Wolverhampton Central Library is one of the city’s most treasured civic buildings – and Oliver Architecture is proud to be helping shape its future.

Designed by Henry Thomas Hare and completed in 1902, the Grade II* listed library is a striking example of the ‘free Jacobean’ style, with fine brick and terracotta façades, decorative modelling, copper domes and a dramatic fleche above the main entrance. Inside, stained glass, intricate plasterwork and an elegant staircase reflect the civic ambition of its original design.
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​As part of the £61 million City Learning Quarter redevelopment, we are acting as heritage consultant for the library’s restoration and improvement works. Our current role focuses on external repairs, ensuring the building’s historic fabric is carefully conserved while enabling sensitive adaptation for future use.

The first phase of the wider programme has already delivered internal upgrades to the 1970s rear extension, with new offices, WCs, a kitchenette and improved delivery and collections areas. Future phases will include restoring the façades and roof, creating a new entrance lobby and landscaped approach, and linking the library with the Alan Garner Building via a new glazed connection.

Importantly, the library and Adult Education Wolverhampton remain open throughout construction, with completion scheduled for winter 2025. Once finished, the redevelopment will provide a high-quality environment for learners, apprentices and the wider community.

Oliver Architecture is proud to be leading the restoration of the Golden Lion in Cannon Hill Park with Birmingham Conservation Trust, following the successful completion of the feasibility stage and the award of major funding to carry out urgent repairs.

This long-awaited project takes a significant step forward thanks to a generous £344,265 grant from Historic England, awarded in partnership with Birmingham City Council. With funding now in place, the focus moves from planning to delivery, and vital repair work can now begin.

​The Golden Lion is a rare 16th-century timber-framed building with a fascinating story. Originally built in Deritend and relocated to Cannon Hill Park in 1911 by the Birmingham Archaeological Society, it has stood empty and at risk for decades. As architects, we were appointed to lead the feasibility study, assessing the building’s condition, identifying repair priorities, and helping create a long-term strategy for the building's repair and reuse.

The Golden Lion's condition and vulnerable setting present obvious challenges, but also exciting potential about its future. This next phase will focus on stabilising the structure, repairing historic fabric, and safeguarding the building’s future, with the ultimate goal of bringing the Golden Lion back into meaningful public use.
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This is not just about saving a building - It's focusses on continuing a legacy of care that began over a century ago and ensuring this extraordinary piece of Birmingham’s medieval past has a place in its future.

As conservation architects, our role is to investigate and interrogate previous work, uncovering clues within the fabric of a building that help us achieve an authentic and sensitive restoration. At St Mary Immaculate in Warwick, colour is a vital part of the church’s architectural character and spiritual atmosphere. When we undertook Phase 1 of its restoration, a key focus was to ensure that the revived interior remained faithful to the church’s rich decorative tradition, while giving it a new lease of life.

​Colour Matching process
Over decades, much of the original painted decoration at St Mary Immaculate had been lost, obscured or dulled by later redecoration. Careful conservation cleaning revealed areas of vibrant surviving decoration, particularly in the Sanctuary ceiling, the existing Nave stencilling, and on the Stations of the Cross.

​In other areas, such as the Nave arches and the north and south chapels, we uncovered clues to earlier decorative schemes but key elements had been lost. Here, our aim was to introduce new painted decoration that harmonised with the original palette and patterns.
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​We worked with Keim’s senior colourist, who provided invaluable expertise in matching colours to the surviving originals. Using bespoke Keim colours, created specifically for this project, we were able to recreate tones that matched or were a very close match to the decorative scheme.

​Specialist conservators carefully analysed surviving paint layers to establish accurate colour references. Keim’s team provided meticulously prepared colour samples, which were assessed and refined in situ to achieve an exact match. This collaborative, iterative process ensured the highest standard of visual integration between original and new elements.

​To enhance the Nave arches, we designed the new stencilled Greek and Hebrew Bible texts, drawing on detailed research. These were then expertly applied by Nolan Decorations Ltd, ensuring the new work complements and enriches the restored scheme.

​​​​Through careful analysis of surviving paint layers, the creation of bespoke colour formulations, and the considered application of new decorative elements, we were able to achieve a restored scheme that respects and enhances the church’s historic character.

Monday afternoons are our CPD slot. Sometimes that means a talk in the office or a visit to a project site. Sometimes it means something a little different.

This week, we took our sketchbooks over to St Paul’s Square for an informal sketching session. The weather obliged, and we spent a lunchtime sitting in the square, taking time to observe the buildings around us.

St Paul’s Square is one of Birmingham’s architectural gems, the city’s last remaining Georgian square, centred around the fine Grade I listed St Paul’s Church. We know the church particularly well: it is one of our current projects, where Stephen Oliver is church architect.

Architecture is about conveying ideas and sketching remains one of the most powerful tools we have for thinking through and communicating those ideas. Whether working on a concept design or capturing a fragment of historic detail, drawing by hand encourages us to look more closely and to understand more deeply.

Sketching is a good excuse to stop and notice details that otherwise blur into the background. It also makes you look up. But the idea of the session was to spend some time looking and recording by hand, however simply, without the pressure of perfect results. A quick line drawing, a few notes, a colour wash, anything to slow down and observe.

​Back in the office, we shared our sketches, and it was a good way to start conversations about materials, alterations, and the layers of history in the square, and a reminder that taking time to look closely is a valuable part of our work.

Tucked away in Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park stands a hidden piece of the city’s medieval past. The Golden Lion is a rare 17th-century timber-framed building; originally built in Deritend and moved to the park in 1911 by the Birmingham Archaeological Society to save it from demolition. Over a century later, the building itself is now at serious risk.

Empty and unused for over 40 years, the Grade II-listed Golden Lion has deteriorated significantly. With growing concerns about structural failure, vandalism, and arson, Birmingham Conservation Trust (BCT) was approached by Birmingham City Council and Historic England to lead efforts to secure the building’s future.

We were appointed as architect and lead consultant to deliver a feasibility study, an essential first step in safeguarding this historic site. Working with a team of specialist consultants, we assessed the condition of the structure, identified urgent repair needs, outlined a longer-term conservation strategy, and explored future uses that could bring the building back into public life.

The findings are now guiding the next steps. BCT has applied for £300,000 to fund the first stage of emergency repairs, and plans are underway to raise a further £425,000 for essential follow-up works.
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The Golden Lion is not just a rare survival of medieval Birmingham - it’s also a pioneering example of early conservation thinking. This new project builds on that legacy, combining thoughtful planning with collaborative heritage expertise to give the building a future.
The feasibility study marks the beginning of a longer journey, and we’re proud to have helped lay the foundations. The Golden Lion could once again play a role in the city’s cultural and community life - an inspiring reminder of what thoughtful conservation can achieve.