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Clifton Cathedral

Clifton Cathedral

Ronald J. Weeks, Frederick S. Jennett & Antoni Poremba

Percy Thomas Partnership

Photo: Tadeusz Hare · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Location
Clifton, Bristol, England
Client / Owner
Diocese of Clifton
Year
Completed 1973
Access
Public
Typology
Spiritual

Clifton Cathedral in Bristol was designed by Ronald J. Weeks of the Percy Thomas Partnership, with Frederick S. Jennett and Antoni Poremba, for the Diocese of Clifton. Bishop Joseph Rudderham commissioned the architects in 1965. Construction ran from March 1970 to May 1973, and it was consecrated on June 29, 1973.

The style is Brutalist, and the form follows liturgical needs after the Second Vatican Council. The plan is built from hexagons, with a column-free nave for 1,000 seats around a side altar. The walls are in-situ reinforced concrete, partly clad in red Aberdeen granite composite, under a lead roof. A star beam 55 feet (17 m) high is pierced with hexagonal holes.

Windows by Henry Haig use dalle de verre, and William Mitchell made the Stations of the Cross. It is Grade II* listed. A 3.1 million pound renovation ran from 2015 to 2018. Visitors are welcome, usually in daylight hours.

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