A three-year restoration of the Brutalist Clifton Cathedral has been completed by Purcell
Purcell has completed repairs to the Roman Catholic cathedral church of SS Peter & Paul in Clifton, Bristol, making it watertight for the first time. It worked closely with Clifton Diocese to improve the internal environment while respecting the architecture of the Brutalist structure, originally designed by Sir Percy Thomas and Son, and completed in 1973.
Since May 2015 the company has completed £3.1m of repairs, the biggest beneficiary being the pitched roof that required 86 tonnes of replacement lead.  The cathedral remained in use during the renovation.
A condition of the project’s funding was that it opened up parts of the building to the public that had previously been inaccessible, including access to the gallery over the baptistry and reopening a sealed-off staircase.
Detailed design proposals were created to harmonise with and celebrate its original design and detail, remaining true to the building’s principles.
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