St. George's Bristol

St George’s Bristol, the Greek Revival church designed by Robert Smirke and opened in 1823, is now one of the UK’s leading concert halls. It ceased to be a parish church in the 1980s and, in 1998, was extensively refurbished and converted into a 580-seat concert hall. The building enjoys what Sir Simon Rattle has called ‘the best acoustic for chamber music in Europe’.

Luke Hughes was then commissioned to come up with a strategy for maximising the seating capacity capable of generating revenue. The scheme involved rebuilding the raked gallery seating, remodelled in the spirit of Smirke’s original design (albeit updated with comfortable upholstered cushions). The body of the nave was furnished with 320 ‘Academy’ stacking linking chairs in place of the fixed, incongruous and uncomfortable Gothic Revival pews that had been installed in the 1880s.

The ‘Academy’ stacking and linking chair was originally designed for the Duke’s Hall at the Royal Academy of Music recital hall in London in 1991 and has since been used the Redgrave Lecture Theatre at Buckingham Palace, Park Avenue Synagogue in New York and a host of other university and theatrical buildings.

Although, in 2018, a pavilion-style extension (designed by Patel Taylor) was added to augment the performance spaces and gallery, the seating remains nearly thirty years later, a testament to both the design and comfort.

Links: https://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/about-us/our-story/

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