Francis George Broadbent (1909,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– 13 January 1983,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London) was a 20th-century English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

known for his work in designing churches and schools for the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Career

Broadbent was a partner in the architectural firm Goodhart-Rendel Broadbent & Curtis in the 1950s and 1960s and took over the practice when

Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887 in Cambridge – 21 June 1959 in Westminster, London) was a British architect, writer and musician. Life Harry Stuart Goodhart was born on 29 May 1887 in Cambridge, England. He added the additional name Rende ...

died. Subsequently, he became senior partner in Broadbent Hastings Reid & New, retiring in 1980.

Works

Broadbent completed the restoration work on

Prinknash Abbey Prinknash Abbey (pronounced locally variously as "Prinidge/Prinnish") (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) is a Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic monastery in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the vill ...

, which had been started by Goodhart-Rendel in 1939. He also restored the

Tyburn convent The Tyburn Nuns, formally, Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre, is a Catholic congregation of Benedictine nuns. The congregation was originally founded in Paris but was obliged to find a new Mother House due to French legislation p ...

(1962). He worked, from 1959 to 1960, with Goodhart-Rendel on the design and construction of St Martin and St Ninian Catholic Church in

Whithorn Whithorn (; ), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

, Scotland. The churches he designed include: * Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Richmond, London (1953–54) * The Church of the Holy Name,

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

(1960) * St Ann's, Kingston Hill (1960) * St Thomas More,

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Wald ...

(1961) * The Holy Name,

Claygate Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, ...

(1961) *St John Fisher, Cannon Hill Lane, Merton (1962) * St John the Evangelist,

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2021 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population ...

(1966) * The Holy Spirit,

Fetcham Fetcham is a suburban village in the Mole Valley district, in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Gr ...

* St Pius X,

New Malden New Malden is a suburban area in southwest London, England. It is within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Norb ...

* St Theodore, Cranbrook * Our Lady of Dover, Buckland (1960s)

Personal life

Broadbent lived at 71 Christchurch Road,

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long High Street, high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic ...

Death and legacy

Broadbent died on 13 January 1983, aged 73. His correspondence with Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel from 1941 to 1959 is held by the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

in its Archives and Drawings Collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadbent, Francis 1909 births 1983 deaths 20th-century English architects Architects from London Architects of Roman Catholic churches People from East Sheen People from Fulham People from Wandsworth