Wells Cathedral – Camery Building

Over the last few months we have been delighted to be involved in the new camery building at Wells Cathedral along with architects Purcell Miller Tritton and main contractors Ken Biggs Contractors, both of whom we’ve worked with before.

Project background

The timber frame consists of eleven arched brace trusses and associated roof and wall framing. The building will provide outstanding new facilities for musical education and choir practice.

Client

Wells Cathedral

Architects

Purcell Miller Tritton

After some preliminary discussions with the main contractors we started to work with the architect Chris Cotton. Chris was particularly keen to create a building that, whilst having strong links to the past, interpreted the architectural vernacular of its parent building into something elegant and slightly more contemporary.

Creating an arched brace truss that would take the necessary loadings without the use of aisles or buttresses (as is traditionally the case) and still have the elegance that Chris wanted was just the sort of project we enjoy. Working closely with Chris and our engineers we came up with the solution which (if you want a sneak preview) can now been seen if you peer through the site gates at the rear of the Cathedral!

Construction at Wells Cathedral

We’re very much looking forward to the next stages of the project which will include, in 2007, a pentice link between the cloisters and the camery building and a new visitor centre in 2008.