A 'Disturbing Influence': Directions and Cross-confessional Inputs in English Church Architecture, 1945-1970

The work focuses on the evolution of British ecclesiastical architecture in the post-war period, from 1945 to 1970, with a particular focus on Anglican churches. To understand the development, which follows the transformation of liturgy, the study takes stock of liturgical innovations in religious communities and their impact on church layouts around the second half of the twentieth century. The dissertation investigates the theoretical seeds at the base of the post-war relationship between liturgy and architecture, and the cross-confessional inputs in the design of Christian churches, as well as spaces devoted to ecumenical services. The spread of magazines, books, and photographic reportages, as well as the birth of research groups on church architecture during the chosen period, pinpoint the relevance of the subject in post-war British society. At the same time, the analysis of the texts published during the period of investigation, and of their gaze towards Continental architecture, will prompt a discussion on the cross-geographical influences on British church building. Particularly, the study will consider the contemporary advances in ecclesiastical architecture in Italy, Germany, and France, tracing common paths and divergencies in the planning of churches by comparison with the British case-studies. Considering the communitarian revolution that would inspire the Second Vatican Council within the Catholic Church and the Parish and People movement within the Church of England - both aimed at bringing the Mass to the people - churches will be analysed according to their relationship with the urban communities. The need to rebuild cities after the destruction and the economic crisis following the Second World War link church buildings to planned urban developments. In such contexts, churches are sculpted on the new exigences of modern neighbourhoods, but their architectural upshot will take account of the complex convergence of different factors and protagonists, from architects to local authorities, from priests to immigrants, who all contributed to their planning. The themes covered by the dissertation are not presumed to offer an inclusive view on British church architecture. Their goal is rather to mark new paths towards a cross-cultural contextualization of church building in England, an architectural phenomenon that cannot simply be dealt with by mere stylistic analysis but requires a broader multi-oriented approach. Indeed, the study takes into account the various inputs from liturgy to ecumenism, from urban and social theories to the influence of Continental architecture, considering British church architecture as an all-round phenomenon.