CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM
OUR LADY WALSINGHAMOF A new church in Houston, Texas Cram and Ferguson Architects Ethan Anthony, AIA, ICTP President and Principal Architect Kevin Hogan Project Manager Rafael Aycinena Designer Acknowledgments Photography Ethan Anthony Kevin MichaelHoganOrtega Text Ethan Anthony, AIA, ICTP Graphics and Design Jennifer Allcramandferguson.com/978-451-0900DanielMatthewKelleyAldermanMorel©2021CramandFergusonArchitectsLLCrightsreserved.
Our Lady of Walsingham began with a telephone call from the Deacon of the church James Barnett. Jim was in the Diocesan Offices and saw a book that included, among other churches, pic tures of All Saints’ Peterborough. The name of the firm had been there as well and Jim searched on the internet until he found the church web site. He soon followed up with a call which was answered by the church secretary who recommended that Jim call us and gave him our phone number. On the call I answered his questions: Could we still build a church like that? When was the last time we built one like that? The call was soon followed by a visit and a meeting in Houston with Father James Moore. I can still remember Jim showing me in to Father Moore’s office in the low concrete block church they then occupied. Father Moore, Jim and I talked for a couple of hours about the decline of church architecture in America and how we were working hard to stop the descent and even turn things around.
A CALL
THE BEGINNING
There was no question of our having to com pete with other architects, we had already been chosen and we were to start immedi ately on the Schematic Design. I designed the church on my airplane tray table on the way home the next morning. The sketch is reproduced here. When I returned to the office I faxed it to Jim. He was overjoyed that it was just what they were looking for and I could hardly believe our good fortune. Below is a photo of the church that inspired Jim to call us, All Saints’ Parish, Peterbor ough, NH.
The North transept was to be a shrine replicating the historic shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham in TheEngland.church owned a site in the Spring Branch neighborhood of Houston where they had built a small concrete block church six years earlier which they had outgrown. The Parish felt that a nave of 300 would suit their needs for the foreseeable future.
THE SITE PLAN
The Parish of Our Lady of Walsingham sought a church that was inspired by those of the Norfolk re gion on the English coast, north of London near Ely. The program was to accommodate 300 persons in a traditional church plan composed of a nave, with a choir balcony at the western end, and a chancel, to be served by two sacristies and the western entrance to the church was to be through a narthex.
Original Church Shrine
THE DESIGN
The design is based on timeless principles drawn from the true English Catholic Gothic architecture. Though based on medieval con cepts, the building is technically advanced. The limestone is rough split veneer that rests on the foundation and bears its own weight, to the top of the soaring tower. Cast stone window arches are true arches, carefully designed in harmony with English Catholic churches, the steel frame bears only wind loads from the veneer, reducing cost.
Longitudinal Section of Our Lady of Walsingham
1. Narthex 2. Women’s Restroom 3. Men’s Restroom 4. Mechanical 5. Reconciliation Room 6. Confessional 7. Nave 8. Chapel 9. Porte Cochere 10. Priest’s Sacristy 11. Chancel 12. Alter 13. Sacristy Annex 14. Holy House 15. Bride’s Room 16. Electrical 17. Women’s Restroom 18. Janitor’s Closet
At the time these principles were consid ered quite radical in Texas: hierarchical plan, seats facing east, the raised pulpit at the front instead of in the center, altar in the east and elevated with elaborate reredos behind. The floor dimensions of the south tran sept reproduce those of the Holy House, site of the Walsingham miracle. The design of this church repudiating the implicit restrictions of post Vatican II practice were not widely Theadopted.parish of Our Lady of Walsingham sought a church inspired by those of the Norfolk region on the English coast.
THE FLOORPLAN
The church accommodates 300 and is entered through a narthex into a rect angular nave with choir balcony at the western end. The chancel, facing liturgi cal east, is flanked by transepts on either side of the crossing. The north transept houses the shrine replicating the histor ic shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham in TheEngland.design is based on timeless princi ples drawn from English Catholic Gothic architecture. The ceiling of the nave and transepts is southern yellow pine hung from the steel above.
THE HOLY HOUSE
Inside the Holy House, you enter an intimate space of prayer and meditation, built to the exact specifications and dimensions of the original medieval shrine at Walsing ham. This dwelling with its white plaster, its close-set rough-hewn oak timbers, and hammer-beam ceiling is designed to resemble a tenth-century Saxon house.
The ‘Holy House’ interior is designed to resemble the 11th century Saxon house where an apparition of the Virgin Mary to a Norman widow er began the Walsingham legend. Rough plaster and an exposed oak beam ‘structure’ combine with simple chapel chairs to create a chapel of intimacy and warmth.
The Tabernacle built by artisans of Talleres de Arte Granda, the Spanish studio of liturgical arts, was designed to represent the form and proportions of the Ark of the Covenant. Framing the Tabernacle are Gothic reredos inspired by the altarpiece in the Slipper Chapel. Carved from cedar, painted, and gilded using medieval techniques, the rere dos also come to us from the craftsmen of Granda in Spain. The gold leaf was applied with traditional processes, involving numerous steps of priming, application, and burnishing. The octagonal pulpit has the reticulated tracery of the arch motif that runs throughout the church. Again modeled in a style characteristic of English churches, the pulpit was fash ioned of tropical hardwoods (Port Assisi Cedar and Granadillo) by craftsmen in Bogotá, Colombia. The front of the pulpit is adorned with a small statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.
TABERNACLE & PULPIT
Mrs. Mary Kathryn “Kay” Dalton Laro, the first donor to the fund for construction of the church holds the model of the church. Deacon James Barnett (First Row Second from Left) and Fr James Moore (Second Row third from left).
Christmas 2000, the Building Committee gathers for a pho to for posterity after signing the contract for construction.
Most Revered Archbishop Fiorenza leads the dedica tion ceremony for the church with Father James Moore and Deacon James Barnett on the right.
Most Revered Archbishop Fiorenza, with Father Moore on his left and Deacon Jim Barnett on his right, lead the celebration of breaking ground for the construction of the church.
