Building the Modern Church: Roman Catholic Church Architecture in Britain, 1955 to 1975

摘要

Robert Proctor provides the first detailed overview of Roman Catholic architecture in the United Kingdom in a period under which the church, as an institution, underwent radical shifts in worshipping styles, particularly in how the clergy interacted with its worshipping communities. That such a lacuna existed in British architectural history is quite unbelievable; it has been almost thirty years since Chris Brooks and Andrew Saint published their worthwhile collection on the Victorian church. Proctor's chosen period is an intriguing one: English replaced Latin as the primary language of the Roman Catholic mass and the laity ceased to be passive observers, becoming more actively involved. Accordingly, the architecture of Roman Catholic church buildings underwent a similar revolution. But this was far from a uniform process, and Proctor identifies three primary agents: 'the architect as designer, the Church as an institutional framework and discursive field, and the city as a social and spatial influence' (p. 8).