Following our work in 2018 on a strategy for Colchester's Key Public Spaces, we were commissioned to oversee the transformation of St Nicholas Square into a lively public square, while respecting its heritage as a fragment of the churchyard belonging to to a Gilbert Scott-designed church which was demolished in the 1950s. The two small plots into which the gravestones were removed were marooned within loading bays and delivery yards, while the space offered little functionality for community use despite its busy central location.
We have transformed the space into an open and welcoming square for markets, events and the spill-out of the cafes, restaurants and bars that surround it. Three new trees have been planted, carefully sited to avoid services diversions or obstructing emergency vehicle access, and an existing mature horse chestnut tree retained. The gravestones have been carefully lifted, cleaned and reset into the surface of curved brick benches, inspired by the similar installation fifty years earlier at St Giles Cripplegate within the Barbican estate. Graduated steps negotiate a one-metre level change across the site, accessibly designed with a sturdy yet elegant handrail. New street lighting is unobtrusive and cycle parking has been introduced in logical places.