The Church of St Thomas, Salisbury: Re-ordering project     

The judges appreciated the chance to visit the always beautiful interior of St Thomas’s, to assess whether recent work had enhanced it even more. They had little difficulty in deciding it had. This commenced with the actual entry into the church, through new glass doors which enable a view of what’s inside even when the building is locked, into a new glass porch which provides a much better welcome than previously. Once inside, the undistinguished C19th nave pews have been replaced by movable oak benches, introducing flexibility to a previously static arrangement, and a new nave altar is a particularly striking feature. The Doom painting over the chancel arch has been cleaned and conserved, guaranteeing the future stability of this major feature of the church. Above it, the second bay from the E of the nave roof has been transformed by cleaning of paintwork to the timbers, much of it C18th but some of it medieval. In the Lady Chapel, further cleaning work has seen previously dingy monuments brought back to life. Other works, not always obvious, have been carried out to add to the enhancement of the building. The judges applauded the skill, commitment and hard work clearly put into the project, and deemed it fully deserving of an award.

Architects: St Ann’s Gate Architects, Salisbury