The beautiful picture postcard view so many people imagine when thinking of Canterbury Cathedral couldn’t be any more different to the harsh reality greeting visitors over the late summer months and into the Autumn. The south side of the Cathedral is masked by scaffolding around the South East Transept - one of the oldest parts of the Cathedral, built between 1096 - 1130.
The scaffolding is to enable the latest project to be funded by the Appeal, to repair the lead roof over the South East Transept, to begin in earnest. The project has been funded by donations to the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal at a cost of around £0.5 million and will take twenty weeks to complete. The roof is a combination of 19th pitch pine and 18th century oak timber battens and it is thought the lead was last replaced around 150 years ago.
The contractors appointed to undertake the lead work and repair the timberwork of the roof are Norman & Underwood of Leicester who have worked on many of
The entire lead roof now needs repairing as the original roof fixings are no longer adequate to support the weight of the existing lead sheeting, resulting in the lead sheets slipping down the roof. The original lead has thinned considerably due to weathering and environmental pollution and some of the lead joints have failed. Finally the rotting of the oak and pitch pine timber work supporting the roof itself adds to the immense project being undertaken. By working in sections across the expanse of the roof the craftsmen prevent too much exposure to the weather at any one stage. During the process lead tiles are removed and the structural timberwork investigated, repaired and replaced where necessary
“Low - tech” and traditional solutions will be employed by the craftsmen using the ancient method of sand casting lead as opposed to modern milled lead as sand cast lead is considered more durable. Returning to methods similar to those first used on the Cathedral, the process, apart from the heating of the lead, has remained unchanged since Roman times and it is said can be dated back to the Egyptians.
Working within strict Heath and Safety guidelines will be using crawl ladders to work on the angled roof valleys are also employing a simple and prudent solution for weather proofing the exposed sections of interior roof spaces - a temporary sheeting technique using tarpaulins similar to that employed on Salisbury Cathedral. This method results in considerable cost and time savings.
A number of generous people have chosen to support the Appeal through sponsoring a lead tile to be placed on the South East transept roof complete with their chosen initials. It costs £1,000 to sponsor a lead roof sheet and is a unique opportunity to support the Appeal in a very personal way. As a thank you sponsors receive a photograph of the sheet once cast with up to three initials, and a Certificate. We also include sponsors on our Roll of Donors
Photos used by kind permission of www.jasondoddphotography.com
