A tale of two exchanges in one city – forty years apart.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Charles Dickens.
The Exchange of 1939 designed by FA Key.
The Exchange of 1976 by Trevor H Anson PSA Architect.
My thanks to Lisa Kinch of tele_exchange over at Instagram for the facts.
Let’s circumnavigate the site.
Just to spoil the twosome allusions there was a third exchange – just as there was a Third Man, returning from the dead.
Bradford’s last manual exchange was on the corner of Nelson Street and Union Street, opposite Bradford Town Hall.
It was opened by the National Telephone Company around 1900 to replace a magneto manual exchange in Swan Arcade. It closed on Saturday 26 July 1947 when the current Bradford exchange was opened.
The original railway station, named Bradford Exchange, was opened by the joint efforts of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway on 9 May 1850. The railway station with its 10 platforms was deemed too large and was again rebuilt, this time on a different site slightly further south.
The Interchange was designed in 1962, it was hailed as a showpiece of European design when it opened in 1971.
Architects WC Brown Borough Architect and RL Moorcroft BR.
The bus station featured a large ridge and furrow design of overall roof, which was subsequently demolished in 1999 to allow for a rebuilding of the bus station, which was opened in 2001.
Further down the line, the plans of 2020 are yet to be realised.
So the curved and tented canopy is still in place, with the addition of seating in the newly landscaped plaza area – designed by Fereday Pollard.
The area has replaced the former taxi rank and drop-off point, and has new paving, seating and planters.
Designs include a new pocket park, plaza and interiors, all formed as a high quality welcoming visual amenity whilst repairing the disparate components which form the backdrop of the proposals. In the plaza, a kaleidoscope of colours is complemented by a grid of generous planters with integrated seating and vibrantly coloured furniture to create a celebratory and flexible meeting space. The ‘Colours of Bradford’ introduce clarity and joy, with the new plaza serving as an extension to the station concourse, allowing meeting and dwell space to interact with the city and onward journeys. Reinforcing the moor to meadow narrative of our original scheme, the new pocket park creates a pollinator park, encouraging and promoting a connection with the wider surrounding landscape of Bradford and combined with the Tower of Now, pays tribute to the rich and varied cultures found in Bradford.
Fereday Pollard
With Bradford awarded the UK City of Culture 2025, and an expected 15 million visitors during its year of celebrations, the city is ready for its moment in the spotlight. As part of these exciting developments, Bigg Design and Fun Makes Good are transforming Bradford’s main bus and rail interchange with super-scale, multi-surface artworks that will create an exciting, welcoming gateway to the city.
Their design work not a million miles from the prints and paintings of Richard Paul Lohse.
For me, this lower concourse always seems to have echoes of Jean-Luc Godard’s film Alphaville.
There are no special props or futuristic sets: instead, the film was shot in real locations in Paris, the night-time streets of the capital becoming the streets of Alphaville, while modernist glass and concrete buildings – which in 1965 were new and strange architectural designs, represent the city’s interiors.
We are transforming Huddersfield Bus Station into a fully accessible facility.
Work is underway on the £28 million facility, which is funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Kirklees Council.
I was informed by the seriously erudite Christopher Marsden, that the bus station and car park were the work of Derek C W Vane: Borough Architect 1972-1974.
We then cross over the road to the Civic Centre, with its gold leaf facade, and the perennially empty piazza, which along with the Magistrates’ Courts and Police Station, was the work of the Borough Architects team – led by Charles Edmund Aspinall.
Exsilite panels set in the stone faced columns – a brand name for a synthetic, moulded, artificial marble.
Exsilite is made by fusing grains of silica and pigments to form a slab that simulates onyx marble.
Exsiliteis a Latin word meaning – spring/leap/burst forth/out, leap up, start up, bound; emerge into existence.
It is to be note that the doors and distinctive handles from the Courts to the Piazza have been removed.
The Police Station is to be vacated on completion of the new Police Station.
Next to the curved and ribbed concrete wall, concealing an electrical sub-station.
Further on down the road the former Co-operative store 1936 JW Cropper.
On opening day, the Examiner said the Co-op gave:
The town of Huddersfield a store that is entirely modern in design and equipped on the most up-to-date lines-a store of which the townspeople generally, and co-operators in particular, can be proud.
It has subsequently been seriously disabused by insensitive refurbishment and extension.
We cross over to view the access road to the service area of the market – now closed.
It was formerly topped off by a multi-storey car park – since demolished.
Then onward to the Grade II Bath House at Broadbent’s Engineering in Huddersfield.
1955, by Abbey Hanson architects – designing architect Andrew Buck, project leader Geoffrey Rowe.
The building is a very rare, possibly unique example of a purpose built bath house for foundry workers
* Its continuing function as a bath house has preserved its original purpose in both its layout and its fixtures and fittings as well as its design
* The design of the building manifests inspiration from both W Dudok and Frank Lloyd Wright, and achieves a high standard of accomplishment in its interpretation of contemporary architectural influences
* The use of local stone for external walls distinguishes it from brick built pithead baths of similar style, and the imaginative use of finishes lends further distinction
* The interior survives almost entirely intact, with original wash basins, shower and tap fittings, lockers, floor and wall surfaces, doors and light fittings.
One of Huddersfield’s hidden architectural gems has been transformed into an attractive and unusual gallery-cum-coffee house and restaurant, destined to become a popular public space for meeting, eating and art appreciation. But among the attendees at a special unveiling event there were men who remembered its original function – as a bath house where scores of foundry workers could shower away a day’s grime.
Up around the the bend and here we are at the Grade II listed Queensgate Market, 1968-70 to the designs of the J Seymour HarrisPartnership, with Leonard and Partners as consultant engineers.
Another feature of Huddersfield Market which sets it apart from other post-war market buildings is its incorporation of works of art. Fritz Steller was a German-born refugee architect who had settled in Stratford-upon-Avon. He pioneered the production of large scale ceramic art, having been interested in the use of a wide variety of materials in sculpture. The development company Murrayfield had a policy of incorporating public art into their schemes, and the project manager of J Seymour Harris, the architects for the Huddersfield development, was Gwyn Roberts, a friend of Steller. One of the Borough Councillors at Huddersfield was Clifford Stephenson, an enthusiast for public art and particularly for modern ceramic sculpture. This combination led to the appointment of Steller to produce designs for the new market hall. The size of the panels necessitated the construction of a special kiln for their firing, and experimental mixes for the composition of the clay which was resistant to acid rain and chemicals.
Straight ahed to the service entrance at the rear of ThePiazza.
The council wants to demolish the Piazza buildings as soon as possible.
Phase 3 was originally to be the Queen Street plot but Greenhead College’s plans for a new education building on the site failed to secure Government funding. Since then the council has been looking at alternatives – including a hotel, residential or offices – but now believes a new multi-storey car park could be the best way forward.
Phase 5 was to have been a £90 million events and concert venue with a multi-storey car park attached but that is no longer affordable. A review of the venue is underway and the council now thinks a “flexible multi-purpose” venue is the way forward. It would have a fully-seated capacity of 1,200 or 2,000 with a standing floor and seated balcony.
Turning our back on the market and away to Buxton House 1968.
Kirklees Council’s plans for the £16 million re-development of a Huddersfield town centre block of flats have collapsed.
Buxton House, between New Street and Albion Street, failed to meet modern fire safety standards and the council moved tenants and bought out owners and leases, pending a full-scale refurbishment.
Planning permission was granted in July 2024 to re-model the tower block to create forty one, one and two-bedroomed flats along with five studio flats with construction set to start in November 2025.
However, it has now been revealed that the council has failed to find a contractor and the scheme is on hold indefinitely.
The flats are part of a larger retail development by Bernard Engle & Partners.
Across the way Ramsden House a slab on a podium, part of the Murrayfield Redevelopment 1968 J Seymour Harris Partnership.
This block was the first and only phase of four that’s still intact. It’s a slab and plinth project with underground servicing marble finishes and two art mosaics that relate to the town. The Ramsden Street elevation mosaic depicts ‘Development of the woollen industry from a cottage craft to the beginning of the industrial revolution’ designed by Huddersfield artist, Harold Blackburn.
Princess Street bears ‘Facets of the Local Scene’ by Mural Consultants Ltd.
Across the way Whitfield’s Department Store 1963 Ralph Hudson.
The longstanding furniture & piano dealers, Whitfield’s expanded from numbers five and seven with this six6 storey tower.
Influenced by a tour of modern European retail premises the company chairman supplied the architect with photos of ideas.The glossy metallic finish reflects the excitement of the notion of an Ercol show room on the fourth floor and G-Plan on the fifth. Pianos were on the first floor and TVs & radio and their servicing were in the basement. Welcome to stylish living sixties style!
Public Library 1940 Architect: EH Ashburner&James Arthur Woodford.
James Woodford at work – on the right, sculpting figure representing the Spirit of Literature
Reference Library.
Image – Charles Pickard 1940.
The food hall and library is due to open in summer 2026 but more problems have been uncovered with the former library and art gallery which will become the new museum. Internal works are underway and more asbestos than expected has been found and an extra £1 million has been needed to pay for removal.
The council has also found several other “significant issues” that also needed to be resolved.
It could be mid-2029 before the museum is ready to open.
Off we go to the MidlandBank – then HSBC then not a bank at all, 1970 Peter Womersley with Roger Shaw of Kitson & Partners.
Next door the Halifax Building Society 1981 Abbey Hanson Rowe.
back to the main drag and the Pearl Assurance Building 1963 Elsworth Sykes & Partners.
The nipping down the lane to Neaversons1935 with two Moderne fascia elevations by shop fitters Sharp & Law of Bradford, Grade II Listed as part of the Kirkgate Buildings.
Once selling bijou household goods, following occupation by several bars and cafes, currently empty.
Finally just in time to catch the last post at the Royal Mail Sorting Office – Post Office extension 1968 Office of Public Works.
St John’s College was founded as a men’s college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979. Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to provide a source of educated Roman Catholic clerics to support the Counter-Reformation under Queen Mary.
St John’s is the wealthiest college in Oxford, with assets worth over £790 million as of 2022, largely due to nineteenth-century suburban development of land in the city of Oxford of which it is the ground landlord.
The original buildings of the College were designed by William Butterfield 1814-1900. Although the darling of the Tractarian movement, Butterfield was a controversial choice, as his style – a form of High Victorian Gothic had long provoked argument in Oxford. The original Gothic revival of the 1840s was purely imitative, seeking to blend new buildings with the pre-existing architecture of the city. However, this did not satisfy Butterfield, who “sought a new form of Gothic which would both convey eternal truths and would express the spirit of the age”.
The College was lucky in that the ambitious vision of its founders allowed it to house the majority of its students for decades. However, by 1967, it had become clear to the College that there was a need to expand on a large scale. With the £500,000 cost funded via the Centenary Appeal, the project remained challenging – the site available was wedge-shaped, construction had to be phased, as funds became available, and the buildings had to stand next to Butterfield’s imposing work. To meet this challenge, the College chose an up-and-coming firm of architects, Ahrends, Burton and Koralek ABK.
The Denys Wilkinson Building was designed by Philip Dowson at Arup in 1967.
The building houses the astrophysics and particle physics sub-departments of the Department of Physics at Oxford University, plus the undergraduate teaching laboratories. It was originally built for the then Department of Nuclear Physics and named the Nuclear Physics Laboratory. From 1988, the building was known as the Nuclear and Astrophysics Laboratory after the Sub-Department of Astrophysics moved from the University Observatory in the Science Area. On 21st June 2002, the building was renamed as the Denys Wilkinson Building, in honour of the British nuclear physicist Sir Denys Wilkinson, who was involved in its original creation.
Denys Wilkinson Building Oxford photo – Webb Aviation.
Department of Nuclear Physics, Oxford Arup Associates 1971 – Colin Westwood RIBA pix.
The University of Oxford is relocating its undergraduate physics practical teaching from the Denys Wilkinson Building amid concerns about the presence of asbestos at the ageing site.
From Michaelmas this year, some practical teaching labs will move to the former Biochemistry and Biological Sciences Teaching Centre, with the remainder moving by Michaelmas 2027. The Biochemistry and Biological Sciences Teaching Centre will be adapted for physics practical teaching. Around six hundred undergraduates currently take part in compulsory practical coursework in the Denys Wilkinson Building across the first three years of Oxford’s physics degrees.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell that the decision to relocate had been taken proactively to avoid the risk of a sudden building failure causing disruption later. The spokesperson added that the Denys Wilkinson Building:
Is being carefully managed through the later years of its usable life, adding that the building has some legacy issues, including asbestos.
Originally completed in 1967, the building had not been maintained and required significant repairs to the roof structure of the accelerator tower, which had suffered from prolonged water ingress.
All defects were identified through a hammer test survey and thorough visual inspection, the original concrete was broken out back to a sound substrate and was square cut to depth of 10mm, thus preventing featheredging of the subsequent repair.
Exposed reinforcement was mechanically wire brushed, and prepared using high performing and sustainable products from Sika. Treated with Sika Monotop 1010; a bonding primer and corrosion protection, followed by the application of Sika Monotop 4012; a concrete repair mortar, to the original surface levels.
This building has been assessed under the Planning – Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest. The asset currently does not meet the criteria for listing.
It is not listed – the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport disagreed with Historic England’s recommendation for this case23rd July 2015.
In 1956, with University considering plans for expansion, Alan Bullock obtained approval to transform St Catherine’s Society into a fully residential college – the search for a site and funding began.
An ambitious fundraising campaign began, focusing on the national shortage of scientists and on Bullock’s proposal of an increased number of science students at St Catherine’s than was usual for an Oxford college. In 1960 almost eight acres of Holywell Great Meadow was acquired from Merton College and the College’s chosen architect, Arne Jacobsen of Denmark, began to implement his design. His modernist masterpiece was to become the most important 20th-century collegiate buildings in Oxford, and is now Grade I listed.
In 1962 St Catherine’s College opened its doors – while still under construction, with Alan Bullock as its Master. The first undergraduates were admitted, and were quickly dubbed the ‘Dirty Thirty’ owing to the lack of running hot water. 1964 saw the ceremonial opening of the College by the then Chancellor of the University, Harold Macmillan, and ten years later in 1974, staying true to its forward-looking ethos, it became one of the first colleges to admit women.
As a footnote – it’s possibly not a great idea to rush around an unfamiliar city trying to snap as much as possible on a very hot day time limited by budget train bookings largely underfed and thirsty.
St Catherine’s College: 1961-66. Arne Jacobsen – Grade I Listed
Podium and all buildings upon it. GV I College buildings, raised on a podium, including dining hall, common room blocks; two residential blocks; library; Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre; bell tower; piers and covering to walkways to east and west of library and east and west of hall; bridge adjoining west side of podium; brick walls enclosing canal and patio areas on western edge of podium; brick walls to patio areas to eastern edge of podium; twenty five short stretches of garden wall all running east-west, some incorporating seats; paving to podium surface and steps to east and south sides.
The current railway station is a modern version from the 1980s that was built on top of the original station – it is entirely functional, but more than somewhat undistinguished.
Whether it’s fashion, gifts, everyday essentials or an entertaining day out that you’re after, Market Walk has it all. With over thirty shops along an outdoor parade, plus entertainment and hospitality venues, there’s something for everyone.
AEW Architects were appointed by Chorley Council in 2015 as Architects for the Market Walk Scheme.
The Council’s aspiration was to breathe life back into the town centre by enhancing Chorley’s retail and leisure offer and refocusing Chorley’s centre as a destination for local residents and surrounding towns. The development needed to entice new, and retain existing, businesses in the town. Aesthetically, the development also needed to be a landmark for, and create a modern gateway into, the town – driving footfall towards Chorley’s commercial centre.
Next door is the Bus Station, opened in February 2003 replacing the previous structure.
Opening of the previous Bus Station – Ribble the area’s operators, before the Stagecoach arrived.
Opened on on 3rd September 1910, one of the nation’s longest continuously running cinemas.
I spent some time chatting to the chatty guardian of the booking office, I learnt that the recently installed blue plaque commemorates the areas links to esteemed Beano artist Leo Baxendale.
Leo attended St Mary’s School which was sited opposite the theatre, he had a miserable time there, an experience which formed the basis for the famed Bash Street Kids.
He may well now chuckle to himself in comic book heaven, knowing that the school was demolished in 1982.
The design team was Roger Booth, Lancashire County Architect; CA Spivey, Assistant County Architect; DB Stephenson, Design Architect; and DG Edwards, AG Gass, responsible for the detailed design and construction. The seven-storey in-situ concrete framed main block was the last bespoke police station to be built in Lancashire, following this the department developed a systemised concrete construction method which was deployed across the county. The dramatic cantilevers gave the new building a stature and presence that signalled authority. The lower levels were accessed by ramps and provided space for police vehicles. To enter the police station one ascended a set of external stairs across a pool that once contained koi carp – fittingly, one boy described the new building as a ‘fishtank’ upon its completion. The magistrates’ court was finished externally in a grey brick and carried the signature pyramid rooflights that were synonymous with the Department.
Next door its partner in crime the Magistrates Courts.
Opened in 1968.
The courts are up for sale – offers in the region of £800,000 – the property has planning permission for an eleven storey apartment building with fifty two flats, three ground floor retail units and roof terrace.
The disused court building was last sold in 2022 for £300,000, according to the Land Registry.
Designs for the scheme were drawn up by FWP Group.
Next door is a pub no longer a pub.
Once upon a time a Vaux Brewery house the White Hart – implausibly renamed the Snooty Fox for a brief period.
The pub was decent enough inside with a large room which was empty on our Friday dinner visit, the pub was a Vaux tied house so we were well pleased as we had not done many of them.
We had a drink of Vaux bitter which went down well.
Our group was created in February 2022 to try and help raise awareness of the crisis in Ukraine and to help organise and coordinate local efforts to send support from across the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire. We have since grown into a major hub for donations.
Across Chorley & District multiple educational facilities, community groups and organisations reacted and began to spread awareness and collect donations. In order to sift and sort a lot of local donations, a unit has been loaned by Chorley Council. A large percentage of the region’s aid has come into this unit and we are regularly packaging aid and supplies in preparation for the next leg of the journey to Ukraine, whether it’s transported there by us or other charitable organisations.
Our philosophy is that if we can all do a little bit, together we can make a big difference.
Bouncing back to what was and never shall be no more Barclays Bank.
Almost finally we find ourselves at the Council Offices 1982.
You will be delighted to hear that Chorley Council has a Masterplan
Self Architects generated a high level Masterplan for this prominent site. The scheme proposes a boutique hotel, offices, restaurants/bars, along with apartments, aiming to transform the town centre by intervention to enhance the overall vision by:
Establish a series of formal/informal public spaces
Diagonally link public spaces
Greening pedestrian streets
Reducing dominance of cars
Improving evening economy
Having a moment or two on my hands I ventured to the land beyond beyond – the land of the concrete bench, bin and planter combo.
Seen here in 2011 via Google – with clear windows and delightful signage.
2024 with vinyl covered windows and sign intact.
By the time of my visit in May 2026 – the sign and the Bentley were no more.
This is my most recent wander into a washateria following something of a lay off. Having previously published a launderette book and calendar way back when.
So once again we enter that familiar bubble of bubbles, whirrs and washing.
Nevern is a rural village in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.
The surrounding land is devoted largely to agriculture.
The church was founded by St Brynach in 540AD and the present building dates from around 1400.
Tim Rushton and I were cycling from Fishguard to Aberteifi on the Route 82 Lôn Teifi, which passes through Nevern.
So we stopped to have a look around.
1955
The most probable reason Brynach chose Nevern was the protection afforded it by its obscurity and the Castle above the village which had been a fortified stronghold since Iron-age times. He was a kinsman of the Goedelic Tribal Chieftains who occupied it.
Though the Peregrinatio had learned their theology and scholarship by travelling to monasteries on the Continent under the rule of Rome, the Celtic Church was very different. The ‘churches’ were in essence small monasteries or ‘clas’ peopled by monks. They had a leader or Abbot such as Brynach but were centres of learning and small-scale industry as much as for worship.
Evangelising by monks took place from the ‘mother churches’, so when a church is said to have been founded by a certain saint it was probably named after the leader of the ‘clas’. The life of the ‘clas’ and its form of worship, essentially different to that of Rome, changed very little from its formation in the 6thC into the century after the Norman Conquest, except that in the C8th repeated persuasion by the Continental conquerors of middle Britain converted the Celtic Church to Catholicism, henceforth adopting its dates and some of its rites.
The Vikings sacked St. David’s in 878, killing the bishop, and were a constant scourge along the coast for the next three hundred years. This is where the Castle played its most important role in the life of the church. They built a tower stronghold on a spit of land separated from the main castle where they would ‘sit out’ the Viking raids literally burning their bridge behind them. Fortunately for them the Vikings had a short attention span and were loath to lay siege preferring to push on to other targets, so, apart from having to occasionally rebuild their church, the Christians at Nevern were left relatively unharmed.
Having landed in the country in 1066 the Normans arrived at Nevern in the latter years of the 11th Century. They usurped the local chieftains from the Castle – though their descendants still live in the parish to this day and rebuilt the Castle in their usual Motte and Bailey manner. They evidently intended to make Nevern their manor in this area, which accounts for an unusually large church in a small village, but changed their minds moving to Newport, building a much larger castle, and populating the town with their loyal English supporters.
The church as it presently stands was built in this period, the oldest part being the Tower dating from about 1380 and the nave and Chancel following 1420-1450, built in the ‘Late Perpendicular’ style learned from the Normans. indeed, quite possibly supervised by French overseers. The church obviously held some status before this, because in 1291 Archbishop Baldwin and Giraldus Cambrensis came through raising money for Pope Nicholas IV’s 3rd Crusade, Nevern’s annual value was £16, more than double any other church in the Deanery.
The church as it stands today has a Norman tower and Tudor nave, but it was rigorously restored in 1864.
Legends abound here: one of the yew trees is called the Bleeding Yew, and has dark blood like sap that oozes year round. And the first cuckoo of Spring is supposed to sing from Nevern Cross on 7 April, St Brynach’s Day.
Tim Rushton and m’self were cycling from Fishguard to Aberystwyth, as we have in previous years, taking the train from Stockport and setting off on our way through Pembrokeshire and beyond. Modern pilgrims crossing the ancient pilgrim’s route.
This was the second day of our tour, from Aberteifi to Lllandysul.
At the end of a long lane that follows the Afon Teifi we saw this low stone church, tucked beneath the rising landscape to the right.
We both share a love of architecture and vernacular churches in particular – Tim, illustrated below, has produced a book on Welsh Chapels.
So we stopped to take a look around.
Old St David’s lies on the pilgrimage route to the cathedral of the same dedication and next to the Teifi River. Frequent flooding led to a new church being built on the other side of the river in the 19th century. It also explains why the church has its own coracle, which once ferried worshippers to and fro during a flood. Unfortunately, the church is still prone to flooding, most recently in September 2021.
This is a reproduction as the original was stolen.
The church you see today is a 13th-century building, remodelled in 1847 to the elegant Georgian Gothick interior. This style was already out of fashion in more urban parts and by 1899, the church had fallen out of regular use.
The nave walls are lined with a set of 18th-century box-pews; some have fluted columns, drawers with brass handles, and some even have their own fireplaces.
The square font, which you’ll find right inside the west porch, dates to the 13th century and is the only survivor from the early church. Its underside is fluted and its sides are carved with quatrefoils.
Don’t miss the memorial to Capt. Charles Colby, who was stationed to Rawalpindi – now in Pakistan in about 1850. On a day off, he went hunting on an elephant, and was unfortunately mauled by a tiger. His plaque bears an urn with the inscription ‘Rawil Pinde’ and a carved palm tree.
Many thanks to the Friends of Friendless churches for ensuring that the church remains open and maintained.
As a postscript – the appreciation of these wonderful Welsh churches must be due in part to John Piper.
Jerwood Foundation was recently alerted to a renewed recognition of John Piper’s painting The churchyard, in Jerwood Collection, after it appeared as an illustration accompanying an online article. The image was immediately recognised by a reader as depicting St Baglan’s Church, near Caernarfon, viewed from a familiar angle.
John Piper, a founding member of Friends of Friendless Churches in the 1950s, painted many historic churches across the UK. Although St Baglan’s has been under the charity’s care since the 1970s, this rediscovery offers a valuable insight into Piper’s early engagement with sites that would later become key rescue projects. The recognition helps to piece together the history of how some of the charity’s earliest churches were identified, recorded and preserved.
The chapel was closed on a Saturday so we wandered around outside, peering curiously through the windows. Surrounded by mature planting, the bare brick and glazing is more than somewhat softened, the planting however does inhibit the intrepid photographer.
Designed 1965, built 1966-7; architect George Gaze Pace, executant assistant Ronald Sims.
Reinforced concrete frame, partly left exposed, clad in pale brick. Monopitched roofs. Low flat roofs to entrances and between the three main elements with thick board-marked eaves. Central space flanked by angled transepts, with organ loft to (liturgical) west end and wing of offices behind. Long narrow flat-headed windows between brick mullions, timber doors. Attached walls and steel gate lead to inner garden, intended for contemplation.
Interior with exposed concrete frame, including piers and thick ring beam at gallery level, with brick infill. Boarded timber ceiling to main space; board-marked ceilings to low side aisles. Choir gallery with organ, designed by Pace, set behind timber lattice screen also to his designs, and reached via narrow spiral stair. Ceramic piece to balcony front 1999 by Helen Batty. Some pews, brought from the college’s former chapel of 1858 remodelled by Pace in the 1950s.
Hanging pendant light-fittings to Pace’s designs. Altar, lectern and altar seating all by Pace; pulpit designed 1998. Windows – internally the concrete of the mullions is exposed, all originally clear leaded lights, but now stained glass is being incorporated, most notably ‘The Water of Life’ by Cathy Nutkins, a 1990 graduate, in right-hand transept.
Chapel of Christ the Teacher to rear, by foyer, refurbished 1994 by Helen Turner, textile artist. The building is well-suited to the incorporation of student works of art, some temporary, some permanent, and additions are continually being made to the collection.
1971 built of a pre-cast concrete panel system, dour, on an awkwardly sloping site.
I beg to differ – what’s the opposite of dour?
So says the online Thesaurus – and I heartily concur, for the whole building has had a makeover and a half.
Civic is a super energy-efficient workspace in the centre of Wigan town centre. The BREEAM Excellent building has space for business of all sizes, from desks for solo start-ups, all the way to big open plan offices with their own front door.
The brutalist beast has been lovingly restored by Capital&Centric to celebrate its architecture, with original waffle ceilings, corduroy concrete and stunning feature windows that flood the space with light.
It was great to visit and tour Wigan Civic Centre on Millgate, to see the inspiring work being done to create sustainable workspaces and amenities in the centre of our town. This development, alongside others taking place and planned across the North West, will help to revitalise our public spaces
With students, start-ups and professionals situating themselves elsewhere in Greater Manchester, Wigan town had been missing out on the economic and cultural vitality that high quality workspace brings. Civic’s transformation represents not just the overhaul of a tired concrete building, but a wider renewal of place and opportunity for Wigan.
Working with Wigan Council and Capital & Centric, we completed the refurbishment of the 50,000 sq ft building that is Wigan Civic Centre. Delivering aspirational office accommodation to stimulate economic growth with the goal to create a lasting social impact in Wigan. In addition to exemplar market-leading workspace, amenities include a rooftop terrace, mini cinema, gym studio and co-working/coffee shop space.
Here’s the exterior.
Many thanks to the Cotton CaféBar for kindly allowing us in after hours.
Ultimately, civic stands as a symbol of optimism for Wigan, proving that intelligent commercial design can catalyse economic renewal, secure a sustainable future, and truly lift a town’s spirits, without erasing its history. It is a gold standard for the adaptive reuse of 20th-century landmarks.
We are a small Anglican parish situated on the south coast of England between Bournemouth and Poole in the county of Dorset, which is part of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury. We hope that this site may help you to gain a flavour of what we have to offer. We enjoy wonderful views across Poole Harbour – the second largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney, to the Purbeck Hills, as well as some of the best beaches in the country.
The two churches in the Parish are the Parish Church of the Transfiguration, and the Chapel of St. Nicolas. Both churches are open every day during daylight hours for quiet contemplation and prayer.
The Church of the Transfiguration is one of the youngest ecclesiastical buildings in the county, having been built during 1962-5 to a design by Lionel Gregory, who was also responsible for an interesting industrial unit in the nearby Nuffield Industrial estate.
When Sir Nikolaus Pevsner visited the church, which cannot have been long after it was built, he observed that it was.
A bungaloid church, the exact ecclesiastical equivalent of Dunromin and Thistledo, with crazy-paved walling and saw-toothed dormers.
It is certainly true that the walls are clad in crazy-paved walling and the dormers are saw-toothed, but this was a little unfair.
Always a pleasure to walk the spiral ramp of a multi-storey car park, with the extra added pleasure of a passing motorist enquiring after my well being.
“Are You Lost?”
“No I’m taking pictures, but thanks anyway, if I ever am lost I’ll certainly know who to ask.”
Modern Mooch 