FWP oversees £3.4m cathedral heritage vision

Architect, design and masterplanning practice Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP) will help deliver a new £3.4m project to re-develop the historic Fratry Building at Carlisle Cathedral.

FWP, which has offices in Preston and Manchester, has been appointed project manager and quantity surveyor on the development in the heart of the Cumbrian city, which has been made possible by a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of almost £2m and £1.5m in partner funding which has been raised by the cathedral from its supporters and sponsors

It is the latest in a growing number of HLF-funding restoration and regeneration projects that FWP is involved in delivering.

The Fratry project will redevelop and extend the cathedral’s existing Grade I-listed Fratry, which was constructed in the 1500s as a monastery refectory and currently houses one of the most important cathedral collections of 17th and 18th century books in England.

The extension, which has been designed by architects Feilden Fowles, has received planning approval and work on site is set to begin early next year, with completion by summer 2019.

The project – including essential conservation work to the roof and stonework of the Fratry building – will achieve better quality, connected facilities for the thousands of people who visit the cathedral every year.

The new extension to the Fratry will also provide easy physical access to both levels of the building as well as a new space for hospitality and catering.

The 12th century cathedral’s stories and its collections will be available to be seen and explored through visual media and digitally, using state of the art technology in a sensitive interpretation scheme.

And a dedicated teaching and learning space will be available in the mediaeval stone-vaulted Fratry Undercroft for use by schools and other community groups.

Other HLF-supported projects FWP is involved in include work on the historic Walton Hall Estate near Warrington. A £2m grant was awarded earlier this year to restore its historic conservatories which have fallen into disrepair.

The old buildings will be transformed into a learning centre, with classrooms for lessons in horticulture and animal care, and offices. The conservatory area will also be open to visitors.

FWP’s QS team has previously worked on a new extension at the hall, which was used by the BBC as the setting for a period drama series based on the founder of Chester Zoo.

FWP has also worked on the £4m Rivington Terraced Gardens restoration in Lancashire as part of the design team involved in the development stage of the HLF-supported project.

And in Preston its architects have transformed the Victorian Lambert Brothers Printworks in Glover’s Court into offices in a highly successful £650,000 regeneration scheme, half of which was funded by another HLF grant.

FWP partner Kate Shuttleworth said: “We’re delighted to be working as part of the team delivering the Fratry project at Carlisle Cathedral.

“It has been called the most significant physical intervention on the site for more than 150 years and will bring the building, constructed in the 1500s, back to life as a centre of cultural and community life in the heart of the city. We look forward to playing our part in its redevelopment.

“There’s a great deal of satisfaction when a HLF-supported project aimed at regenerating and reviving a historical site is successfully delivered. It gives everyone involved a real sense of achievement and a feeling they are making a difference.”