F. X. Velarde

Francis Xavier Velarde
Born1897
Liverpool, England
Died28 December 1960(1960-12-28) (aged 62–63)
Crosby, Liverpool, England
NationalityEnglish
Occupationarchitect
Notable workShrine of Our Lady of Lourdes; St Gabriel's, Blackburn

Francis Xavier Velarde OBE (1897 – 28 December 1960) was an English architect who practised in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

Biography

St Gabriel's Church, Blackburn (completed 1934)

Velarde was trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture from 1920, and from 1928 taught at the school. In 1957 he was awarded the OBE. His works are located mainly in Merseyside and Northwest England,[1] and the majority of them were Catholic churches.[2] He was influenced by architectural developments on the Continent, in particular by the German Dominikus Böhm. It is unlikely that he was at all influenced by his Chilean father, who died when he was five years old. He was later destined for a career in the merchant navy but was conscripted from there into the RNVR and served in the trenches to be gassed at Passchendaele, thus inevitably shortening his life. On leaving the army he went to Liverpool art school where he was discovered by Charles Reilly and given a place at Liverpool School of Architecture.[3] His design of St Gabriel, Blackburn, is considered to be "one of the milestones in the development of English church architecture towards Modern Movement style".[4][5]

Although Pollard and Pevsner state that he "worked exclusively for the Roman Catholic Church",[3] he did design one Anglican church, St Gabriel, Blackburn.[5] Five of his churches have been recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. The Church of St. Monica, Bootle,[6] was upgraded from Grade II to Grade I status in 2017;[7] the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Blackpool, and English Martyrs' Church, Wallasey are listed at Grade II*,[8][9][10][11] and listed at Grade II are St Teresa's Church, Upholland[12][13] and Holy Cross Church, Bidston.[14][15] He also designed Roman Catholic schools, one of which is in Birkdale.[16]

His Church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac in Potters Bar (Hertfordshire) was completed in 1962, after his death, but subsequently demolished. The practice continued after his death as F. X. Velarde Partners whose work includes St Michael and All Angels Church, Woodchurch, Birkenhead, by Richard O'Mahony (1965).[citation needed]

Dominic Wilkinson reviewed his work more than sixty years after his death. He noted Velarde's frequent pairing of blue and gold in interior design, and his preference for brick, or stone when the budget stretched to it, rather than concrete. But Wilkinson criticised Velarde's engineering skill, his handling of rainwater, noting that his aversion to rainwater gutters and pipes on main frontages had left a legacy of leaks, and that there was a pattern of his underfloor heating having had to be replaced with other arrangements.[17]

See also

Further reading

  • Velarde R. & F. X. Modern Church Architecture and Some of Its Problems, The Clergy Review (Sep 1953) p. 513.
  • Crompton, Andrew; Wilkinson, Dominic (3 April 2019). F. X. Velarde, an English Expressionist. The Journal of Architecture. 24 (3): 325–339. doi:10.1080/13602365.2019.1606026. eISSN 1466-4410. ISSN 1360-2365.
  • Wilkinson, Dominic. F. X. Velarde (2020). Twentieth Century Architects. Liverpool University Press; Historic England. ISBN 9781789628142.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Velarde, Francis Xavier, Liverpool Record Office, retrieved 6 August 2012[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Crompton, Andrew; Wilkinson, Dominic (3 April 2019). "F. X. Velarde, an English Expressionist" (PDF). The Journal of Architecture. 24 (3): 325–339. doi:10.1080/13602365.2019.1606026. eISSN 1466-4410. ISSN 1360-2365. S2CID 181517583.
  3. ^ a b Pollard & Pevsner 2006, p. 103.
  4. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). "Outer Blackburn: St Gabriel, Brownhill Drive". North Lancashire. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9780300096170.
  5. ^ a b Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, pp. 125–126.
  6. ^ Pollard & Pevsner 2006, pp. 156–157.
  7. ^ Historic England, "Church of St Monica, Sefton (1283647)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 22 July 2020
  8. ^ Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, pp. 157–158.
  9. ^ Historic England, "Thanksgiving Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool (1387319)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 August 2012
  10. ^ Hartwell et al. 2011, pp. 651–652.
  11. ^ Historic England, "Church of the English Martyrs, Wirral (1390589)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 August 2012
  12. ^ Pollard & Pevsner 2006, pp. 598–599.
  13. ^ Historic England, "St Theresa of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic Church and attached Parish Rooms, Upholland (1379930)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 August 2012
  14. ^ Hartwell et al. 2011, p. 153.
  15. ^ Historic England, "Church of the Holy Cross, Bidston (1390588)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 7 August 2012
  16. ^ Hartwell & Pevsner 2009, p. 640.
  17. ^ The Churches of F. X. Velarde Lecture by Dominic Wilkinson of John Moores University for the twentieth century society. retrieved 24th Oct 2020

Sources

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