Issue 36 2023 - Journal - Page 49
St Alban’s abbey: An 18
year design challenge
by Richard Griffiths Architects
The challenge for the Cathedral Architect in looking after
a cathedral as ancient and multi-layered as St Albans is
great. I was architect at the Abbey for 18 years, and I was
highly conscious of my responsibility for ensuring that all
the work that was carried out was worthy of its history
and architecture; Alban was our first English Saint and
the Abbey was one of the most important in England.
wallpaintings in the nave 7 years. More dramatic was the
conservation of the remains of the cloister against the
south wall of the Abbey, the cleaning and repair of the
medieval external stonework to the west porches and the
retrochoir, and the cleaning of the interior of the nave
and Lady Chapel. The appearance of the Abbey has been
transformed.
The work fell into three types – repairs to the historic
fabric; alterations for liturgical use; and alterations for visitors. In every case I had to ensure that the work satisfied
the Vitruvian standards of function, construction and
beauty. I believe that beauty can be best achieved when
the new design fits its purpose on the principle of long life,
loose fit, so that it can stand the test of time, adding a
new layer of design to the historic layers. My work at the
Abbey was awarded an RIBA National Award as a single
project lasting 18 years, a unique achievement.
The major liturgical innovation was the reordering of the
nave, extending the nave sanctuary from a single bay to
three bays deep, with a complete set of new clergy and
choir furniture to allow flexibility in use. The furniture
and choir stalls can be dismantled and put in storage
below the organ, leaving a flat floor for large choral concerts, degree ceremonies and major functions. The choir
stalls in the choir were also painstakingly extended by removing seats from the adjacent stalls and adding them to
the choir stalls, an apparently simple alteration that belies
the extraordinary craftsmanship of the alteration.
The programme of repairs continued throughout, each
project phased according to the availability of funding,
but subject to an overall vision. The conservation of the
presbytery vaults took five years, the conservation of the
The greatest design challenge was providing for the needs
of visitors, most particularly in terms of equal access.
There are 22 steps from the porches at the west to the
Above, St. Albans nave sanctuary
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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