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Francis Xavier Velarde (1897–1961) was an English architect who practised in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture where he later taught. His works are mainly in Merseyside and Northwest England, with the major part of his body of output being Catholic churches. Although Pollard and Pevsner state that he "worked exclusively for the Roman Catholic Church", he did design one Anglican church, St Gabriel's Church, Blackburn. Velarde also designed Roman Catholic schools. This list includes some of his major works.

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Works

Name	Location	Photograph	Date	Notes	Grade
St Matthew's Church	Clubmoor, Liverpool, Merseyside 53°26′12″N 2°56′01″W / 53.4367°N 2.9337°W / 53.4367; -2.9337 (St Matthew's Church, Clubmoor)		1930	This was Velarde's first church; it is built in brick with a green pantiled roof. The church has a tall northeast tower with a copper cupola. The internal furnishings are also by Velarde.	II
St Gabriel's Church, Blackburn	Blackburn, Lancashire 53°46′28″N 2°28′37″W / 53.7745°N 2.4770°W / 53.7745; -2.4770 (St Gabriel's Church, Blackburn)		1932–33	St Gabriel's is considered to be a milestone in the development of the Modern Movement in church architecture. It is built in brick, with a truncated tower. The former flat roofs have been replaced by pitched roofs because of leaking. The doors have Art Deco decoration in painted metal. Unusually for Velarde, it is an Anglican church.	—
St Monica's Church	Bootle, Sefton, Merseyside 53°27′14″N 2°58′47″W / 53.4539°N 2.9798°W / 53.4539; -2.9798 (St Monica's Church, Bootle)		1935–36	Inspired by the Continental churches of Dominikus Böhm, St Monica's is constructed in fawn-coloured brick with a green pantile roof. It has a wide west tower incorporating a narthex, with tall thin sculptures of angels on the west front by H. Tyson Smith. The church was upgraded to Grade I listed status in 2017.	I
Our Lady of Lourdes School	Birkdale, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside 53°37′15″N 3°00′37″W / 53.6208°N 3.0104°W / 53.6208; -3.0104 (Our Lady of Lourdes School, Birkdale)	—	1935–36	With a design modern for its time, the school is built in brick with much glass, including a glazed semicircular staircase, and long bands of windows. The windows have stone mullions carved with saints.	—
Our Lady of Pity's Church	Greasby, Wirral, Merseyside 53°22′33″N 3°07′26″W / 53.3757°N 3.1239°W / 53.3757; -3.1239 (Our Lady of Pity's Church, Greasby)		1952	The church is in brick and has a southwest tower with a pyramidal copper roof. The windows are lancets with fluted mullions. The church forms a three-sided courtyard with the presbytery and hall.	—
English Martyrs' Church	Wallasey, Wirral, Merseyside 53°25′27″N 3°03′49″W / 53.4243°N 3.0635°W / 53.4243; -3.0635 (English Martyrs Church, Wallasey)		1952–53	Plans for the church were prepared before the Second World War. It has an almost detached southeast tower, with a sculpture of the Pietà, square bell openings, and a copper roof. The mullions in the windows consist of concrete figures, and the rose window contains a sculpture of Christ.	II*
St Gabriel's Church	Alsager, Cheshire 53°05′52″N 2°17′38″W / 53.0979°N 2.2938°W / 53.0979; -2.2938 (St Gabriel's Church, Alsager)		1953	This is a long, low, plain church in brick with side buttresses separating groups of round-headed windows. The windows have mullions in the form of angels with doves.	—
St Benedict's Church	Hindley, Greater Manchester 53°32′05″N 2°34′43″W / 53.5347°N 2.5787°W / 53.5347; -2.5787 (St Benedict's Church, Hindley)		1954	Velarde added a Lady chapel to a church built in 1869 and designed by Joseph Hansom. The chapel consists of a circular room with a conical roof, joined to the south aisle of the church.	—
Church of St Cuthbert by the Forest	Mouldsworth, Cheshire 53°13′49″N 2°43′59″W / 53.2304°N 2.7331°W / 53.2304; -2.7331 (St Cuthbert's Church, Mouldsworth)		1955	St Cuthbert's is a small church in brick. It has a detached tower (not part of the original design) with a pyramidal spire, and loudspeakers visible in its belfry. At the west end is an apse, and at the other end is a double-gabled narthex topped by a cross commemorating the church's Golden Jubilee.	II
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes	Blackpool, Lancashire 53°49′22″N 3°00′59″W / 53.8229°N 3.0165°W / 53.8229; -3.0165 (Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes)		1955–57	The shrine was built by public subscription as a thanksgiving for the relatively small amount of damage sustained by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster during the Second World War. It is constructed in Portland stone with copper cladding to its roof and flèche. In the ownership of Historic Chapels Trust since 2002 the shrine is being restored for secular uses.	II*
St Teresa's Church	Upholland, Lancashire 53°32′57″N 2°43′40″W / 53.5492°N 2.7278°W / 53.5492; -2.7278 (St Teresa's Church, Upholland)		1955–57	The design was influenced by early Spanish churches. It is constructed in brick with stone dressings and tiled roofs. The church has a single aisle, and a detached northeast tower. There is sculpture by H. Tyson Smith inside and outside the church.	II
St Winefrede's Church	Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, Shropshire 52°42′39″N 2°43′27″W / 52.7108°N 2.7242°W / 52.7108; -2.7242 (Our Lady of Pity's Church, Harlescott)		1956	This is a small brick church, with an apse and a square tower.	—
St Luke's Church	Pinner, London 51°35′43″N 0°22′58″W / 51.5953°N 0.3829°W / 51.5953; -0.3829 (St Luke's Church, Pinner)		1957–58	Built in brick in a neo-Romanesque version of the continental modern style.	II
Holy Cross Church	Bidston, Birkenhead, Merseyside 53°24′09″N 3°04′02″W / 53.4024°N 3.0672°W / 53.4024; -3.0672 (Holy Cross Church, Bidston)		1957–59	Combining Romanesque and modern motifs, the church is built in brick and stone, and has tiled roofs. It has a southwest tower with five round-headed bell openings on each side and a copper-covered pyramidal roof. There is also a baptistry with a circular lantern, and a Lady chapel with an apsidal end. The church is no longer in active use.	II
Our Lady of Pity's Church	Harlescott, Shrewsbury, Shropshire 52°43′45″N 2°43′16″W / 52.7293°N 2.7212°W / 52.7293; -2.7212 (Our Lady of Pity's Church, Harlescott)		1961	This is a small brick church, with an apse and a polygonal tower.	—
Church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac	Potters Bar, Hertfordshire 51°41′23″N 0°10′32″W / 51.6898°N 0.1756°W / 51.6898; -0.1756 (St Vincent de Paul & St Louise of Marillac)		1962	The church was completed and opened in 1962, after Velarde's death, but the foundation stone was laid in July 1960. It replaced a church dedicated to St Francis Xavier which had been destroyed by World War II bombing. In 2005, the two parishes in the town were combined and a new church was built on the site of the 1950s building which served the other parish; Velarde's church was no longer required, and it closed in December 2005 and was demolished for residential development.	—

References

Citations

1. Velarde, Francis Xavier, Liverpool Record Office, retrieved 6 August 2012
2. Pollard & Pevsner 2006, p. 103.
3. Listed Buildings, Historic England, retrieved 29 March 2015
4. Pollard & Pevsner (2006), p. 403
5. Home, St Michael's, Clubmoor, archived from the original on 17 July 2010, retrieved 6 August 2012
6. Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 125–126
7. Deepening Discipleship, St Gabriel's Church, Blackburn, retrieved 6 August 2012
8. Pollard & Pevsner (2006), pp. 156–157
9. Historic England, "Church of St Monica, Sefton (1283647)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 August 2012
10. Welcome, St Monica's Church, Bootle, archived from the original on 17 July 2012, retrieved 6 August 2012
11. Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), p. 640
12. Hartwell et al. (2011), p. 374
13. Hartwell et al. (2011), pp. 651–652
14. Historic England, "Church of the English Martyrs, Wirral (1390589)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 August 2012
15. Hartwell et al. (2011), p. 97
16. Welcome, St Gabriel's Church, Alsager, retrieved 6 August 2012
17. Pollard & Pevsner (2006), pp. 198–199
18. St Benedict, Hindley Catholic Churches, retrieved 6 August 2012
19. Hartwell et al. (2011), p. 489
20. The Church at Mouldsworth, Parish of Saint Thomas Becket & Saint Cuthbert by the Forest, archived from the original on 28 July 2013, retrieved 6 August 2012
21. Historic England, "Roman Catholic Church of St Cuthbert by the Forest, including detached campanile (1418016)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 27 March 2014
22. Hartwell & Pevsner (2009), pp. 157–158
23. Historic England, "Thanksgiving Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool (1387319)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 August 2012
24. Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Historic Chapels Trust, retrieved 6 August 2012
25. Pollard & Pevsner (2006), pp. 598–599
26. Historic England, "St Theresa of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic Church and attached Parish Rooms, Upholland (1379930)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 August 2012
27. Newman & Pevsner (2006), p. 592
28. Hartwell et al. (2011), p. 153
29. Historic England, "Church of the Holy Cross, Bidston (1390588)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 August 2012
30. Newman & Pevsner (2006), p. 591
31. "Church History". Catholic Parish of Our Lady and St Vincent, Potters Bar. 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020. (This reference misspells the architect's name as Felix Velerde.)
32. "Potters Bar – Our Lady and St Vincent". Catholic Trust for England and Wales and English Heritage. 2011. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

Sources

• Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) , Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
• Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) , Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
• Newman, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Shropshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-12083-4
• Pollard, Richard; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006), Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10910-5

• Lists of buildings and structures by architect