Works
St Augustine's Church, Manchester
St Dunstan's Church, Birmingham
St Michael's Church, Wolverhampton
St Mary's Church, Dunstable
Desmond Williams | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Ecclesiastical architect |
| Citizenship | British |
| Subject | Liturgical Movement |
| Notable awards | OBE in 1988 |
| Children | Andy Williams, Jez Williams |
Desmond Williams is a 20th century British architect who specialised in church architecture and was influenced by the Liturgical Movement. He was one of the most important architects of the Catholic Modernist movement in the United Kingdom.
Williams has four children: Andy and Jez (who are members of the band Doves and twins) and Dominic and Sarah (who both became architects). Dominic is a director of his father's old firm Ellis Williams Architects, and Sarah ran the London office of AEDAS before starting her own practice Sarah Williams Architects in 2013. [1]
Williams is known for his striking modernist church buildings of the late 1950s and early 1960s. [2] He initially worked with Arthur Facebrother, before setting up his own practice (Desmond Williams and Associates) in Manchester in the early 1960s, which in 1968 amalgamated with W and J B Ellis to become Ellis Williams Architects (still in practice today). [3] Williams is regarded as one of the key British architects of the Roman Catholic Liturgical Movement in the UK that resulted in a large number of new modernist Catholic churches being built, and other churches being reordered. A group of architects that included Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, Gerard Goalen, Francis Pollen, Desmond Williams and Austin Winkley utilised contemporary design and construction methods to deliver the ‘noble simplicity’ instructed by Vatican I. [4]
Mainstream Modern noted that Williams' Stella Maris Hostel (1966) was a "subtle but stylised building [that] has been much admired by enthusiasts of modern architecture and is often cited as one of the better, but lesser known examples of its time." [5] It designed to resemble the bridge of a ship. But despite the admiration of modernist enthusiasts it was eventually demolished and replaced by housing. [6]
A number of his buildings have now been listed including:
In the listing of St Mary's, Historic England notes that it is "as an important early work in the career of Desmond Williams, an architect notable for his innovative church buildings at a time of great change in ecclesiastical architecture." [11] Williams said of the building: "It was circular, with the object being to bring as many of the congregation near the altar, and proved very popular in attracting worshippers. The ceiling was inspired by my earlier visits to kings College Chapel in Cambridge." [12]
Other buildings
Williams' was given an OBE in 1988.
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a dogma until 1854, by Pope Pius IX in the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus. While the Immaculate Conception asserts Mary's freedom from original sin, the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563, had previously affirmed her freedom from personal sin.
Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843.
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was a Scottish architectural firm famous for their application of modernism in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, they are best known for their work in the post-war period. The firm was wound up in 1987.
The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Protestant churches.
Bow Church is the parish church of St Mary and Holy Trinity, Stratford, Bow. It is located on a central reservation site in Bow Road, in Bow, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. There has been a church on the same site for approximately 700 years. The church was bombed in the Second World War, and the bell tower was reconstructed just after the war.
Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for the Virgin Mary. The words Star of the Sea are a translation of the Latin title Stella Maris.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic church near the Mansion District in Albany, New York, United States. Built in the period of the 1848-1852, it is the mother church of the Diocese of Albany. In 1976 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Celina, Ohio, United States. Founded later than many other Catholic parishes in the heavily Catholic region of western Ohio, it owns a complex of buildings constructed in the early 20th century that have been designated historic sites because of their architecture. Leading among them is its massive church, built in the Romanesque Revival style just 43 years after the first Catholic moved into the city: it has been called northwestern Ohio's grandest church building.
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England. It was created by the Local Government Act 1972, and consists of the metropolitan boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool. Buildings are listed on the recommendation of English Heritage to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who makes the decision whether or not to list the structure. Grade I listed buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important"; only 2.5 per cent of listed buildings are included in this grade. This is a complete list of Grade I listed churches in the metropolitan county of Merseyside as recorded in the National Heritage List for England.
St Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. It is situated on Regent Road in the centre of the town. It was originally built by the Society of Jesus in the late 1840s and it is now administered by the Diocese of East Anglia. The architect was Joseph John Scoles who also designed the Anglican St Mary's church in the Southtown area of Great Yarmouth and it is a Grade II* listed building.
Francis Anthony Baring Pollen, FRIBA was an English architect who designed, amongst other significant buildings, Worth Abbey in West Sussex.
Immaculate Conception Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Spinkhill, Derbyshire, England. It was built in 1846 and designed by Joseph Hansom. It is situated on Spinkhill Lane opposite Immaculate Conception Catholic Primary School south of Mount St Mary's College in the village. It was founded by the Jesuits and is a Grade II listed building.
Gerard Thomas Goalen was a British architect who specialised in church architecture and was influenced by continental models and the Liturgical Movement. He was one of the most important architects of the Catholic Modernist movement in the United Kingdom during the 20th century.
Dom Charles Norris OSB (1909-2004) was an influential artist who created works in stained glass and dalle de verre for Roman Catholic churches in the UK. He is thought to be the most prolific artist working in dalle de verre in the UK in the 20th century. His contributions to listed Modernist buildings are an integral part of their value and are mentioned in their listings.
Angela Godfrey is an English sculptor and Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.
Austin S. Winkley is a British architect who specialises in church architecture and is a member of the Liturgical Movement of UK ecclesiastical architects.
Immaculate Conception Church also known as the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is a Roman Catholic parish church in Clevedon, Somerset. It was built from 1886 to 1887 and was designed by Alexander Scoles, an architect and priest who worked in Somerset. It is located on the intersection between Marine Parade, Marine Hill and Wellington Terrace, overlooking the Severn Estuary. It was founded by the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor who continue to serve the parish.
St Peter's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish Church in Stonyhurst. It is the parish church for Hurst Green, Lancashire and a chapel for Stonyhurst College. It was built from 1832 to 1835 and designed by Joseph John Scoles in the Gothic Revival style. It was founded by the Society of Jesus and has been served by Jesuit priests since. It is a Grade I listed building.
St Mary's Church or St Mary the Immaculate Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. It was built in phases from 1833 to the 1960s and initially designed by E. J. Willson in the neoclassical style, and later by Gerard Goalen. It is located on the corner of North Parade and Barrowby Road to the north of the town centre. It is a Grade II listed building.
Charles Alban Buckler (1825–1905) was an English author, topographer, architect, artist and officer of arms. According to Historic England, he "became one of the most distinguished of the early to mid-Victorian Catholic architects." In the field of heraldry he was the Surrey Herald Extraordinary.
