To think that Guildford Cathedral is as ugly as fuck?

[MintyChapstick]

Just that really.

Came across as photo of it recently and was gobsmacked at its ugliness. It's made of brick rather than stone and is all angular and square, in fact it looks more like a power station or a warehouse than a cathedral. You can tell it was built in the 20th Century, and yes I know the War disrupted things but you'd think theyd have made a bit more effort with it wouldn't you?

I think old cathedrals are a think of beauty and splendour but this is just hideous isn't it?

[yourmothernotyourfriend]

Guildford Cathedral - all the better to terrify you with extracts from The Omen ......

[mummytime]

One of the things local people object to in new buildings is if they will block a view of the Cathedral.

[OhMrBadger]

It's right beside the University of Surrey and on top of a hill. It can be seen from a long way off and the A3 snakes around it. I agree if it was your first or only impression of Guildford, you'd be quite disappointed! But somehow it just works!

It's weird though - in much the same way that in all films set in Paris the Eiffel Tower is always in the background, Guildford Cathedral seems to follow you around!

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

It's industrial looking.

Which is not what I'd expect for guildford.

Industrial buildings can and do have a beauty of their own, but only if they fit in with their environment. This cathedral wouldn't look out of place amidst the industrial landscape around Teesside, but I can understand it being rather alarming somewhere a little more, well, residential and twee.

[OhMrBadger]

I live in Guildford and have grown to love the cathedral. The adjoining refectory building, however, is truly horrid.

I love the juxtaposition of the modernist cathedral with the beautiful olde worlde High Street.

[Toddlerteaplease]

The two ugliest cathedrals are Clifton in Bristol ( concrete hexagon) and St Georges Southwark. Originally pugin but badly rebuilt after being bombed.

[BuggerLumpsAnnoyed]

*at

[BuggerLumpsAnnoyed]

It's lit up Orange and night. Street light orange.

[MaryMarigold]

OP, take that back!! Don't insult the jam factory!

In all seriousness though, I love Guildford cathedral. I've sung evensong there a couple of times and attended some concerts there too. It's beautiful inside.

I also work in Guildford and I love the view of the tower all over town. I find it oddly reassuring.

Mind you, I did go to one of those modern Oxbridge colleges, so maybe I'm an oddity!!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Yes I like Coventry as well. Nottingham has a gem of a cathedral by AWN Pugin. That hardly anyone knows about. Even the locals!

[MintyChapstick]

Yes, Liverpool Anglican is also a bit of a monstrosity, that's a 20th a century Cathedral as well.

I like Coventry though, inside it's beautiful.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Omg I love paddy's wigwam. Not keen on the Anglican cathedral in Liverpool though. It's way to big.

[raviolidreaming]

OP, YANBU! The angel irritates me every time I drive past - it's far too small for the size of the building.

[BrendaFurlong]

I rather like it, but then I also like the new colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, that manage to capture the spirit of the medieval foundations while using modern lines and materials.

Coventry Cathedral is also beautiful (although doesn't Victoria Wood have a joke about wandering in thinking it's a branch of Habitat?)

[OlennasWimple]

That turban in the Omen clip is also very much of its time 😄

[NapoleonsNose]

I like its starkness, the angularity and modernness. I have family who live nearby and it always reminds me of happy family Christmases - it has a cross on the top that they light up. My late DF also has a brick inside as well.

[Exhausthasgone]

Looks nice at night. I lived at the bottom of the hill for a couple of years as a student.

[MintyChapstick]

Glasgow cathedral is a bit dirty, but nothing a good sand blast wouldnt sort out.

[FloellaDaVille]

I also went to university there, did lots of concerts inside and graduated there. It's bright and airy inside and I came to really love the starkness of its exterior. Spooky on a dark windy night though. The cleverest thing about it is it appears to jump across the road as you approach on the southbound A3 :)

[Noodledoodledoo]

It grows on you - walked past it every day for 3 years at uni, graduated in there as well.

Inside is much better.

Also the bricks were funded in the 1950's/60's by local people donating a penny each to buy a brick. My dad owns one!

Have also had the opportunity to walk up to the top of the tower and stand just under the angel. The scariest thing in the world when the fog used to come down and she would poke out of the top of it!

[MaudGonneMad]

Brutalist. I quite like it.

[Purplepicnic]

The Omen, not the Exorcist. Getting my devil children mixed up

[Purplepicnic]

It is ugly but since the Exorcist, link above, has become downright awful. It's sort of on a hill by itself as well, which doesn't help.

[mummytime]

YABU it is in a modernist brutal style, and wonderful inside (although not so much at present as its full of scaffolding and having asbestos removed). It is "the people's cathedral" and whilst not the most obviously attractive, it was built to an award winning design and is a lively vibrant place. It is used by all sectors of the community and is a very active "church".
Today there was a tea party for the Queen, a charity abseil as well as the building works.

[florascotianew]

Of course medieval cathedrals are amazing and wonderful, but there is a school of thought which says that buildings that reflect their times are more 'honest' than pale imitations of earlier designs. Guildford Cathedral (not completed until 1961) deliberately aimed to reflect 20th cent building styles and techniques.

IMHO, the interior is absolutely stunning, anyway: elegant, spacious, clean-lined, full of light.
Lovely photos here: alastairphilipwiper.com/blog/guildford-cathedral-england