Lutyens and Modern Liverpool, 1890-1960

6 and 7 November 2026, starting 2.30pm Friday ending 6pm Saturday

Friday 6 November, Pier Head Museum  and Saturday 7 November, Anglican Cathedral and Crypt of Metropolitan Cathedral

Image:  Rolling Gate, Chapel of the Relics, Metropolitan Cathedral Liverpool © Andrew Barnett

Liverpool and Lutyens’s fascinating contribution to it, is enticingly subject of this year’s conference.  Just 2¼ hours away from London by train, a walkable city, rich in late C19 and early C20 masterpieces, this exploration is overdue.

Liverpool in the late 1920s was a vibrant city, one of ‘rugged solidity and sublime grandeur’, shaped by commerce and the broad River Mersey.  Lutyens’ extraordinary design for the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, commissioned in 1929 and described by his son, Robert, as standing ‘quite outside time and period… a totally isolated work of art’, would have been a climax of more than two centuries explosive growth, combining extreme wealth and poverty.  By the late 19th century, over 40% of the world’s trade passed through its port and Liverpool regarded itself as the ‘second city’ of the British Empire.

Image:  Liverpool Cathedral Model

The goal of this conference is to examine the rich complement of contemporary public and religious buildings in Liverpool in the seven decades before, during and after the commission and its abandonment in favour of a smaller and less ambitious scheme by Sir Frederick Gibberd.  We shall also hear how the cathedral design fits into Lutyens’ wider ecclesiastical work, together with a consideration of how the Liverpool School of Architecture became a leader in architectural education during the interwar years.

Images:  Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, © Julia Nyča (left)

Liverpool’s Pier Head with the Cathedral behind © Wikipedia (right).

The conference will begin on the Friday afternoon in the Museum of Liverpool at Pier Head with an optional talk on and visit to the extraordinary model of the Metropolitan Cathedral, the climax of the 1981 exhibition on Lutyens at the Hayward Gallery London.  A self-guided tour of the Pier Head and its iconic buildings can follow.  On Saturday there will be guided visits to both Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s majestic Anglican Cathedral and Lutyens’ stupendous Crypt, remarkable even without the cathedral above it that he planned to rival St. Peter’s in Rome.

Take a look at the draft programme and the array of expert speakers and their  choice subjects:  Joseph Sharples, Alan Powers, Chris Moseley, Dr David Lewis, Ann Compton, Geraint Franklin, Professor Iain Jackson, Harry Spain and Neil Sayer.

The Lutyens Trust is grateful for the support of Liverpool University, School of Architecture.

Please note too that we are recognized by the IHBC for the calibre of the CPD the conference will provide for the sector.

How to Get There 

Liverpool has 3 Stations in the city centre, Lime Street, Central and Moorfields.  Trains leave London Euston three times every hour.  It is a 4hr drive from London, 4 from Glasgow and 4½ from Edinburgh.  Visit Liverpool provides more detailed information.

Getting Around

Liverpool’s Lime Street and Central Stations are within easy walking distance of the conference venues and well served with taxis and buses. For example:  Pier Head is a 22 minute walk from Lime Street while the Anglican and Metropolitan Cathedrals are just 15 minutes apart along Hope Street.   Visit Liverpool provides guides on transport systems available.  There are inclines, the cathedrals are build on hills but lifts are readily available alternatives to stairs when inside any of the venues.  Please write to general@lutyenstrust.org.uk if you have any special requirements of concerns.

Refreshments and Dietary Requirements

Tea/ coffee and water will be provided in the breaks around the Saturday and a hot bowl will keep us energized at lunch time, the day rounding off with a glass of wine.  Please write separately when booking to general@lutyenstrust’org.uk if you have any dietary preferences of concerns.

Where to Stay

Prices for accommodation in Liverpool compare favourably if you need to be mindful of the city’s tourism levy and booking early is sensible.   Central rooms with en suite bathrooms at or under £100 are readily available.  See here.

Popular chains of  hotels such as Ibis, Holiday Inn, Malmaison, Travel Lodge and Premier Inn  have locations suitable in proximity to the conference venues and among the more characterful singular hotels are such as The Titanic Hotel, the White Star Line Hotel and the Hope Street Hotel.

Events Terms and Conditions
Events Disclaimer

Neither The Lutyens Trust nor the Leader or Organizer of any event or walk advertised in this Newsletter or any other programme organized by The Lutyens Trust shall be held liable for the death of or injury or damage to the person or property (including theft or loss) of any member of the Trust or any guest or any person occurring during or arising from participation in any of the events advertised in this Newsletter or programme. Members are reminded that they should have adequate personal and travel insurance cover.

Refund Policy
Refunds for cancellations requested after the 14-day cooling-off period are subject to a £25 administration charge.

Refunds will only be issued for cancellations made no later than 14 days prior to the event start date. It may be possible to make a member substitution if you contact us at least a week in advance of the event.

Transfers to another event cannot generally be made. Any such transfers that are agreed by the Lutyens Trust will be subject to a £25 administration charge.

If the Lutyens Trust cancels the events, we will refund the event fee in full.

If the Lutyens Trust postpones, reschedules or relocates that event, or makes any other material alterations which mean you are no longer able to attend, we will refund the event fee in full.