Liverpool's 'Bombed Out Church' is an iconic local landmark - but there's a hidden feature of St Luke's Church that you've probably never noticed.
Located in the heart of Liverpool city centre, St Luke's is an event space, a meeting point and an important part of our local history.
In the spring of 1941, the German Luftwaffe carried out a series of devastating raids on Liverpool over a seven day period, which became known as the May Blitz.
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St Luke's was hit by an incendiary device and the building blazed for three days. As it was struck in the early hours, no lives were lost.
When the flames were finally extinguished, only the shell of the building remained, after which it became known far and wide as the Bombed Out Church.
The building survived a number of demolition threats but remained closed to the public until as recently as 2007 when it began to be used for arts and community events.
Since then it's played host to live music events and even weddings, as well as becoming an outdoor hospitality venue which complied with coronavirus restrictions.
But despite being such an iconic local landmark and being frequented by countless event attendees every year, there's one feature most people have never noticed.
In one of the former stained glass windows, a tiny liver bird remains despite the rest of the feature being shattered.
The falling bombs and resulting blaze couldn't destroy this little liver bird, which remains at the centre of the window 80 years on from the May Blitz.
Perhaps what is most remarkable about the liver bird is that nearly every other pane of glass throughout the building shattered, while this tiny remnant remains.
The building of St Luke’s began in 1811 and was completed 20 years later.
The church is a notable example of what's known as the Georgian Perpendicular Gothic style. It features the first metal bell frame in the world - previously, all bell frames were made of wood.
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