Reopened after a three-year refurbishment, St John’s Cathedral returns to its high Victorian splendour after the re-ordering of the 1970s and 1980s.

Salford in Greater Manchester has become a byword for urban regeneration, with the city experiencing a growth in population unmatched anywhere in the north of England. Thousands of people – especially young professionals – have been drawn by job opportunities and affordable homes plus attractions such as The Lowry, the theatre and gallery complex in the revitalised docklands.

As Salford sparkled back into life it looked as though its Catholic cathedral, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, would be left behind. But after a £22 million restoration it now takes its place as part of the city’s story of renewal. In a project titled Revealing the Glory, layers of off-white paint that once covered the interior have been scraped away. The natural beauty of stone has re-emerged; colour has been brought back to statues, walls and ceilings. It is as though a black-and-white photo has been carefully hand-coloured to reveal features previously lost in the all-encompassing neutral paint.

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