Stanbrook Abbey, a new monastery in the North Yorkshire Moors designed by Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios and St Mark's church in Leeds, which was restored to its former glory by Richard Crooks Partnership in 2017 after having been made redundant in 2001, have won the Celebration of Excellence UK Church Architecture Awards.
The winners were chosen in an online vote from a shortlist of the 2010 - 2019 winners of The King of Prussia Gold Medal for conservation architecture and The Presidents' Award for new church buildings and church re-ordering, alterations or extensions.
HRH The Duke of Gloucester, Vice Patron of the National Churches Trust, said: “The lock-down has not prevented the usual rate of decay for historic buildings, but it has delayed campaigns for fund-raising and restoration. I hope the 2020 awards for the best schemes of the last decade may demonstrate what is possible given the energy, skill and imagination of those involved in historic church preservation.”
The Celebration of Excellence was run by the National Churches Trust and the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association. It replaced the annual UK Church Architecture Awards which could not be held this year due to COVID-19.
The two winners received a £250 prize, provided by Ecclesiastical Insurance.
The judges for the Celebration of Excellence Awards were:
HRH The Duke of Gloucester, Vice Patron, National Churches Trust
Prince Nicholas von Preussen, Patron of EASA
Bob Allies OBE, Architect and Partner at Allies and Morrison
Richard Griffiths, Director of Richard Griffiths Architects
Anna Joynt, Vice President of EASA
Ulrika Knox, Director Knox McConnell Architects and a Past President of EASA
Luke March, Chairman, National Churches Trust
Graeme Renton, President of EASA 2019 -20
Bob Thompson, Immediate Past President of EASA
Catherine Townsend, Head of Church Support, National Churches Trust
Photo: Tim Crocker (CC-BY-SA2.0)
