historic England, means it is now nationally recognised as a building of the highest architectural and historical interest.
It joins the vast majority of England’s cathedrals which are also Grade I-listed, including St Paul’s, Coventry and Liverpool’s more traditionally built Anglican cathedral.
The news was greeted with appreciation by civic leaders in the city, with Steve Rotheram, the region’s metro mayor, calling it “a welcome and well-deserved honour”.
He said the cathedral was architecturally brilliant and one of Liverpool’s most iconic landmarks: “The bold, modern design broke new ground and has become a beacon of faith, hope and innovation, not just for our region but across the world.”
The cathedral was built between 1962 and 1967 to a design by Sir Frederick Gibberd, the architect who also created the new town of Harlow and designed Heathrow Terminal 1.
It was built over a Sir Edwin Lutyens-designed granite crypt that had been intended to be the start of a grand, classical-style cathedral. That project began in the 1930s but was abandoned because of increasing costs and the second world war.
That cathedral would have become the second-biggest church in the world and is regarded as one of the greatest buildings never built.
Work on the more modest Gibberd cathedral began in October 1962, the month that the Beatles released Love Me Do. It was consecrated in May 1967, a week before the Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Roger McGough wrote a celebratory poem:
“Let it not be a showroom
for would-be good Catholics,
or worse:
a museum, a shrine, a concrete hearse …”
The cathedral has never been universally loved. The architect who likened it to an “aberration from the Apollo space programme” was Michael Manser, a president of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2013 CNN named it one of the ugliest buildings in the world.
Its fans would urge critics to step inside the cathedral to appreciate its full wonder and openness.
Historic England said it represented a revolution in cathedral design and the upgrading “reflects a deeper understanding of Sir Frederick Gibberd’s architectural vision and the cathedral’s significance as an international example of progressive Roman Catholic architecture during the mid-20th century”.
John Sherrington, archbishop of Liverpool, said the cathedral commanded the skyline and is visible for miles around.
“The building has been described as ‘the soul of the city’ and brings hope to thousands who visit each year,” he said.
“The colours of the stained glass and revolutionary architectural style help raise their minds and hearts beyond this world to the transcendent and to God.”
The upgraded listing was also welcomed by Liam Robinson, the leader of Liverpool city council, who called it a proud moment for the city: “This recognition not only honours a masterpiece of modern architecture but also celebrates the spirit of innovation and resilience that epitomises our city.”
Catherine Croft, the director of the Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns for buildings and architecture from that era, said the cathedral was “unique in world architecture and has long been a powerful homecoming beacon for Liverpudlians”.
She added: “Liverpool now rightly has two magnificent Grade I-listed cathedrals which together demonstrate just how varied, exciting and emotionally uplifting 20th-century architecture can be.”
