The Pattern Store, Swindon

Built in 1897 by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the Pattern Store was part of a major expansion of the Swindon Railway Works, one of the great railway engineering centres of the world. It was constructed to house the ever increasing number of wooden patterns used to form the moulds for component parts of the steam engines produced in the Works. The site has seen many adaptions in use since its original construction, but the building maintained its original function as a store for patterns until the closure of the Swindon Works in 1986. It’s listed status ensured it’s survival when so many of the surrounding workshops were removed to make way for housing. The lower two floors were converted into a wine bar (The Pattern Store Bar), before becoming a Restaurant from 2007-2017, involving many inappropriate alterations.

In 2018 the Diocese of Bristol purchased the Pattern Store as a home for Pattern Church, a new Anglican resource church for Swindon. The vision of the Diocese was to re-imagine what a church could be in the twenty first century to serve the congregation and the wider community.  

In early 2018, MFA were appointed as Architects and Lead Consultants for the repair and refurbishment of the Grade II listed former industrial building for worship and community use. Working with an extremely tight budget, this involved removing a large number of recent poor quality interventions, as well as providing a greatly enhanced access and circulation system, renewal of all mechanical and electrical services, thermal enhancements, and extensive repairs to the fabric. It features a new bespoke slide within the new circulation areas. The £1.8m project was completed and occupied in April 2020 and MFA remain involved with the post occupancy stages.

Project Profile available for print and download here.