02/11/2023
St. Walburge’s Shrine Church recently entered the 2023 Church Architecture Awards, run jointly by the National Churches Trust (NCT) and the Ecclesiastical Architects and Surveyors Association (EASA). These awards are part of the NCT.
We are delighted to tell you that St. Walburge’s was one of five finalists for this year’s King of Prussia Gold Medal, for innovative, high quality church conservation or repair work.
The winners was announced by Prince Nicholas von Preussen at a special awards ceremony hold in London, on Thursday 2 November 2023. Also we did not win the price, it was an excellent occasion!
The people of Preston can hardly fail to have noticed the scaffolding on St. Walburge’s while the south roof was being repaired, but what they may not realise is that repair work has been taking place inside too. Damage due to leaks and subsequent dry rot in the sacristy and servers’ sacristy has been repaired and a programme of statue restoration has started. So far, the seven statues on St. Joseph’s altar, the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and several statues of angels have been sympathetically restored by professional artists. In addition, urgent repairs discovered outside whilst the scaffolding was in situ, have been done. The crucifix on the western gable was in such a poor state it was beyond repair and in danger of falling. An exact replica was carved and put in its place. Repairs have also been made to the beautiful rose window as it was found to have huge cracks in the stonework. St. Walburge’s is a finalist for the King of Prussia Gold Medal this year in recognition of the high quality of the work done so far.
The Rector, Canon G. Cristofoli, extends an invitation to everyone to come to St. Walburge’s to see for themselves the work which has been done so far and also the huge task which lies ahead to complete the restoration. The church is open every day from 7am to 7pm for prayer and as a peaceful haven in a busy world. We hope for the support of the local community and of those further afield in restoring this Preston landmark to its former magnificence for the benefit of generations to come.