Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool

The Blackpool shrine was built between 1955 and 1957 to a design by F. X. Velarde. During the 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. It cost £50,000 (equivalent to £|r=-4}}}} in ), 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…

The chapel is constructed in brick and concrete with a Portland stone covering and has copper cladding to the roof and flèche. The wide nave has four bays. At the west end there is a single-bay narthex, and at the east end is an apse forming the sanctuary, and projecting vestries. In the west front are double doors, over which is a low relief of the Holy Trinity carved by David John. David John also designed the pinnacles at the corners of the building; these depict Our Lady of Lourdes appearing to Saint Bernadette, Christ appearing to Saint Margaret Mary, Saint Thomas of Canterbury, and Saint Edward the Confessor. On the sides rectangular panels of cast concrete glazing are filled with…