LEADING national construction company Kier has maintained a leading role in the construction of Milton Keynes from before the inception of the new city. First established in Rushden in 1890, the company has delivered high-profile projects in the city, including the Church of Christ the Cornerstone. Opened by Her Majesty The Queen, the church stands out as a landmark against the city skyline, the craftsmanship both inside and out providing a good example of why Kier has built an outstanding reputation for quality. Other landmark projects
have included the Trust House Forte hotel (now Holiday Inn Central Milton Keynes), the 401 Grafton Gate office building for Scottish Mutual, offices for the Institute of Chartered Accountants and Sun Alliance, the BSI Centre, and projects for both UK Land and Queens Moat Properties. Kier also built The Pinnacle for developer Hampton Brook.
In the 1960s, the company
delivered many projects for both Milton Keynes Development Corporation and Buckinghamshire County Council, including work on the development corporation’s headquarters at Wavendon, followed by fitting out its Saxon Court Offices. Other significant schemes included Crownhill Crematorium, Campbell Park Pavilion, offices for The Parks Trust, advance factory units at Blakelands and Tongwell, housing developments, Stantonbury and Woughton Campuses and projects for the Open University. More recently Kier built the new Milton Keynes Academy. Displaying their versatility Kier also refurbished a fire- damaged listed timber building at Milton Keynes Museum of Industry and Rural Life.
Kier continues to undertake
projects today for Milton Keynes Council including the CMK Communty Sports Centre, school extensions and a library refurbishment.
City cornerstone rises from the earth
The Queen meets architect Iain Smith and Tony Norman, managing director of Marriotts, now part of Kier group plc, which built the church.
PICTURES paint a thousand words and these tell the story of the construction of the city centre’s most iconic building. This is the Church of Christ the Cornerstone, built by building firm Robert Marriott, now the Kier Construction Group. Marriott was one of the main firms working on the construction of Milton Keynes. It built the Trust House Forte hotel, now the Holiday Inn, and office buildings including Medina House, The Pinnacle and the 401 Grafton Gate.
Its engineers also built The Parks Trust’s headquarters in the pavilion at Campbell Park, the Gyoshi Japanese School at Willen, Crownhill Crematorium, part of The Stables Theatre at Wavendon and the outpatients department at Milton Keynes Hospital. Kier Construction’s contracts director, eastern, Sean
58 Business T: 01933 357511
www.kier.co.uk
Yeo estimates the Marriotts business in Milton Keynes up to 1990 totalled around £0.5 billion. Most of the
development in the city centre followed the opening of the shopping centre in 1979. “Then business realised it had to come in,” Sean adds. “We started building much of the city centre buildings.” The Church of Christ the Cornerstone was completed in 1992 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II. In its heyday, construction work in the new city made up between 25% and 30% of the company’s turnover as it won contracts to build homes and schools as well as commercial buildings. “Milton Keynes has been massively important to us over the years,” says Sean. “But the church was our most prestigious project.”
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