Three years after the practice’s 60th anniversary, AT hears from Anthony Grimshaw Architects: the sister-run practice at the forefront of the North-East’s conservation battle with crumbling churches and lack of public funding.
When and how did the practice come about?
Rebecca Grimshaw It began in 1962, in the back bedroom of my dad’s council house, where he was living at the time. Later, he moved to a flat in this street actually, the flat he shared with my mum when they first got married and worked out of the back room. Eventually, he bought the building we’re in now, and we’ve got all three floors. So it’s all still on the same street.
Rachel Grimshaw  The work came through his own dad initially, who worked for the local council. At the time, a lot of houses didn’t have bathrooms, so he got projects installing them. It was very basic, but that’s how it started. He built up a local reputation, and it just grew from there. He went to art school, because that was the training route then, and did it part-time. He was working in an architect’s office in Bolton during the day and going to Manchester Art School. When he qualified, he set up on his own because he got sacked from the office in Bolton, I think for being cheeky! That’s the story anyway. So that’s how it all began.
Garden Gazebo was designed by the practice in 1972, as an office extension to a house in Alderley Edge, Cheshire. The project was the inaugural winner of the Architects’ Journal’s ‘Small Project of the Year’ Awards.
What was your father like to work with?
Rebecca Grimshaw He was very funny. Bit of a character. Easygoing in lots of ways, but you could have a proper argument with him about design and he wouldn’t take it personally. There’s a lot of trust in a family business. You know someone isn’t going to stab you in the back or have another agenda. There’s a kind of honesty you can rely on.
When did the focus on conservation begin?
Rachel Grimshaw It was gradual. Initially, we were a general practice. Then funding changed, especially in education, and the sectors we’d worked in just weren’t profitable anymore. So we had to find new sectors, new markets. At the time, churches had a good grant scheme, so we started doing conservation work there. That interest in historic buildings grew from there, and now we’re doing conservation across many types of buildings. We’re working with the National Trust at the moment.
Repair and conservation of the nave ceiling in the Grade-I listed St Oswalds Church, Winwick, Warrington.
Were you always interested in conservation Rebecca?
No, not at all. I became interested through doing it, really. It was the work the practice had, and so I just developed an interest. At first, I couldn’t understand why my dad was so fascinated by old churches. But the more we worked on them, doing manual inspections, going back over the years, you see the detail, the stories, and the techniques. Like stonemasonry, those methods haven’t changed much since the buildings were first constructed. It becomes fascinating.
Repair of south transept windows of the grade II-listed Holy Trinity Church, Blackpool.
Alter chair for the grade II-listed St Martin’s Church, Castleton, Rochdale. “The structure of the new furniture is based on a cross section through a fluted Gothic column. The idea of fragments lying on the church floor was a reminder of the parlous state of the building, derelict for some years until it rose again in splendour.” says Anthony Grimshaw Architects.
How do you go about inserting contemporary design into historic spaces?
Rachel Grimshaw My background is actually in interior design having done a three-dimensional design course at Manchester. I always liked the detailed side of things; designing furniture and fittings. We’ve done a lot of modern insertions into historic buildings, and I’ve really enjoyed that. My university thesis was about marrying the old and the new, so it’s something I’ve always found interesting.
Rebecca Grimshaw Often, our approach is that the new insertion should be freestanding or removable. So we’re not taking away historic features, but we’re adding something that supports the building’s new use while preserving its history. It’s the only way some buildings can carry on being useful.
Dismantling and rebuilding of the leaning stone steeple of the grade II-listed St Catherine’s Church, Wigan.
What makes this family partnership between sisters work so well for you?
Rachel Grimshaw We’ve got the same kind of ethical outlook. We’re not trying to make massive profits, we do it because we enjoy it and we want to do a good job. And we both have a good instinct for people. We can usually spot someone dodgy!
Rebecca Grimshaw Working on churches has made us think a lot about ethics. That influences the kind of projects we want to take on and the people we want to work with. It’s never just about money. It’s about solving problems and making spaces work better for people.
Rachel Grimshaw There are definitely still elements of our fathers approach in our practice. The ethos is the same: attention to detail, being responsive, and never being ashamed of a project, no matter how small. He used to say, ‘Whatever the job, give it the same care and attention as you would a big prestigious one. For us, it’s always been about doing good work. Architecture can solve problems. And whether it’s helping a community feed the homeless or conserving a centuries-old building, it’s worth doing properly.
Rebecca Grimshaw We love the kind of project where someone comes to us with a specific problem. Maybe the building isn’t working for them — they don’t even know why — but we can help figure it out. That’s really satisfying.
Conservation and repairs to curtilage of of grade I-listed Hoghton Tower stable block and cottage, Preston.
Any standout projects?
Rebecca Grimshaw St Nicholas’s was a good one. We suspended a glass meeting room into the existing church space. But the ones that stick with me most are the small community ones. There was one in Cheetham Hill where we added a kitchen and toilets. Later, when they started using the space for homeless people, I thought, ‘If only we’d known, we could have added showers too.’. It’s not glamorous architecture, but it is useful.
The new meeting room installed into the grade II*-listed St Nicholas’ Church, Burnage, Manchester, originally designed by Welch, Cachemaille Day and Lander in 1932. A cylindrical sand-blasted glass meeting room was suspended over a rectangular community hall.
You’ve spoken passionately about church funding. What’s the situation there?
Rebecca Grimshaw It’s dire. I’m an inspecting architect for 92 churches, and almost all of them need urgent repairs. There used to be good repair grants, but now it’s all lottery funding, which is more about community programming than fixing roofs. Churches are often the only listed buildings in poor towns. They’re also food banks, shelters, and the only community buildings. They desperately need help.
Rachel Grimshaw We need a dedicated repair grant scheme again. The current system isn’t designed for churches. These are buildings of visual beauty and community value. In other countries, like France, the government funds them. We’ve been trying to speak to Lisa Nandy about this, but no haven’t got a response yet. The National Churches Trust is on board though, so we’re hoping.
