PRESS RELEASE
23 January 2009
Truro Cathedral receives top restoration
grant from English Heritage
At 10.30am this morning English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation
held a press conference at Truro Cathedral in which they announced
restoration grants for England’s cathedrals. Truro Cathedral itself has
been allocated a grant of £250,000 towards the restoration of the central
Victoria Tower and spire.
On a rather cold and windy day in Truro, Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe, interim
Chairman of English Heritage, announced from the west gallery of Truro Cathedral
over £2.6m in restoration grants for 23 cathedrals across England, including one for
£250,000 for Truro Cathedral.
The Dean of Truro, The Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick, said, “We are
delighted with the announcement of the £250,000 grant towards urgent repairs and
restoration of the central Victoria tower and spire. Without this help from English
Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation it would be very difficult indeed for us to
maintain our precious Christian heritage. The Cathedral welcomes nearly 200,000
visitors a year and is situated in a county steeped in a rich religious tradition where
our continuing ministry and mission are right at the heart of all that we do. These
necessarily go hand in hand with our stewardship of the building and all that it
represents.”
Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe, Interim Chairman of English Heritage, said: “Cathedrals
are some of our country’s most imposing and beautiful buildings. The excellent
craftsmanship demonstrated in these places of worship is something which we must
strive to preserve for generations to come. The grants announced today will go
some way to helping the custodians of these buildings in this task.”
Commenting on the grants, Paul Ramsbottom, Executive Secretary of the Wolfson
Foundation, remarked: "These buildings which sit at the heart of our communities
are some of the most magnificent in the country. They inspire and uplift
congregations and visitors alike. It is our hope that the grants will help to preserve
these remarkable buildings for future generations. The Wolfson Foundation is
pleased to fund these buildings alongside English Heritage, and we have again
benefited greatly from their expert advice.”
Truro Cathedral’s Architect is Margaret Davies of MRDA Architects. She has
worked on previous restoration work at the Cathedral, “Over the last seven years
or so, we have embarked on a scheme to restore the entire Cathedral. In 2002 we
saw work completed on the East end of the building. In 2004/2005 the west front
was repaired and restored. We are now setting out on the most challenging part of
the entire restoration process, the Victoria tower and spire. Not only is it the
highest part of the building, it is also the least accessible. The project could easily
take a year to complete.”
In the summer of 2008 another English Heritage grant secured £30,000 to complete
a photogrammetric survey of the tower and spire.
Margaret said, “The central tower has suffered severe stone erosion to the Bath
Stone from the salt-laden prevailing westerly winds. The survey provided detailed
images from which we were able to identify individual defects to the stonework or
in the jointing surrounding them. This has helped us to identify, and quantify, the
scale and scope of the work that will be required to repair the tower.”
Neil Parsons, Chief Executive of the Cathedral, said, “Everyone at the Cathedral is
very excited by the award of this grant. It’s an extremely positive start to our
fundraising campaign in which we need to raise over £2m for the work on the tower,
the spire and roof coverings. Economically this is obviously not the best of times to
launch a fundraising campaign but critical restoration work is urgently required to
prevent even further damage to the tower and the spire’s stonework. Basically the
longer we wait, the more costly the work becomes. If there are individuals,
businesses or organisations that would be willing to help us with the appeal, I would
be delighted to hear from them. The restoration of the tower and spire can only
commence when we reach this target, so this is where the hard work begins.”
For further details Contact:
The Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick, Dean of Truro, 01872 276782,
dean@trurocathedral.org.uk
Colin Reid, Cathedral Communications Officer, 01872 245007, colin@trurocathedral.org.uk
23 January 2009
For more press information please contact Alice Taylor at English Heritage on 0207
973 3252, or via alice.taylor@english-heritage.org.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Victoria Tower and spire
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So named after Queen Victoria it was completed in 1905.
It was a memorial to her life.
The Tower is 54.9m (180ft) high while the height to the top of the spire is 74.4m
(244ft)
English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation Cathedral Grants Scheme
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61 of the 63 Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals in England are eligible for the scheme.
Christ Church Oxford falls outside the jurisdiction of the Cathedrals Measure and
responsibility for the fabric lies with the collegiate foundation.
Middlesbrough Roman Catholic Cathedral is unlisted and not in a Conservation
Area.
The grants scheme was started by English Heritage in 1991 and English Heritage
and the Wolfson Foundation have been working together to fund this scheme since
2006.
The Wolfson Foundation
The Wolfson Foundation is a grant-making charity set up in 1955. The Foundation supports
projects across the fields of science and technology, medical research and health,
education and the arts, currently allocating some £37 million per annum. More information
is available at www.wolfson.org.uk.
Other Cathedral grants in the South West
The grants offered to South West cathedrals are as follows:
Bristol CE - £34,000 for the conservation of a Lime Ash Floor Dorter Passage & Stair
Mortar Repairs
Gloucester - £35,000 for the conservation of the South Aisle (a buttress, bay and window)
Salisbury - £74,000 for the conservation/repair of pinnacles & a spirelet on the north
elevation of the north transept.
Full List of Recipients
CATHEDRAL
WORK
Bradford
Provision of window guards.
Grant Offer
£31,000
Bradford
Photogrammetric survey of the cathedral.
£50,000
Bristol CE
Conservation and repair of the Dorter Passage.
£34,000
Canterbury
Repairs to the Howley Library roof.
Coventry
Consolidation of Apse Stonework to Old Cathedral.
£68,000
Durham
Masonry Repairs to the North East Turret of the Chapel of the Nine Altars.
£74,000
Ely
Replacement Fire Detection System.
£43,000
Gloucester
Conservation of the South Aisle, buttress and window.
£35,000
Hereford
Masonry Repairs to the South Aisle & Nave Clerestory.
£94,000
Lichfield
Masonry Repairs to North Choir Clerestory.
£249,000
Lincoln
Masonry, Roofing & Glazing to the South East Transept & St Hugh's Choir.
£250,000
Liverpool CE
Replacement of roofs to the Nave & Lady Chapel.
Manchester
South Aisle Roof Repairs.
£143,000
Norwich RC
Roof Repairs Phases 3 & 4.
£72,000
Peterborough
West Front Phase 4 – North West Tower.
£39,000
Portsmouth
CE
Rochester
Replacement of roofs to Nave & adjacent Aisles.
£148,000
Repairs to Treasury Roof and Masonry.
£123,000
Salisbury
Conservation and repair of the pinnacles & spirelet on North Transept.
£74,000
Southwark
Retrochoir Roof.
£89,000
St Pauls
North Transept Stonework Repairs
£250,000
Truro
Repair of Central Tower & Spire.
£250,000
Wakefield
Renewal of Lead Roofs to the Vestry.
£85,000
Worcester
Masonry Repairs to Cloisters & Nave.
£117,000
£230,000
£50,000