Inside Salisbury: Prestigious award for Cathedral and a chance to be memorialised
Salisbury Cathedral scoops award and offers a unique opportunity for supporters
by Annette J Beveridge
SALISBURY Cathedral was recognised for its skilled work and repairs marking a 37-year major repair programme.
The work undertaken on the East End and repairs to the North and South Pinnacles restored the spire, tower and the main body of the Cathedral. The Clerk of Works, Gary Price, and Head Mason, Lee Andrews, attended the 22nd Natural Stone Award ceremony in London recently.
Clerk of Works, Gary Price, said “We are delighted that our work on this incredible building is being recognised by The Stone Federation. It has been a privilege to oversee the Major Repair Programme.”
Chicksgrove Limestone comes from a quarry close to Tisbury and was the same seam used for the Cathedral 800 years ago.
The Lovell Stone Group provided the limestone and the local collaboration was celebrated by the judges as the construction industry has become so globalised.
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Salisbury is one of only 10 cathedrals to have an in-house team of skilled stonemasons who still use original carving techniques to conserve the cathedral for future generations.
Judges expressed their view that ‘the work at the East end is of a consistent and exemplary representative quality that has been achieved throughout the entire project and it is fantastic to see the Cathedral sans scaffolding at last.’
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Canon Treasurer Kenneth Padley, who is responsible for the fabric of the building said: “We are delighted that our amazing Works team has received this honour, and that the track record of Salisbury Cathedral to delivering heritage excellence has been acknowledged on a national stage.
“The Cathedral remains, as it was built, a beacon to the glory and eternity of God.”
Although the scaffolding on the outside of the building was removed in September 2023, work on the Cathedral is never over. The newest project is the restoration of the Cathedral cloisters. The largest in England, the cloisters are made up of some of the most elaborately carved stones on the Cathedral, using the same Purbeck and Chicksgrove limestone.
To continue repairs and restoration work, Salisbury Cathedral has launched an exciting opportunity to sponsor a stone in the North cloisters, where you can have four characters carved into the stone before it is set in place, and help to preserve and protect this precious heritage.
For more information, go to: https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/discover/conservation-and-restoration/sponsor-a-stone/
Photo credit: Finnbarr Webster
