Liverpool
Pictures from a weekend visit to Liverpool. Here, the main railway station, Liverpool Lime Street.
Liverpool boasts two magnificent cathedrals. The Anglican cathedral, here, is the longest cathedral in the world at 190 m. The principal designer was Giles Gilbert Scott, not to be confused with his better-known grandfather, Sir George Gilbert Scott, the pioneer of the Victorian Gothic revival.
The Lady Chapel was the first part of the building to be completed and is stunning in its own right. It was consecrated in 1910, but work on the main building was hampered by the two world wars. The cathedral itself was only dedicated in 1978.
(L) The Albert Dock, opened in 1846, was the first “non-combustible” warehouse in the world, being built solely of cast iron, brick and stone. With the decline of Liverpool as port, the dock was closed in 1972 and was threatened with demolition. Fortunately it was redeveloped and re-opened as a major tourist centre in 1984. (R) Daily Mirror front page of 16th April 1912 from the Merseyside Maritime Museum, which incorrectly reported “Everyone safe” following the sinking of the Titanic!
Byland Abbey
The west front of the ruined Byland Abbey (EH) hints at the impressive rose (circular) window it once contained. Unusually, English Heritage provide a decent tea room in the adjacent Abbey Inn (a former pub).
Originally founded as a Savigniac abbey in 1135, Byland was absorbed by the growing Cistercian order in 1147. By the 14th C it had become one of the three major abbeys of the North, along with Fountains and nearby Rievaulx (all Cistercian). The abbey had, in fact, previously been located even closer to Rievaulx, at a site now called Old Byland, until tensions between the monasteries forced the Byland monks to relocate.
Fields close to harvest from a walk around Byland.
Tortoiseshell butterflies attracted by large lavender bushes.