The Oratory stands to the north of
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...
in
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, England. It was originally the mortuary chapel to
St James Cemetery
St James's Cemetery is an urban park behind Liverpool Cathedral that is below ground level. Until 1825, the space was a stone quarry, and until 1936 it was used as the Liverpool city cemetery. It has been designated a Grade I Historic Park by H ...
, and houses a collection of 19th-century sculpture and important funeral monuments as part of the
Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group.
History of the Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...
. It is a
Grade I listed building in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
.
History
The Oratory was built in 1829, and used for funeral services before burials in the adjacent cemetery. It was designed by
John Foster. When the cemetery closed, the building fell into disuse. In 1986 it came under the care of
National Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...
, and is used to contain a collection of sculpture and statues.
Architecture
The building is in the form of a Greek
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
temple. At each end is a
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
with six columns. There are no windows and the building is lit from above. Inside, a
coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
ed ceiling is supported by
Ionic columns. Pollard and
Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist
* Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo
* David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...
consider this to be Foster's best surviving building.
On 28 June 1952 it was designated as a Grade I listed building.
In the National Heritage List for England it is described as "one of the purest monuments of the Greek Revival in England".
[ Around the Oratory are ]cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
railings and gate piers Piers may refer to:
* Pier, a raised structure over a body of water
* Pier (architecture), an architectural support
* Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name)
* Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
that have been listed at Grade II.
Collection
Inside the building is a collection of monuments, mainly Neoclassical relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s, many of which were brought here from demolished buildings in the 1980s. These include a monument dated 1834 to the Nicholson family by Francis Chantrey
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
, one to William Earle, who died in 1839, by John Gibson, to Dr William Stevenson, who died in 1853, by J. A. P. Macbride, to William Hammerton, who died in 1832, by Gibson, to William Ewart, who died in 1823, by Joseph Gott, to Emily Robinson, who died in 1829, by Gibson, and to Agnes Jones
Agnes Elizabeth Jones (1832 – 1868) of Fahan, County Donegal, Ireland became the first trained Nursing Superintendent of Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary. She gave all her time and energy to her patients and died at the age of 35 from typhus ...
, who died in 1868, by Pietro Tenerani
Pietro Tenerani (11 November 1789 – 16 December 1869) was an Italian sculptor of the Neoclassic style.
Biography
He was born in Torano, near Carrara. He initially trained with his maternal uncle, the sculptor Pietro Marchetti, and in 18 ...
.[ There is also a statue of ]William Huskisson
William Huskisson (11 March 177015 September 1830) was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool.
He is commonly known as the world's first widely reported railway passenger casu ...
by Gibson that was formerly in the Custom House.[
]
See also
*Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool
There are over 2500 listed buildings in Liverpool, England. A listed building is one considered to be of special architectural, historical or cultural significance, which is protected from being demolished, extended or altered, unless special ...
*Grade I listed churches in Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England. It was created by the Local Government Act 1972, and consists of the metropolitan boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool. Buildings are lis ...
*List of public art in Liverpool
The city of Liverpool has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the United Kingdom aside from Westminster. Early examples include works by George Frampton, Goscombe John, Thomas Thornycroft, Charles Bell Birch, Richard ...
*Architecture of Liverpool
The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire.Hughes (1999), p10 It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liverpool, Oratory
Oratory
Buildings and structures completed in 1829
Oratory
Oratory
Grade I listed churches in Merseyside
Grade I listed garden and park buildings
Oratory
Oratory