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Europa helps create an Art Nouveau masterpiece

[ June 8, 2018   //   Chris ]

The Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona is nearing completion after 92 years – with a little help from a little Lancashire grit and Europa Road’s Manchester branch.

The Gothic and Art Nouveau building was designed by renowned architect Antoni Gaudi who, in fairness did spend 40 years building it before he died in 1926 – but it has remained unfinished since.

The stone originally used for the church’s bell towers is sandstone from Montjuic in Barcelona, but this source was exhausted years ago. After a worldwide search for matching stone, gritstone from Brinscall Quarry, near Chorley, among others, to complete the construction of the eight remaining towers. The quarry will have provided approximately 120,000 tonnes of gritstone by the time the church is completed.

Europa Road’s Manchester branch provides the vehicles which transport up to 300 tonnes of gritstone a day to the site.

Emma Armstrong, director at Armstrongs Aggregates, which owns the quarry said: “Being a family-run business in Lancashire it is quite humbling, but also very satisfying that we’re supplying the stone to complete the most photographed religious monument in the world.”

Europa Road branch manager in Manchester, Paul Martin, adds: “We’ve been carrying trailers full of gritstone from Brinscall Quarry daily for almost two years and we’re set to continue until 2021, so it’s a very big and prestigious contract for Europa.”

Tags: Europa