A champagne reception for over 200 guests was a fitting way for us to celebrate winning the conservation award for excellence in the restoration of a Georgian church made by the Georgian Group. Presented by HRH Princess Alexandra, the award was the culmination of a twenty-five year restoration project which began after the Friends of Christ Church had saved the near derelict Hawksmoor masterpiece from the threat of demolition.
The drastic mid-nineteenth century alterations the church had suffered meant that it was only by studying archaeological and documentary evidence that the original appearance of the church could be authentically restored. The interior work has included installing a new Purbeck marble floor and reinstating the galleries with their fine joinery; both of which have won a specialist award of their own.
