The Churches of F. X. Velarde by Matthew Usher F. X. Velarde, a prolific Merseyside architect, lived at a pivotal time in modern British history. From the start of the 20th century and through the years of World War One and Two, the arts and economics of Europe were drastically altering. This was also a period in which ecclesiastical architecture began to diverge away from the traditional form it had once held. The churches of Velarde are incredibly unique within this era; however, there has been little study undertaken into his work. This, coupled with poor practice and unfortunate circumstances throughout the last fifty years, means there are few records of his work. As one of his churches has been demolished (Ward, 1998) and another is in danger of irreparable damage (Historic England, 2005e), a detailed recording and analysis of Velarde’s work is of the upmost importance in order for his life’s work to be remembered and learned from in the future.
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Liverpool John Moores University - Architecture 2018
… a detailed recording and investigation into three of Velarde’s Merseyside churches has been conducted. This firstly aims to create a platform for further analysis through measured surveys and a full photographical record of the interiors and exteriors of the buildings, offering insights into themes within the churches to emerge. From this, the only full record and study of the churches in question has been created. The three churches were chosen as they are not only some of Velarde’s finest work, but also exhibit different elements of his career and style. The first, St. Monica’s Church in Bootle, was Velarde’s third commission in his career and is typical of his early work. It was designed and built before World War Two, and is wholly unique. The church is widely regarded as one of his best, with bold and unique forms internally. … It is also one of his most iconic, described by Pevsner as “an epoch-making church for England” (Pevsner, 1969a, p.93). … The west end of the church soars above any of the surrounding buildings, dominating as strongly as it would have done when it opened (figure 1). Yet, it does not detract from the area, a sentiment expressed by Reilly in his 1936 article in the Manchester Guardian. Perhaps this is due to fact that each wall runs perpendicular to the surrounding network of roads, seeming to fit the church within the space. In fact, Velarde’s own sketches emphasise the angular form of the west end. The tall tower is immediately recognisable and is viewable from almost any direction. ... This tower is reminiscent of Dominikus Böhm and his abrupt large westwerks of St. Kamillus in Monchengladbach, as well as Notkirche St. Josef in Offenbach. It is also similar to Velarde’s previous church of St. Gabriel’s in Blackburn. Three large Herbert Tyson Smith angels adorn the west façade, each one placed above a series of pairs of Romanesque semi-circular arched windows. This series of windows continues along either side of the nave, sat between each flying buttress; however, only the top window retains the rounded arch whilst the lower windows are rectangular. Externally, the large rectangular west tower succeeds in partially hiding the pitched roof, as do the flying buttresses. The exterior used 2 inch “greyish bricks from Hadley, Shropshire” (Historic England, n.d[a]). The external aspect of St. Monica’s is iconic, and the inside is just as unique and recognisable as a Velarde design. Typical of his larger churches, he utilised a wide, open nave, fostering a sense of space and seclusion from the outside world. The external rectangular form is repeated internally by the use of a flat ceiling, broken up by longitudinal ribs (Historic England, n.d [a]). Many of the ceilings in Velarde’s churches are flat in the middle section, with slight angles in the ceiling at the clerestory walls to allude to a pitched roof, and St. Monica’s does not follow this trend. The ceiling continues from the west side of the nave through to the sanctuary, creating a nave and sanctuary that are entirely rectangular in section. The external buttresses continue internally, spaced 3775mm apart, and passages are then cut through the internal walls, creating aisles. The
