Summary
Church. Built 1964-1966 to designs by Ralph Covell.
Reasons for Designation
The Church of St Richard, Ham, built in 1964-1966 to designs by Ralph Covell, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a largely intact example of an innovative 1960s church by an interesting post-war practice with an unusual Star of David-shaped plan;
* for its carefully considered interior with dalle de verre stained glass and enamelled doors by Henry Haig;
* for the technical interest of its complex and striking roof, employing three timber hyperbolic paraboloid shells, a rare surviving example of this short-lived post-war building technology.
Historical interest:
* as a good example of post-war ecclesiastical design employing Liturgical Movement principles.
History
The Church of St Richard was built between 1964 and 1966 to serve a development of 700 homes undertaken by the Wates development company on a 60 acre site of former gravel pits on the east bank of the River Thames and to the west of the historic core of Ham. Planning permission for the Ham Riverside Lands estate was granted in 1960 with construction beginning in 1962 and concluding in 1967. The architect, Ralph Covell, of Covell, Matthews and Partners was appointed to design the church (with seating for 250 worshipers) but there is no evidence that he also designed its attached primary school. Designed with a Star of David plan, Covell stated in a brochure for the opening of the church, that he wished to provide, as he had done with previous church designs, ‘a “one room Church” in which the inter-relationship between the main elements could be adjusted, if necessary’. He wanted to avoid fixing ‘the main liturgical elements in such a way that they cannot be altered if, as time goes by, changes seem to be wanted’. Principally, the position of the altar could be varied within the hexagonal central space. The six ‘points’ of the star provided areas for the Choir, Vestry, Sacristy, Church Office, Lady Chapel and Baptistry.
The complicated timber roof structure, consisting of three hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) shells and three pyramidal structures were engineered by Alan Grant and Partners and built by Rainham Timber Engineering (RTE). RTE were one of only three English companies, along with H Newsum and Sons (HNS) and their successors, Newsum Timber Engineers (NTE), who produced more than a handful of the 130 or so timber hypar roofs (24 by RTE) built in Britain between 1957, when the technology was first introduced, and 1975 when the last known example was built.
The local artist, Henry Haig (1930-2007), was commissioned to design the 14 ‘dalle de verre’ decorative screens (constructed by James Powell and Sons at their Whitefriars Glassworks) and the vitreous enamelled panelled doors either side of the altar. Covell himself designed the church furnishings.
The foundation stone of the church was laid on 19 September 1964 by Norman Wates, and St Richard’s was consecrated on 20 May 1966 by the Right Reverend Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark.
In 1998 the kitchen area was renovated and improved disabled access provided. In 2003 a children’s area was developed in the former Baptistry and provided with folding timber screens and a mural.
Ralph George Covington Covell (1911-1988) went into practice in Westminster in 1937 and served in the Royal Engineers during the Second World War. After the war he resumed practice in partnership with Albert Matthews, acquiring work with the Ministry of Defence. Their first major contract was Piccadilly Plaza in Manchester (1959) and the firm expanded rapidly over the next decade, opening offices in Manchester and Scotland where the practice built many buildings.
Ralph Covell was noted for his church designs, predominantly for the Diocese of Southwark where he designed around 23 buildings. These include: the Church of St Alban, Mottingham (1953); Church of St Agnes, Kennington Park (1956); Church of St Matthew, Camberwell (1959-60); Church of St Katharine with St Bartholomew, South Bermondsey (1960); William Temple Church, Abbey Wood (1966) and the Church of St Laurence and attached community centre, Catford (1967-68 – Listed at Grade II – National Heritage List for England 1393742). Covell retired in 1972 and was awarded the MBE in 1986.
Details
Church. Built 1964-1966 to designs by Ralph Covell.
MATERIALS: laminated timber roof-frame supported on six hexagonal reinforced concrete pillars with brown brick walling in stretcher bond and timber-framed fenestration. The roof has three hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) shells of three layers of laminated and tongued and groove-edged European whitewood boarding, interspersed with pyramidal roofs of two-ply plywood panels. These are covered with copper sheeting but that to the hypar shells lacks the original vertical seams and has clearly been replaced. The spire is of fibreglass.
PLAN: the church has a Star of David plan with a hexagonal central seating space ringed by six triangular ‘wings’ divided from the main space by screens. According to the original plans, these contained, clockwise from the Baptistry (now the Children’s area in the northernmost wing, the entrance, Lady Chapel, Vestry (now the Choir Room), Sacristy (now the Vestry) and Clergy Vestry (now the kitchen). The church is entered from a lobby containing external entrances to the north and south, the entrance to the primary school to the west and the church to the east. Triangular-plan WCs occupy the north-west and south west of the lobby building. On the north elevation of the kitchen space is a later timber-boarded outshut with a sloping felted-roof.
EXTERIOR: the distinctive copper-clad roof has three hypar shells which sweep down from the central point under the fibreglass spire and then rise to a point at the apex of three of the six triangular wings (those currently containing the Children’s Corner, Lady Chapel and Vestry). Spaced between the hypar shells are three sections of roofing with a sloping pitched profile, ending in triangular gables with mixed yellow and clear glazed, timber-framed panels at the inward side of the other three wings. These wings themselves are each covered with a triangular pyramidal roof, discrete from the main roof.
The fenestration of the wings is treated differently depending on the type of roof. Those with the hypar roofs have a triangular section of glazed, timber-framed, panels, again with mixed yellow and clear glass, on each external side, beneath a broad sloping (replacement uPVC) fascia. The wings with pyramidal roofs have a narrow strip of timber-framed (with some uPVC replacements) glazed panels, beneath a horizontal, replacement uPVC, fascia covering a reinforced concrete frame.
The brick walling of the wings is largely blind except for narrow, full-height, dalle de verre glazed panels at each side of the intersection of the wings. There are further panels on either side of the points of the wings (which all terminate in a concrete pillar) containing the Children’s Corner and Lady Chapel. The kitchen wing and Choir Room have modern uPVC framed glazed windows and an entrance at the corners. The Sacristy has a corner bell cote with a painted timber balustrade above the walling.
The entrance lobby has wide external openings closed with full-height slatted timber gates.
INTERIOR: the church is entered from the east via the joint entrance lobby with the primary school, through an interior lobby with two sets of glazed timber framed doors. The original grey tiled single step up to the doors from the external lobby has been modified with the addition of an access ramp with tubular steel handrails.
The undulating tent-like roof of the church has narrow softwood boarding with the six white-painted laminated timber beams having a metal facing strip. The original central light fitting has 16 pendant lamps. The triangular wings have screens separating them from the main space. Those to the current Choir Room and Kitchen are of the same narrow softwood boarding as the roof and rise to a softwood fascia below the panels of glazing in the triangular gables. That to the Lady Chapel is glazed with a timber frame and rises to the height of the flanking concrete pillars. The curved Vestry screen is free-standing, of softwood boarding, and with pairs of doors at either side. These are decorated on the side of the main space with vitreous enamel designs on steel plates by Henry Haig. The screen to the current Children’s area retains the original timber lintel but has a folding timber-framed glazed screen installed in 2003 which replaces the original screen that matched that of the Lady Chapel. The Children’s area has a two-part mural by Cynthia Etherington from 2003 and fitted cupboards.
The Sanctuary consists of a shallow timber dais with square-section metal railings and white artificial leather covering to the rails. The table altar stands on a timber base and was designed to be capable of relocation within the worship space as were the other furnishings including the metal-framed, artificial leather-topped lectern with its attached metal-framed chair, the hexagonal wooden font and carved candleholders. The Lady Chapel has a fixed table altar on a corner dais. All the fittings were designed by Covell. The organ by Bevington and Sons dates from around 1900 and was rebuilt in St Richard’s in 1965.
At the corners and intersections of the triangular wings are 15 narrow dale de verre windows by Henry Haig. These are made of inch-thick coloured glass set in epoxy resin, rise to the top of the walling, and the abstract designs are inspired by the life and character of St Richard of Chichester.
