BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Historic England has received an application to assess the Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston for listing. The building is within the Batheaston Conservation Area and has been nominated for the Local List.

A planning application is currently being considered for the redevelopment of the site, including proposals to demolish the building (Bath and North East Somerset Council planning application reference 23/03753/FUL).

The church was examined as part of the Taking Stock architectural review of Roman Catholic churches. It was not identified as a candidate for listing. We subsequently received a listing application (reference 1488904) for the church in November 2023 and undertook an initial assessment of the building, concluding it did not merit listing for the following principal reasons:

* although the building is an interesting example of its type, with some notable architectural features, including the striking, tent-like roof form and imaginative use of fibre-glass blocks instead of traditional glazing, the success of the design is variable and not of the standard required of post-war buildings to meet the threshold for listing; * there have been alterations with the replacement of the roof covering, and some of the furnishings, although designed by the original architect, are much later than the original construction; * while the building has claims to historic interest as an early expression of the liturgical movement in the diocese when considered in the national context, it does not display a sufficient degree of innovation to raise the interest enough for statutory listing.

We received a second listing application for the building in March 2024 which presents additional information, with claims of technological innovation relating to the use of Kalwall GRP (glass-reinforced polyester) blocks for the glazing.

HISTORY Kalwall is an American company begun in the 1950s by Robert Keller. The founder’s fascination with the use of GRP in aircraft design led to experimentation with composite materials and their application within aircraft, furniture and architecture. ‘Kalwall’ was developed as an insulated, light-transmitting panel. Kalwall did not gain popularity in England in the period, with the church being the only known use until the end of the century. However, the use of other fibreglass composite materials proliferated in architecture and public art, and other companies, such as Fibreglass Ltd, a subsidiary of Pilkington, were pioneering in its development. The Pilkington headquarters building, St Helens, 1959-1963, by Fry, Drew and Partners, showcases their developments (listed at Grade II). Other applications of glass fibre composites in glazing survive from the 1960s, such as at the Lightfoot Dome, Newcastle.

ASSESSMENT The Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings (DCMS, November 2018) sets out the broad criteria when assessing buildings for listing, which are special architectural or historic interest. Careful selection is required for buildings from the period after 1945. Special interest may apply to particularly significant examples of building types or techniques (e.g. buildings displaying technological innovation or virtuosity), and engineering and technological interest can be an important consideration.

Church of the Good Shepherd in Batheaston is not recommended for listing for the following principal reasons:

Degree of Architectural interest:

* Robert Keller’s innovation in the development of composite materials is recognised, but as one of many products using glass fibre in the period, Kalwall does not stand out as a significant technological development in the national context; * the use of the Kalwall system adds to the interest of the church, but the glazing itself is not so technologically innovative that it stands out during a period which saw the prolific use, experimentation and development of glass fibre composites.

Degree of Historic interest:

* while Kalwall appears to have been little known and seldom used outside the US in the 1960s, as the C20 progressed the product, refined and developed, was used in some highly significant buildings internationally.

CONCLUSION The architect’s selection of the material and its use to good aesthetic effect internally is notable, however, its use within the building does not substantially elevate its interest, and the conclusion reached in our last assessment stands. The Church of the Good Shepherd does not merit statutory listing.

SOURCES Church of the Good Shepherd designation decision report, Historic England, December 2023, Heritage Gateway, accessed 4 April 2024 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1489052&resourceID=7

‘History’, Kalwall, accessed 4 April 2024 from https://www.kalwall.com/history/

Taking Stock Report, The Good Shepherd, Batheaston, accessed on 29 November 2023 from https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/batheaston-the-good-shepherd/

‘Church With a Contrast’, Western Daily Express, (5 May 1967).