Kelly & Birchall

Kelly & Birchall
Practice information
Key architects John Kelly
Edward Birchall
Location Leeds
Founded 1886
Date of dissolution 1904
Work
Buildings St Patrick's Church, Soho Square, (Grade II* listed)

Kelly & Birchall was an architectural practice based in Leeds, England, from 1886 to 1904[1] and specialising in churches in the Italianate and Gothic Revival styles.

Works

The partnership between Edward Birchall (1839 – 6 March 1903),[2] who had practised in Leeds since the early 1860s[2] and John Kelly (1840–1904)[3] who had previously been in partnership with Richard Life Adams (1840–1883), was established in 1886.[4][5]

The church of St Mary of Bethany, New Wortley, Leeds was one of Kelly & Birchall's earliest projects. Initially worked on by Adams & Kelly, Kelly & Birchall took it to completion. Built in 1885 at a cost of £5,600, it featured a spire of 135 feet and a brick-lined interior. St Mary of Bethany was demolished in 1975.[5][6] Two more of Kelly & Birchall's Leeds buildings have also since been demolished. The original All Hallows Church, on the corner of Hyde Park Road and Regent Terrace, Leeds, built in 1876 at an estimated cost of £10,585, was destroyed by fire on 27 April 1970, though the vicarage remains.[7] The Roman Catholic church of St Francis of Assisi, Manor Road, Holbeck, built in 1896, was closed and demolished in 1979.[8]

Kelly & Birchall designed the Grade II listed St Luke's Church, on Gibbon Road in Kingston upon Thames, built between 1886 and 1887[9][10] and the Grade II* listed St Patrick's Church, Soho Square (a Roman Catholic church in central London), built between 1891 and 1893.[11][12]

In Leeds they also designed the Central Higher Grade School[13] (later known as Leeds Higher Grade School)[14] in Woodhouse Lane; this was built in 1889, with an attic added in 1890 by William Landless,[14] who had been clerk of works at Kelly & Birchall, executing designs on their behalf.[15] The building was converted to Council offices in 1994–95.[14]

John Kelly went on to design several notable churches, including All Saints' Church, Petersham[16] in Richmond-upon-Thames (Grade II listed). Kelly's Roman Catholic churches, which also include St Agatha's Roman Catholic Church at King's Road, Kingston upon Thames[17] and Sacred Heart Church (Teddington),[18][19] are all in a distinctive Italianate style, with Romanesque features and some with large campanile.[9]

Towards the end of his career, Kelly was short-listed for, but failed to win, the contract for the Cathedral Church of St Anne's, Leeds.[20] Approaching retirement, Kelly established a new practice, John Kelly & Sons, in Oxford Street, London. The church of St Alban and St Stephen in St Albans dates from this time.[21] Following John Kelly's death in 1904, his son Claude Kelly took over the practice. The design of St Peter's Church, Aldrington in Hove (Grade II listed), attributed to Claude, is believed to have also been worked on by his father.[22]

Edward Birchall's other work includes the country house Tylney Hall in Hampshire, built in 1879, which is Grade II listed[9][23] and is now a hotel,[24] and Carlton Hill Friends Meeting House (1868) which was the principal Quaker Meeting House in Leeds. In 1921 it became Albrecht & Albrecht's clothing factory, the Quaker meetings removing to the schoolroom block to the rear, where worship continued until 1979.[25] The building was refurbished by Leeds Metropolitan University in 2007 and is now called "Old Broadcasting House".[26]

Gallery

Buildings by Kelly & Birchall
St Lukes church, Kingston-upon-Thames- south end
St Luke's Church, Kingston upon Thames – south end, 1886–1887[5] 
St Agnes, Burmantofts, Leeds
St Agnes' Church, Burmantofts, Leeds, West Yorkshire, 1887–1889[5] 
St James' Church, Shireshead
St James' Church, Shireshead, Lancashire, 1887–1890[5] 
File:Leeds Higher Grade School, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds
Leeds Higher Grade School, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. Built 1889, extended 1890 
St Patrick's Church Soho Square
St Patrick's Church, Soho Square, central London, 1891–1893 
St Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, Beeston, Leeds. 1904
St Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, Beeston, Leeds, 1904[8] 
Buildings by Kelly
Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick, 1886
Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick, 1886[28] 
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Teddington, 1893
Holy Family Catholic Church, Green Lane, Wortley, Leeds
Holy Family Catholic Church, Green Lane, Wortley, Leeds, 1895[32] 
St Agatha's Roman Catholic Church, Kingston upon Thames, 1899[34] 
All Saints' Church, Petersham, commissioned 1899 
St Laurence's Catholic Church, Petersfield
St Laurence's Catholic Church, Petersfield, 1890–91[36] 
Catholic Church of Ss Alban and Stephen, St Albans, Hertfordshire, 1903
Catholic Church of Ss Alban and Stephen, St Albans, Hertfordshire. John Kelly & Sons, 1903[21] 
St Peter's RC Church, Aldrington, Hove
St Peter's Church, Aldrington, Hove, 1912–15. Designed by John Kelly's son Claude Kelly, but John Kelly is also thought to have been involved 
Buildings by Birchall
Old Broadcasting House, Leeds, formerly Carlton Hill Friends Meeting House, built in 1868 
St Michael And All Angels
St Michael and All Angels Church, Sawley, North Yorkshire, 1878–1879[5] 
Tylney Hall, Rotherwick, Hook, Hart, Hampshire, built in 1879 

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kelly & Birchall". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Edward Birchall". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "John Kelly". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Former Church Institute, corner of Albion Place and Lands Lane". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 "Search of files where Professional or Firm Name contains 'KELLY (JOHN) & BIRCHALL (EDWARD)'". Church Plans Online. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "St Mary of Bethany Church, demolition". Leodis – a photographic archive of Leeds. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "History". All Hallows Church, Leeds. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Minnis, John (2008). "religion and place in Leeds – A Survey and Gazetteer of Places of Worship 1900–2005" (PDF). English Heritage. ISSN 1749-8775. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "St. Luke's Church, Gibbon Road". Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 319. ISBN 0 14 0710 47 7.
  11. ↑ Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1973). The Buildings of England – London 1: The Cities of London and Westminster (third edition). London: Penguin Books. p. 514. ISBN 0 14 0710 12 4.
  12. ↑ "St Patrick – Soho". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Central Higher Grade School". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Wrathmell, Susan (ed.) (2005). Pevsner Architectural Guides: Leeds. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 29 and 153–4. ISBN 0 300 10736 6.
  15. ↑ "William Landless". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 514. ISBN 0 14 0710 47 7.
  17. ↑ Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 313. ISBN 0 14 0710 47 7.
  18. ↑ Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 535. ISBN 0 14 0710 47 7.
  19. ↑ "The Sacred Heart – Teddington". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "Cathedral Church of St Anne, Leeds". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "St Alban and St Stephen – St Albans". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  22. ↑ Historic England. "St Peter's Church, Aldrington (1209728)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  23. ↑ "Tylney Hall". National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. February 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  24. ↑ "Tylney Hall Hotel". Tylney Hall Hotel. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Carlton Hill Friends Meeting House". Open Plaques. Open Heritage. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  26. ↑ "A short history of Leeds Quakers". Leeds Quakers. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  27. ↑ Historic England. "Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick (1096073)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  28. ↑ Historic England. "Our Lady of Grace and St Edward, Chiswick (1096073)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  29. ↑ Reynolds, Susan, ed. (1962). "Teddington: Roman catholicism". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  30. ↑ Reynolds, Susan, ed. (1962). "Teddington: Roman catholicism". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Holy Family, Leeds". Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  32. ↑ "Holy Family, Leeds". Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  33. ↑ "St Agatha – Kingston". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  34. ↑ "St Agatha – Kingston". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  35. ↑ "St Laurence – Petersfield". Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  36. ↑ "St Laurence – Petersfield". Retrieved 1 March 2014.