The foundation stone for Westminster
Cathedral was laid in 1895 and eight years later
the basic fabric of the building was
completed. The building is Grade 1 Listed
and has been described as one of the finest
examples of Byzantine art in the world.
John Betjeman described it as, "
... a masterpiece in striped brick and stone
in an intricate pattern of bonding, the
domes being all-brick in order to prove that
the good craftsman has no need of steel or
concrete."
The British Listed Buildings website
says this about the exterior of the building,
"
Free Byzantine style. Complex west facade
stepping forward in lower stages with
central entrance in semi-circular arch with
decorative voussoirs, columned jambs and
mosaic by Robert Anning Bell in tympanum and
sculptured medallions of 12 Archbishops of
Canterbury. Blind round-arched arcading to
upper tier, flanked by polygonal towers with
corner buttresses supporting domes."
A square campanile tower
rises to 273 feet in height. It is
dedicated to St Edward the Confessor and
contains a solitary bell called ‘Edward’ that
was the gift from the Duchess of Norfolk, in
1910. A lift takes visitors up to the
viewing gallery at the top.
Inside the Cathedral
remains unfinished but nevertheless it is a
magnificent space dominated by the vast
nave. The Catholic Encyclopedia
describes it as follows: "The main
piers and transverse arches that support
the domes divide the nave into three
compartments, each 60 feet square. The
domes rest on the arches at a height of
90 feet from the floor; the total
internal height being 111 feet, or about
10 feet higher than the choir of
Westminster Abbey."
Arranged on either side
of the nave are panels depicting the
Stations of the Cross. These were
created by the sculptor Eric Gill.
Beyond the nave are a number of spectacularly
decorated chapels.
In 2012 the Cathedral has
a website dedicated to a Restoration
Appeal. It says that they need to
raise £3m to, " ... fund a major
restoration programme, including urgent
repairs to the Cathedral's domes, and
modernising electrical and mechanical
systems."
