Clifton Cathedral in bristol marks its 50th anniversary

Architectural photographer Ste Murray expands his quest to document modernist buildings on their 50th anniversary with a fourth-part series — this time, spotlighting the Clifton Cathedral in Bristol. Using his approach as a means to reflect and represent these mid-century icons to a contemporary audience, Ste Murray began this photographic journey in 2018 with the CAA building (1968) in London, followed by the John Hancock Centre in Chicago (1969) in 2019, and then the Brunswick Centre in London last year — 50 years after it was built in 1972. Take a tour inside the impressive modernist cathedral, where light, glass, and height collide into a majestic architectural body seeped in spiritual grandeur 

all images © Ste Murray

ste murray honors the building’s renovated grandeur

The Clifton Cathedral in Bristol was completed and designed 50 years ago, in 1973, by Ronald Weeks, alongside his colleagues Frederick Jennett and Antoni Poremba at the Percy Thomas Partnership. Between 2015 and 2018, the Bristol’s Grade II landmark, previously known as the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of SS. Peter and Paul, underwent a £3 million renovation by British Architecture firm, Purcell — during which the cathedral remained open and in use. ‘The renovation replaced 86 tons of lead on the roof and finally made the building watertight after 45 years of leaks, slightly altercating the design, but making the cathedral safer for use, while honouring and celebrating the aesthetic intentions of the original roof design,’ writes Ste Murray (see more here). 

Clifton Cathedral photographed by Ste Murray

During Ste Murray’s photographic pilgrimage, as he describes it, he placed particularly emphasis on spotlighting one of the Clifton Cathedral’s most noticeable changes; the replacement of the initial wire mesh glass with a new thermally-broken, self-cleaning glass system. ‘The mesmerising stained glass windows and heavenward roof draw further attention to the silence within this spiritual space, now that it’s so much more difficult for draughts, rain, noise and other outside elements to intrude,’ concludes the photographer. 

documenting the modernist building’s 50th anniversary

the cathdral was renovated in 2018 by Purcell Architects

natural light floods the dramatic interiors