Canterbury Quad Cloisters Commended in 2024 Natural Stone Awards

Following the completion of the College's Library and Study Centre in 2019, the Canterbury Quadrangle has undergone essential renovations. Many of the columns around the quadrangle had developed serious fissures and required replacement. These columns were originally been created from local Bletchingdon marble, but with the quarry now closed, an alternative material was required.

Architects Wright & Wright, working with a team of specialist craftspeople and petrologists, selected Swaledale Fossil -- a carboniferous limestone from a quarry near Barnard Castle in County Durham -- as a suitable replacement. Beyond being durable and hard-wearing, the intricate surface pattern of gleaming fossils in these columns animates the quadrangle and enriches its architectural splendor. The Stone Federation's judges praised the installation of the new limestone columns as 'exceedingly well executed'.

After rigorous sampling by Wright & Wright and their team, Purbeck Wetson Bed and Crosland Hill Yorkstone were chosen for the paving of the cloisters, and Clipsham Medwell were selected for general repairs to the quadrangle's frontispieces. The Stone Federation's judges found the laying of the renewed paving in Canterbury Quadrangle to be 'the best they have seen in an outdoor situation ... meeting the surrounding features in a very comfortable manner'.

The College is delighted to be commended at these industry-leading awards and extends its warm gratitude to architects Wright & Wright and the contractor Beard Construction for the hard work of their teams in restoring and revitalising the historic quadrangle. More information about the 2024 Stone Awards can be found in the souvenir programme.