The Project continues to troll areas heretofore unknown to us by visiting Darby, deep in the wilds of greater Delco. It's not simple curiosity that brings us here, though.
As I've mentioned before, we tend to get a lot of requests. The Project generally follows its own muse and not that of John Q. Churchgoer, but reader suggestions can sometimes be a good resource. Note the use of "sometimes," since most reader suggestions are terrible. That's not as harsh as it sounds--it's just that we tend to have different ideas of what constitutes a MUST-SEE CHURCH!!!!!!
(Don't fret, the Project still loves you all!)
Anyway, I'd gotten a couple of e-mails regarding Darby's Blessed Virgin Mary, or BVM for short. One e-mail is easy to ignore. But two or more? Than you have something. And the fact that multiple people requested the same church made the Project sit up and pay attention.
For example:
"Your project is fantastic. Thanks for putting it on-line. A friend told me about it.
Just a note to tell you not to miss B.V.M, Darby. It is a French Gothic gem with classic Old World stained glass windows in deep blues. It may even be a replica of a church in France. I think someone of note may have done the windows, but I can't recall the details. I went to grade school there in the 50's and recall it fondly."
and
"i just wanted to suggest BVM in Darby at the corner of Main St. & MacDade Blvd. it's a very beautiful gothic church."
After a little background research revealed a decent-sized Gothic church built in 1930, we were on our way. 1930 was a good year for churches, after all. Witness Immaculate Conception and Incarnation of Our Lord, for starters. If BVM was even a fraction as good as them, it would be a worthwhile trip.
So does it measure up? Well, it's full of things that generally make the Project weep: white, unadorned plaster; dark wood; unimpressive sanctuary; plainer pictorial windows, and on and on.
But BVM is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The individual elements, when taken separately, don't seem like much. Combine them, though, and you have something that still kind of works. There's enough stone, particularly in the pillars and side aisles, to evoke a very dark, medieval Gothic motif.
The emphasized verticality is also another positive. One of the hallmarks of Gothic architecture, by definition, is what's known as "height and light"--that is, high interiors and large windows. The Gothic, more so than any other style, is meant to emphasize the power and glory of the almighty by creating a design that is very vertically oriented, reminding you of the heavens above. It's also the reason for the points on the arches and windows, since the points point upward toward...you guessed it, heaven.
(That's not to say other styles can't emphasize verticality. Romanesque can and does, for example. Just look at Our Lady of Hope, a supremely vertical Romanesque cathedral. It's just that Gothic tends to do it the best.)
BVM does this verticality perhaps better than most Gothic churches in the area. It's certainly got the "height" part down, and even if the narrow windows don't quite get the "light" part, it's still very effective.
And that's really the bottom line here. BVM succeeds on mood and feel, not necessary any particular architectural success. Its excellent scope and medieval mood make it a church we can live with. Not one we'd praise from the rooftops, but one that we can swallow.
Oh, and the exterior scriptwork isn't shabby, either.
Size Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 6 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 7 out of 10 crosses
