In the late 1870’s and early 1880’s, the annual number of
Scandinavian emigrants passing through Liverpool reached 50,000. Therefore
decision was made to establish a religious mission in Liverpool, in order to
meet the pastoral needs of Scandinavian seamen and the growing number of
emigrants, some passing through the port en-route to North America and other
overseas destinations. The Swedish-Norwegian Church Council in London, where a
mission had already been established by the Evangelical Patriotic Foundation
(Evangeliska Fosterlands-Stiftelsen) in 1862, decided upon a similar mission in
Liverpool.
The commission to design and build the church at 138 Park
Lane, Liverpool, was given to a young architect, William Douglas Caroe, who
went on to be a major representative of the closing phase of the Gothic revival
in Britain.
William Caroe was born in 1857, educated at Ruabon and
Trinity College Cambridge, and articled to John Loughborough Pearson. He became
known as “a consummate master of building according to medieval precedent”.
Caroe almost certainly obtained the commission through his father, who was then
the Danish Consul in Liverpool. The result was the creation of a unique building,
which contained many Scandinavian features, including stepped gables and a
concave sided lead covered spire over the entrance. Construction costs amounted
to 50.000 Swedish crowns, a mere £15,000 today. The building was started in
1883 and completed in 1884.
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| Gustav Adolf Kyrka Swedish Church |
The first priest, Per August Tegner, arrived in Liverpool on
22 August 1870 and the first service was held six days later. The church still
stands today as one of only 4 octagonal church buildings in the UK and one of
about 30 in Sweden. It was also the first Swedish church built overseas,
although there were missions operating out of other premises. The church is a
Grade II'* listed building and remains a distinct feature of the docklands area
of Liverpool. It was viewed by contemporise as “the largest and most beautiful
seaman’s church in the world. The original building has not been altered
significantly to any degree, apart from the decision, some time ago, to remove
the balconies from the original two storey place of worship and to install a
middle floor, thus creating a separate location for social events between the
basement and the actual church.
The church possesses a fine organ, and five plaster reliefs
by Robert Anning Bell RA, RWS
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| Swedish Church Organ |
(1863-1933). These reliefs used to form the reredos to the
altar, but now hang separately in the church. Bell was an important figure in
the development of Art Nouveau in Britain and was influential at Liverpool’s
university School of Architecture and Applied Arts from the late 1890’s before
gaining a professorship at the Glasgow School of Art from 1911 and then at the
Royal College of Art, after the end of the first world war. There are also two
important statues by the local sculptor Arthur Dooley, these figures are the
Madonna and the Christ figures. Dooley was born in Liverpool and initially
apprenticed as a welder in a Birkenhead shipyard. After studying at St Martin’s
school, he became an internationally recognised sculptor, primarily of
religious works, usually made in either bronze or scrap metal. Prior to his
death, Dooley was a regular visitor to the church.
Link
Source:
Gustav
Adolf Kyrka Liverpool
Central
Library
By Robert F Edwards
