Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool

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Coordinates: 53°49′22″N 3°00′59″W / 53.8229°N 3.0165°W / 53.8229; -3.0165
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Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool is located in Blackpool
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool
Location in Blackpool
General information
TypeShrine
AddressWhinney Heys Road
Town or cityBlackpool, Lancashire
CountryEngland
Coordinates53°49′22″N 3°00′59″W / 53.8229°N 3.0165°W / 53.8229; -3.0165
Construction started1955
Completed1957
Renovated2008
Cost£50,000 (equivalent to £1,520,000 in 2023),[1]
Renovation cost£650,000 (estimated)
OwnerHistoric Chapels Trust
Design and construction
Architect(s)Francis Xavier Velarde
Website
Historic Chapels Trust
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameThanksgiving Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes
Designated30 June 1999
Reference no.1387319

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool, stands in Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, England (grid reference SD332368). It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,[2] and now owned by Historic Chapels Trust.[3] Locally it is simply known as 'The Shrine' or the 'Bishop's folly'. The 'White Church' is another Church building in Ansdell.[4]

History

The Blackpool

Second World War Bishop Thomas E. Flynn, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster, prayed to Our Lady of Lourdes, the patron saint of the diocese, to protect the diocese from war damage. By the end of the war, Blackpool was indeed relatively undamaged, and the bishop conceived the idea of building a thanksgiving chapel to commemorate this.[2] It cost £50,000 (equivalent to £1,520,000 in 2023),[1] and many of the parishes in the diocese made a subscription. The land on which it is sited was given by William Eaves, a local builder, who left the plot of land between the Shrine and the Whinney Hays roundabout undeveloped to give the Shrine prominence on that approach to the town. Until the 1990s the Shrine was looked after by successive orders of Roman Catholic monks and nuns, among them the nuns of the Congregation of Adoration of Marie Reparatrice, and the Blessed Sacrament Fathers.[2]

Architecture

The chapel is constructed in brick and concrete with a

coffering around the light fittings and the floor of the body of the shrine is tiled. The sanctuary is raised and approached on marble steps through a round arch; its floor is travertine with mosaic panels. The altar rails are bronze with an Art Deco design. The altar reredos was carved by David John.[2]

Repair and future use

The shrine was deconsecrated in 1993, and passed into the ownership of the Historic Chapels Trust, a secular charity, in 2000,[4] in a poor state and without an endowment. A £100,000 grant awarded by English Heritage assisted with urgent rescue repairs,[4] completed in April 2008, dealing with the leaking copper roof and improving the rainwater disposal system.[3] A larger sum will be needed to convert the building into a community centre[4] and current fund-raising is focussed on re-installing electrical supplies, rendered unsafe by water ingress, and modern facilities. The Historic Chapels Trust is actively seeking partners to use the space for events once repairs are complete.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 7 May 2024
  2. ^ a b c d "THANKSGIVING SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES, Non Civil Parish - 1387319". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Historic Chapels Trust, archived from the original on 15 July 2010, retrieved 12 July 2010
  4. ^ a b c d Mayoh, Emma (15 July 2006), "Shrine could be community venue", Blackpool Citizen, Blackpool: Newsquest Media Group, retrieved 12 July 2010
  5. ISBN 978-1-317-17086-0
    . Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Votive Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes". Imperial War Museums. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

Further reading

Media related to Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool at Wikimedia Commons

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