STAMMAFest Global 2022 begins on the 24th August. It promises to be four days of discussion, workshops, forums, live music, open mic sessions, street performances and so much more!
To start the fun, we have a Welcome Drinks Reception on the Wednesday evening, taking place inside Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral’s stunning Lutyens’ Crypt.
The Reception will be lots of fun – a chance to catch up with conference friends you haven’t seen for a while, and meet other delegates, but the fact that the Reception takes place inside the cathedral’s beautiful and atmospheric crypt adds an extra level of excitement to the event.
We’ve chosen to hold the Welcome Reception in the crypt to give everyone a chance to admire one of Liverpool’s greatest architectural gems.
The crypt is built from 6 million deep purple bricks together with granite rock from Cornish quarries. The crypt is all that is left of architect Sir Edwin Lutyens’ original vision for the Metropolitan Cathedral. Lutyens is famous for his work designing Castle Drogo (Devon, England), the Thiepval Memorial in France (a tribute to British and South African service men who lost their lives in the Battles of the Somme during World War I), and the India Gate (New Delhi, India). The architect imagined a magnificent Catholic Cathedral which, when completed, would have been the second-largest church in the world with a gigantic dome even surpassing that of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Lutyens’ ambitious plans for the Cathedral, described now as ‘the greatest building never made’, were never fulfilled. Rising construction costs and the restrictions of wartime meant his design was abandoned, but only after the crypt was finished.
The finished Metropolitan Cathedral was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, but Lutyens’ crypt is undoubtedly its star. The crypt has the popular nickname of ‘Liverpool’s Third Cathedral’ which shows how important it is to Britain and especially to Liverpool.
The crypt is made up of four halls: the Pontifical Hall, the Treasury, the Concert Hall and the Crypt Hall. Exhibitions are on display in two of these: the Pontifical Hall and the Treasury. The first exhibition explains the Cathedral’s history, whilst the Treasury showcases a number of historic plates and vestments (ceremonial and official clerical robes).
We hope you’ll agree with us, this is going to be a wonderful venue for the Welcome Drinks Reception!
We look forward to welcoming everyone to STAMMAFest Global 2022 within this beautiful, and historical hidden architectural gem.