We were surprised to learn only recently that a Unitarian church which we must have driven past 10,000 times is of great architectural interest. We decided to give it a closer look.
Located in suburban Liverpool, Ullet Road Church is built in the Gothic Revival style and incorporates many Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau features. We were especially interested in the windows, made in William Morris’s workshop to designs by Edward Burne-Jones. Much of the metalwork is by Richard Rathbone. In fact, we came across quite a few well-known Liverpool family names as we toured the church. These include Rathbone (Eleanor Rathbone was an MP and women’s rights campaigner), Tate (sugar magnate of Tate & Lyle and founder of the Tate Gallery) and Roscoe (William Roscoe was a politician, lawyer, writer, botanist and abolitionist).
These were the rich Unitarians of the late 19th century who helped to pay for the new church which replaced the much smaller chapel in the city centre. The resulting building, complete with Arts and Crafts garden and cloister, is stunning.
