Capturing the beauty of Carlisle's architecture: Photography competition winners

The entries are on display in the city centre until 22 June 2024. Credit: Wragg Mark-Bell Solicitors.

The winners of a new competition celebrating Carlisle’s buildings have been announced.

The competition, called Beautiful Bricks, was launched by city solicitors Wragg Mark-Bell and invited locals to capture the spirit of Carlisle through its architecture.

Its entries showcased everything from the city’s emblematic cathedral to hidden alleyways, industrial buildings, and the bricks of the Roman bathhouse.

Ben Fox's winning photo of the Boardroom Pub. Credit: Wragg Mark-Bell Solicitors

The winning photo was taken by Carlisle-born Ben Fox who recently discovered a passion for street photography.

Ben said: "Taking part in something like this fires you up and you start seeing things in a different light.

“I loved the asymmetry of the Boardroom, the imperfections of it make it perfect.

Ben didn’t have his camera on him at the time so took the photo on his mobile phone and encouraged others to do the same.

“I’ve only got into photography recently, now I’m always out snapping, capturing the world and meeting new people through street photography," he said.

"The best camera you’ve got is just the one you’ve got with you.”

The prize for second place was won by Lucy Peart with a photograph of shadows on Carlisle train station’s wall.

Lucy took up photography earlier this year, after being inspired by her daughter who is doing GCSE photography.

“Charlotte inspired me. I was so impressed with how good her photos were that I wanted to give it a go myself.”

Third place was won by 18-year-old student Joshua Taylor, who has just finished his A-levels.

Judges said he captured their attention with a photo of the castle gatehouse.

One of the judges, Laura Urquhart, conveyancing director at Wragg Mark-Bell, said: “The aim of our competition was to capture the spirit of Carlisle through its architecture, and it has certainly done that.

“We are delighted by the creativity and talent of the photographers who entered. There are obviously many people who value and love Carlisle’s architecture as much as we do.”


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