Work starts on famous gateway

Work funded by the Canterbury Cathedral Appeal and the Friends of the Cathedral is underway to conserve and restore Canterbury’s famous gateway to the world – the Christ Church Gate.

Scaffolding has been put up on both sides of the Gate as an inspection takes place by the Cathedral works team, and many others who have an interest in getting a much closer look at the gate.

The long-term aim is to conserve and repair the unique gateway to provide the Cathedral Precincts with an enhanced and well-maintained entrance.The project should cost around £2million to complete, but until experts have examined the gate a more precise figure cannot be calculated.

The scaffolders started work in mid May and took two weeks to get the scaffolding up on the 15^th Century main entrance. Three weeks of assessment work will now follow as the works team gathers the necessary information to create a feasibility study for future work. The scaffolding will be dismantled by the beginning of July.

The last major repairs on the ChristChurch gate were in the 1920s and 1930s.

Heather Newton, Head of Stone Masonry at Canterbury Cathedral, said: "The restoration work is tremendously important. “The Christ Church Gate is a wonderful example of renaissance architecture and the only one of its kind in Canterbury.” The access for emergency vehicles through the Christchurch Gate will be maintained, as will access for the visiting public and Cathedral staff after 8.45am. However, there will be no entry for worshippers attending the early morning Cathedral service. People are asked to use the Postern Gate as an alternative entrance. It will open at 6.00am, Monday-Friday, from Monday May 18 until the scaffolding has been completed.