Gustav Adolf Church, Liverpool

Not to be confused with Norwegian Fishermans' Church, Liverpool.

Gustav Adolf Church
Gustav Adolf Church
Gustav Adolf Church Location in Liverpool
Coordinates: 53°23′59″N 2°59′04″W / 53.3996°N 2.9844°W / 53.3996; -2.9844
OS grid reference	SJ 346 897
Location	Park Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside
Country	England
Denomination	Lutheran
Website	Liverpool International Nordic Community
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	14 March 1975
Architect(s)	W. D. Caroe
Architectural type	Church
Groundbreaking	1883
Completed	1884
Construction cost	£15,000 £1,160,000 in Modern GBP
Specifications
Materials	Brick, tiled roof

Gustav Adolf Church (Swedish: Gustav Adolfs kyrka^[1]) or the Scandinavian Seamen's Church (Swedish: Skandinaviska sjömanskyrkan) is located in Park Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It consists of a church, built between 1883-1884, and an attached minister's house, and provides a centre for the Liverpool International Nordic Community.^[2] The combined church and minister's house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.^[3]

History

During the later part of the 19th century, large numbers of Scandinavian emigrants were passing though Liverpool, and there was a need to serve their spiritual needs. The first Scandinavian priest was appointed in 1870, who visited the emigrants in ships and boarding houses. There was perceived to be a need for a permanent centre.^[4] The commission to design a church and minister's house was gained by W. D. Caroe, whose father, Anders Kruuse Caroe, was the Danish Consul in the city. It was Caroe's first independent commission to design a church.^[3] Building started in 1883 and was completed the following year, at a cost of £15,000 (equivalent to £1,410,000 in 2015).^[4]^[5] During the 1960s the interior of the church was divided horizontally, when the gallery was removed and a mezzanine floor was added.^[3] This was to provide an area for social activity, between the basement and the church itself.^[4] At the same time the minister's house was converted from a single-storey building to one with two storeys. Further changes were made in the early 1990s. The lower area was converted into a community meeting room with a kitchen, a café, and other facilities.^[3]

Architecture

Exterior

The building is constructed in red brick, with a roof of tiles and copper sheathing, and consists of a church with a minister's house attached to the southeast. The entrance front on Park Lane is in seven bays, and is in two and three storeys with basements. The central bay consists of a three-storey stair tower, containing windows with pointed arches, and surmounted by a lead-covered spire. At the midpoint of the spire are lucarnes with wooden bargeboards. To the right of this, the middle of the three bays rises to a greater height, and has a crowstepped gable containing three stepped lancet windows. The windows in the ground floor of these three bays have segmental heads, those in the middle storey have pointed heads, and the two lateral bays contain quatrefoil windows. Behind the gable, and rising to a greater height is an octagonal lantern. Around this are four gablets, and on its roof are four small dormers. The lantern is surmounted by a lead finial and cross. The dormers and gablets are decorated with Scandinavian carvings. To the left of the central tower is a modern entrance porch, and to the left of this is the two-storey minister's house, which contains a crowstepped gable on its left side.^[3]

Interior

The lower floor contains a meeting room, a kitchen, bedrooms, toilet facilities, showers, an office, and a television room. The upper floor, under the central octagonal lantern, comprises the church.^[3] Inside the church are five plaster reliefs by Robert Anning Bell. These originally formed a reredos, but are now hung separately in the church. Also in the church are two sculptures by the local sculptor, Arthur Dooley, which depict Christ, and the Madonna.^[4]

References

↑ In Swedish, "Gustav Adolph's Church". "Kyrka" sounds roughly like "Cheerka"
↑ About us, Liverpool International Nordic Community, retrieved 15 April 2013
1 2 3 4 5 6 Historic England, "Scandinavian Seamen's Church (Gustav Adolfus Kyrka) (1292991)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 April 2013
1 2 3 4 History, Liverpool International Nordic Community, retrieved 15 April 2013
↑ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.

External links

Media related to Gustaf Adolf Church, Liverpool at Wikimedia Commons

Buildings and structures in Liverpool, England

Skyscrapers and highrises (over 60m)	1 Princes Dock Alexandra Tower Beetham Tower Mann Island Buildings Municipal Buildings New Hall Place One Park West The Plaza Port of Liverpool Building Post & Echo Building Radio City Tower Royal Liver Building Thistle Atlantic Tower Unity Commercial Unity Residential West Tower

Notable lowrises	Albert Dock Alder Hey Children's Hospital Bank of England Bluecoat Chambers Britannia Adelphi Hotel Chinese Arch County Sessions House Crowne Plaza LJLA Cunard Building Empire Theatre Everyman Theatre Grand Central Hall Great North Western Hotel Hargreaves Building Homeopathic Hospital India Buildings International Slavery Museum Liverpool Central Library Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building Liverpool Magistrates' Court Liverpool Playhouse Liverpool Town Hall Liverpool Women's Hospital The Lyceum Malmaison Merseyside Maritime Museum Museum of Liverpool National Conservation Centre Oratory Oriel Chambers Philharmonic Hall Prudential Assurance Building Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts Royal Court Theatre Royal Insurance Building Royal Liverpool University Hospital Speke Hall Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse St. George's Hall Tate Liverpool Tower Buildings Victoria Building Walker Art Gallery White Star Building World Museum Liverpool

Places of worship	All Saints' Church Al-Rahma Mosque Church of All Hallows Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas Church of St Agnes and St Pancras Church of St Clare German Church Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas Gustav Adolf Church Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Norwegian Fishermans' Church Old Christ Church The Oratory Princes Road Synagogue St George's Church Saint John the Baptist's Church St Luke's Church St Luke's Church, Walton St Michael's Church Toxteth Unitarian Chapel Ullet Road Unitarian Church Welsh Presbyterian Church

Transportation	Liverpool Coach Station Liverpool One bus station James Street station Kingsway Tunnel Liverpool Central station Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool Lime Street station Liverpool South Parkway station Mersey Railway Tunnel Moorfields station Queensway Tunnel

Shopping complexes	Clayton Square Shopping Centre Lewis's Liverpool ONE Metquarter New Mersey Shopping Park St. John's Shopping Centre

Sports venues and arenas	Anfield Echo Arena Goodison Park Liverpool Cricket Club O2 Academy Liverpool Wavertree Athletics Centre

Sculptures and monuments	Nelson Monument Steble Fountain Superlambanana Titanic Memorial Victoria Monument Wellington's Column Public art

Lists	Listed buildings in Liverpool List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool

Category Commons

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