Preston Temple
The staff at our HQ arrive at work each morning having driven past one of the most iconic sites in the area which has now received the care and attention of the Black Box team.
Most people who use the M61 will be familiar with the sight of the flowing robes of the golden Angel Moroni. Towering 159ft above the ground atop the single spire of the temple which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Photography Credit – Keith Kirby
The Temple is the largest Latter-Day Saint temple in Europe at 69,630 sq. feet. has a modern single spire with an exterior finish of white granite from Sardinia. The golden angel can be seen for miles around.
When the site opened in 1998, a number of open days were held with over 15,000 visitors came to look around the incredibly unique site and its impressive buildings.
The relationship with Black Box first began in 2020 when the site fire system developed a problem. The original installer was not keen to provide support due to the age of the system and other companies approached were nervous about working on a system that they had not installed.
The Temple’s Facilities Manager contacted Black Box and visited to see how they could help. This was followed up by a three-man team spending a day working on site to temporarily resolve the problem. When the system was due for replacing the Manager contacted Black Box to quote for the removal and new installation.
The Preston Temple purpose serves the faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all that affiliate with it in their effort to understand these three important questions: Why we are here, where we all came from and where we are going.
The 15-acre site comprises several buildings and the Temple site grounds which are used by Church members and neighbours alike to admire the flora, relax, play, contemplate and walk their dogs.
One of the sacred ordinances which the Temple is used for is called Eternal Marriage. Couples bond together for time and eternity in the Temple and this brings families together with relatives travelling to join the bride and groom.
Visitors to the site are permitted to see all the buildings and are welcome to relax and enjoy the peaceful nature of the grounds.
Service Temple Missionaries, Church leaders and young missionaries, all of whom are volunteers, live on site until their missions, or their training are complete.
For the installation works, time was of the essence for the designers and engineers, particularly in the Temple building which is only closed twice each year for essential maintenance.
There are several other buildings which make up the site – Accommodation Block, which provides Patrons, and Temple Missionaries a place to stay, a Guest House Block, Distribution Centre and the Temple Presidents’ Residence
There is a number of other buildings, which also have independent functions; the Missionary Training Centre for example, prepares young adults to preach the Gospel in the Countries in Europe.
The works took eight weeks to complete involving ten engineers working around the clock to complete the new installations.
The buildings on site have now received a full Fire Alarm upgrade throughout the campus (Siemens) and the upgrade of the Intruder Alarm System (Honeywell Galaxy) to enable new central software to be installed.
In total there are 900 points, across 7 panels, on the Fire Alarm System, which includes all the smoke detectors and the red call points. The system is controlled by one central piece of software that has floor plans of the entire site and buildings, this will give the facilities management staff on site notification if and when the system activates so they can remotely control the system.
The same now applies to the Intruder Alarm system, floor plans are complete with all detection and give on site teams the ability to control them at the touch of a button.
David Barnes, Managing Director, Black Box Group said:
“This was a really interesting site to work on for the whole team. The Temple is such a prestigious building in the North West with the iconic angel statue visible for miles around.
“The intricacies of ensuring that the new system was designed in a way that provides complete control for the facility manager and to get the works completed against a really tight time schedule was a real challenge.
“We are thrilled that the client is pleased with the result and feel that a long term relationship will develop as a result.”
Client quote:
“Black Box operates with high standards of work quality and the staff is prepared to engage with clients in a manner to build confidence and trust.
“Customer service satisfaction should be in the forefront of every company that is interested to provide a service instead of just a product. I congratulate Black Box for having this vision and I wish to Black Box, its Managers and Employees all the best.”
