Concept The competition to design the cathedral was held in 1959. The requirement was first, seating for a congregation of 3,000 (later reduced to 2,000) all with direct line of sight to the
altar, so they could be more involved in the celebration of the
Mass; and, second, for the existing Lutyens crypt to be incorporated in the structure. Gibberd achieved these requirements by designing a circular building with the altar at its centre, and by transforming the roof of the crypt into an elevated platform, with the cathedral standing at one end. The construction contract was let to
Taylor Woodrow.
Exterior The cathedral is built in concrete with a
Portland stone cladding and an aluminium covering to the roof. Its plan is circular, having a diameter of , with 13 chapels around its perimeter. The steps which lead up to the cathedral were only completed in 2003, when a building which obstructed the stairway path was acquired and
demolished by developers. A much smaller version of the cathedral, also designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, was constructed in 1965 as a chapel for the former De La Salle College of Education,
Middleton, Lancashire, a Catholic teacher-training college. The site is now occupied by Hopwood Hall College, a further education college of the Borough of Rochdale and the chapel may still be seen.
Interior The focus of the interior is the altar which faces the main entrance. It is made of white
marble from
Skopje, North Macedonia, and is long. The floor is also of marble in grey and white designed by David Atkins. The benches,
concentric with the interior, were designed by Frank Knight. Around the
perimeter is a series of
chapels. Some of the chapels are open, some are closed by almost blank walls, and others consists of a low space under a balcony. Opposite the entrance is the
Blessed Sacrament Chapel, above which is the organ. Other chapels include the
Lady Chapel and the Chapel of
Saint Joseph. To the right of the entrance is the
Baptistry. Rising centrally over the main altar is a 16-sided
lantern known as the
Crown of Glass. Architecturally integral to the building, it is approximately 22.5 metres high and 21 metres in diameter at its base, tapering inward by a few degrees as it rises. Each of the 16 bays are individually glazed with between nine and twelve panels of
stained glass that were designed and manufactured by
John Piper and
Patrick Reyntiens between 1965 and 1967. Piper and Reyntiens used a
dalle de verre technique in which the individual glass components was cemented together with
epoxy resin within thin concrete ribs, a technique that they invented for the job with the assistance of David Kirby. With a glazed area of approximately 1,120 square metres it is the largest single commission undertaken by Piper and Reyntiens. The abstract design was inspired by a description from
Dante's
Paradiso of the
Holy Trinity as "three great eyes of different colours each one winking at the other", a theme conveyed in shards of blue, green, red and yellow glass. On the altar, the candlesticks are by R. Y. Goodden and the bronze
crucifix is by
Elisabeth Frink. Above the altar is a
baldachino designed by Gibberd as a crown-like structure composed of aluminium rods, which incorporates loudspeakers and lights. Around the interior are metal
Stations of the Cross, designed by Sean Rice. Rice also designed the
lectern, which includes two entwined eagles. In the Chapel of
Reconciliation (formerly the Chapel of
Saint Paul of the Cross), the stained glass was designed by Margaret Traherne. Stephen Foster designed, carved and painted the panelling in the Chapel of St. Joseph. The Lady Chapel contains a statue of the
Virgin and Child by Robert Brumby and stained glass by Margaret Traherne. In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel is a
reredos and stained glass by
Ceri Richards and a small statue of the Risen Christ by
Arthur Dooley. In the Chapel of Unity (formerly the Chapel of
Saint Thomas Aquinas) is a bronze
stoup by Virginio Ciminaghi, and a mosaic of the
Pentecost by Hungarian artist
Georg Mayer-Marton which was moved from the Church of the
Holy Ghost,
Netherton, when it was demolished in 1989. The gates of the Baptistry were designed by David Atkins.
Architectural problems The cathedral was built quickly and economically, and this led to problems with the fabric of the building, including leaks. A programme of repairs was carried out during the 1990s. The building had been
faced with mosaic tiles, but these were impossible to repair and were replaced with glass-reinforced plastic, which gave it a thicker appearance. The aluminium in the lantern was replaced by
stainless steel, and the slate paving of the platform was replaced with concrete flags. == Cathedral crypt ==