Clifton Cathedral

The Second Council of the Vatican was meeting in Rome, Italy, discussing the renewal of the Church in its relationship to the world, and the Council’s decree on liturgical worship helped to focus attention at Clifton on the role of the people, with the bishop and their priests in the celebration of the Eucharist. The major requirement was to provide a space where a congregation of 1000 could be grouped closely around the High Altar so that they should feel and be a part of the celebration of the Mass. The other main requirements were for the placing of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Baptismal Font. The arrangement of these three main parts of the building in relationship to the movement of people entering and leaving constitutes the design concept and determines the shape of the building. In the summer of 1965 the Clifton Diocesan Trust approached the Partnership, then called Sir Percy Thomas and Son, to attend an interview in respect of a building project they had in mind. The practice had previously, at the request of the Church, submitted examples of its recent work. It was at the end of such an interview that a somewhat stunned Frederick Jennett made his way back to the Bristol Office bearing the news of the most important commission that the practice has undertaken. After the initial euphoria had subsided it was necessary to sit down and think. It was necessary to think how to approach the project, to think how to obtain the requirements, to ensure as far as possible that these requirements were essential, and to think how to eliminate the unnecessary. Above all, the main concern was to avoid being carried away by a history of church building styles, idioms, and tricks of the trade. In essence the approach was to be the same as for any other building type that we have been involved in designing. If the analysis of the brief underlined the essential, then the conception would put these parts together in such away that the function was satisfied and aided and abetted by an environment conducive to participation of everyone in the performance of that function. The next phase of the design process was one of refining the information in the brief and putting the parts together to form a more cohesive plan. It is difficult at this stage to avoid being influenced by what one may have seen in travelling abroad or in glossy magazines. Sometimes one is conscious of these experiences and as such they can be analysed to determine the reasoning behind them, and do they fit the need for the present design problem. Other times the influence is in the subconscious and this problem is more difficult to eradicate. When these experiences do occur in the design process I find it best to illustrate the ideas in drawings and sketches, analyse them and if they do not fit together, forget them. The latter is sometimes easier said than done. The synthesis of the Plan form stems from the arrangement of a congregation of a thousand people in as close a proximity as possible to the High Altar so that they may take an active part in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. If the design can make them feel part of the whole then this is half way to taking an active part. With a priest celebrating versus populum it is necessary to limit the angle of command that the priest can direct over the people spread out in front of him. The arrangement of the people must not wrap too far around him so that he is forced to spread like an umpire at a tennis match. To this main assembly must be added the Blessed Sacrament Chapel Tabernacle which should adjoin the Sanctuary and the Font. The Font is one of the fundamental points of the arrangement of the Clifton Cathedral plan. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel which doubles as a weekday chapel, is capable of seating 65 people, and is positioned to one side of the Sanctuary so the Font is between the Chapel and the Nave. The space from the Chapel flows through a 30-foot high opening on to the Sanctuary whereby it