An Historic Day

Yesterday was a landmark day for the roof project and an historic day in the life of the Cathedral as the first slates were removed from the Cathedral roof.

Most of the slates have been in place since the 19th Century, when Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness funded the last major restoration of the Cathedral. In the intervening 150 years, time and the weather have taken their toll on the slates, and once the roof is stripped we will be replacing them with new slates from the same quarry.

Most of the work on the project to date has been constructing the scaffolding to support the temporary cover that will protect the Cathedral while this process is ongoing, so getting to this point is a major milestone. Some of the team involved in the project as well as staff from the Cathedral gathered yesterday to celebrate, with a suitably decorated cake!

Slate removal and replacement will continue in the coming weeks on the nave roof, and when the new slates are on, work will move over to the transepts.