Oriel Chambers

Oriel Chambers stands on Water Street near Liverpool’s town hall. Built in 1864 by architect Peter Ellis, it introduced the world’s first metal-framed glass curtain wall. The building rises over five storeys and covers 4,000 square metres of floor space. Its defining feature is a grid of oriel windows that flood the interior with light. The design was initially mocked by critics in 1866, who called it an ‘abortion’ of plate-glass bubbles. Yet its influence grew quietly, shaping later architecture far beyond Liverpool. The building’s metal frame and glass walls made it a pioneer of modernist design. John Wellborn Root, who studied in Liverpool as a teenager, later used Ellis’s ideas in Chicago’s skyscrapers. Nikolaus Pevsner later praised it as “one of the most remarkable buildings of its date in Europe.” Adam Caruso described its windows as an expression of open interior space pressing outward. After wartime damage in the 1940s, a 1950s extension restored its form while keeping its original character. Today the building houses barristers’ chambers, its period details softened by later refurbishments. A 2006 restoration cost £750,000 and updated services while preserving the ironwork and glass. The street-level view shows the delicate iron frames behind the large windows, a quiet contrast to the brick surroundings. Inside, the light-filled spaces reflect Ellis’s original intent. Its presence reminds visitors of Liverpool’s role in shaping modern architecture.