"Coventry church to be upgraded in historical buildings list"

[dutchman]

The move from Historic England comes as part of celebrations for the 70th anniversary of The Festival of Britain



A Coventry church will be regraded by Historic England as part of celebrations for the anniversary of the Festival of Britain.

Christ Church on Frankpledge Road in Cheylesmore was built in the 1950s and was previously listed as a Grade II building. However, Historic England has recently changed its listing to Grade II*.

The Festival of Britain, which ran from May to September 1951, was a national exhibition and fair promoting British design, science, technology, architecture, industry and the arts.

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Still struggling from the devastation caused by World War II, the country was in desperate need of a moral and economic boost. The festival’s fun, colourful exploration of British ingenuity and creativity was an inspirational and optimistic look towards the brave new world of the future and helped foster a national sense of recovery.

Christ Church was designed in 1953 by Alfred H Gardner and built between 1956 and 1958.

Directly inspired by the Festival of Britain, the building has a concrete frame with large areas of self-supporting brickwork, and is covered with a lightweight vaulted, copper roof.

The lavish interior is considered one of the most eclectic of its era, making it very rare. The Architects’ Journal (1953) described it as “Pleasure Gardens pastiche”, no doubt inspired by the Festival Pleasure Gardens at Battersea Park that ran alongside the South Bank exhibitions which was based on fun fairs like Copenhagen’s Tivoli.

Some of the church’s notable architectural features include the hanging birdcage light fittings, likely inspired by the Lion and Unicorn Pavilion from the Festival of Britain, whose overall form the building resembles, and the chequerboard pattern used on the window and tower that is also repeated across the walls in purple and gold.