UNIVERSITY CHURCH APPOINTS NEW ARCHITECTS TO TELL OXFORD'S STORY
26 May 2011
The Revd Canon Brian Mountford, Vicar of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin Oxford announces the appointment of Caroe Architecture of Cambridge to undertake the main phase of the University Church's £5.5m restoration, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Clore-Duffield Foundation.
‘It is much more than just restoration and conservation’, says Canon Mountford. ‘More than 300,000 people visit St Mary the Virgin every year to learn more about the University and its seminal place in history. Our new project will be to meet that need with a new and comprehensive interpretation scheme, and the delivery of a substantial new heritage education programme. This means we will want to conserve and protect the outstanding heritage of the buildings, including the iconic tower and spire, and the unlocking and the making accessible of that heritage to the many visitors who come here. We have every confidence in Oliver Caroe and his partners will meet our complicated brief with imagination.’
Oliver Caroe, principal of Caroe Architecture says: ‘This is an extraordinary opportunity for our practice and fits in well with our developing expertise to make the most of sacred spaces in a number of cathedrals and greater churches throughout the UK and beyond.’ He added: ‘Our task will be to work with the Church Team to engage the mind, eyes and ears of the visitors from many communities and backgrounds to St Mary's each year. Indeed, our goal is to provide a sensory experience that will trigger a transformative encounter.’
Caroe Architecture Ltd was established in June 2009, to deliver creative conservation and public engagement within special historic and spiritual places. This young, vibrant and expanding practice is dedicated to the care of historical places and also to the creation of innovative new buildings. It is expert at working in sensitive places, especially within the historic built environment. The main work of this Cambridge-based practice – repair, conservation, alteration and refurbishment – is focused on the sustainable use and delightful translation of historic structures for 21st-century use which was a key factor in the University Church’s appointment.
Oliver Caroe holds a number of important posts, including Architect to Ripon Cathedral and is a member of the Church Buildings Council and the Bishop of London’s Steering Committee for the Shrinking the Footprint environmental campaign.
The Caroe bid also included the services of the skilled ecclesiastical furniture maker, Luke Hughes, who has supplied furniture to many of the nation's most historic buildings, including more than 50 Oxbridge colleges, 70 parish churches, 11 cathedrals and five royal palaces. In 2010, Luke Hughes was short listed for a Walpole Award for British Luxury Design Talent for outstanding achievement in design, craftsmanship, business and culture.
Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, said: ‘As the University Church, St Mary’s has been at the heart of Oxford for centuries. We are delighted at its success in winning the lottery funding and the choice of architects. Like the Church’s many thousands of visitors, we look forward to seeing the results of this project.’
The last major restoration of St Mary's was in 1896. This project is being managed by Oxford University Estate Directorate and is expected to take until 2013, but every effort will be made to keep the tower and Vaults and Gardens cafe open throughout.