St George, Preston
May 8, 2006
A new stone-built hall for parish and community use completed in 1999. The building was part of a scheme for the restoration and extension of St George’s Church in the centre of Preston. The church now has the facilities to act as an arts and cultural centre as well as a parish church.
Stencilled Decoration at St Mary, Barrow
May 6, 2006
Stencil work at St Mary, Barrow. Decorative scheme designed by Francis Roberts Architects.
Click here for a full set of pictures of the interior and exterior
St Mary, Barrow
May 5, 2006
Original church by E.W. Pugin. Alterations, decoration and new fittings by Francis Roberts Architects.
Click here for a full set of pictures of the interior and exterior
St John’s Minster, Preston
May 4, 2006
The Minster Church of St. John the Evangelist. A pioneering scheme of major repairs, refurbishment and new accommodation opening the building to community, arts and cultural uses. For the Diocese of Blackburn, with English Heritage and Heritage Lottery support. Completed 2001 (£1.5m).
St Christopher’s Church & Parish Centre, Blackpool
May 3, 2006
St. Christopher’s Church, Blackpool: A new parish church for the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn. The Church was featured in three consecutive numbers of Church Building and also featured in Country Life. It was completed in 1991 at a cost of £400,000. Published in: Country Life, March 1992: “St. Christopher, Hawes Side Lane, Blackpool….. is a remarkable church. It is traditional and imaginative – something seen too infrequently in church design today.” “No doubt because he is able to produce fine architecture for so little money, Roberts’s ecclesiastical practice is flourishing..”
Lancaster Cathedral
May 1, 2006
St. Peter’s Cathedral, Lancaster: The conservation, repair, re-ordering and re-decoration of a fine building of 1865 by E. G. Paley (with later work by Giles Gilbert Scott). The building had been re-ordered in the 1970s and many of its artefacts taken away. Both E. G. Paley’s work and that of Giles Gilbert Scott have now been imaginatively restored and the building has been given a new sanctuary and a complete redecoration in Gothic Revival style. All the artefacts and furniture have been designed by the Architect. This project was completed in September 1995 and received an R.I.B.A. Award in 1996. The project was published in Church Building, January 1996 “. . . here is an architect who understands the fin de siecle architectural mind not only in an extremely thorough, but also practical way. He can actually create buildings in that design-language; the rest of us can only talk about it.”
St Mary Magdalen, Penwortham
April 30, 2006
St. Mary Magdalen Church, Penwortham: A new Parish Church for the R.C. Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Church was reviewed at length in Church Building and featured in Country Life as ‘Best Church of the Decade’. It was completed in 1988 at a cost of £250,000. Published in: Country Life, February 1988 “This combination of fine architecture, good craftsmanship and the use of sensitive artist craftsmen has not been seen since the Arts and Crafts ideals were swamped by the Modern movement. For this reason alone, St. Mary Magdalen, Penwortham, is without a doubt the most important church to have been built since Goodhart-Rendel died in the 1950s.” Also featured by Lucinda Lambton in her television programme ‘Hurrah for Today’ in 1990 and included in the 20th Century Church Exhibition, R.I.B.A. Heinz Gallery, London. 1997.
