St Wilfrid’s Harrogate
I had the opportunity to photograph St Wilfrid’s Harrogate. Access was allowed through helping my long-suffering friend Allan – Allan runs an AV business in town – the best Audio Visual business you could ask to employ. We were asked to put in up-lighters around St Wilfred’s, Harrogate.
As you can tell from the photos, it was a bit of a success – we installed a load of lights. I am unsure what the reason for the up-lighters is – I believe it is Palm Sunday coming up. The liturgical colour for that time of year is Purple – so, phasers were set to stun and we set the lights to purple. However, we took these photos the following day, on Palm Sunday, when we had the freedom of the church.
After chatting with Rebecca Oliver, the Facilities & Commercial Manager – our aim was simple – Allan had been fully briefed and we knew what we needed to do.
The lights were installed in St Wilfrid’s Harrogate, up on the Duchy Estate. It really is a magnificent Church – the Architecture of oppression it has been described as – how the negative space makes you humble and insecure, feeling the ‘presence of god’ when it is, in fact, the absence of a confined boundary – a bit like the sea.
St Wilfrid’s is a listed building. The parish church of St Wilfrid Harrogate is one of the finest Grade 1 listed buildings in the country (and the only Grade 1 listed building in the town of Harrogate). St Wilfrid Harrogate is also one of the 40 largest parish churches in England and the 2ndlargest in the Diocese of Leeds.
A wide range of ages and people come here to pray, to worship, to attend a concert or event, or just to visit. This is more than just an outstanding building.
Architecturally, it is amazing – I was there with a good friend, Daren – installing the lights with my good friend Allan. We discussed how Architecture is the most usable artform – often more so than clothing. It is more than Sculpture, it is more than music – it is a living art form that inhabits our habitation.
A lot of fun was had and we all piled into 10 Devonshire Place afterwards.
I borrowed a lens from a friend, Si, for the event – thanks to him for wide-angle fun.
