TV architect casts eye over work to restore Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral is currently undergoing £800,000 worth of repairs to its famous tower.

George Clarke, who is originally from Sunderland and is best known for programmes like The Restoration Man and The Home Show, had a rare chance to see the work close-up from a lift on the outside of the tower.

TV architecture expert George Clarke on the top of the main tower with the Dean of Durham, The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett. Picture: TOM BANKS

He said: "I think it’s incredible – what an experience. It’s quite a privilege and an honour to be able to come to the top of the tower during a very important and historic restoration of the building.

“This is a building that needs love and care and what a great team they have got on board. I’ve met some great people making their mark on history. Everyone that is a part of it is writing their chapter in Durham Cathedral history which is quite an amazing thing."

Work on the 66 metre tower started earlier this year and is expected to take around two years to complete.

Although the cathedral dates from the 12th century, the tower was built in 1484 and was restored in the 1860s.

The cathedral's team has just finished dismantling the balustrade at the top of the tower, which involved lowering around 200 blocks, weighing up to 450kg, to ground level.

Durham Cathedral architect Christopher Cotton said: “We’ve got them down in the workshop so we can carry out repairs to the historic stones where they can be repaired by patching in new bits of stones. But there are a number of stones that have failed so are being replaced with new stone.

“Once that is done we’ll be looking to reassemble them in spring next year. We have to wait until the weather improves to do the reassembly. Then we’ll move further down the belfry.

“There’s a number of really complicated carved stones that have eroded away and need replaced because of the risk of them falling off.

“They’re all hand carved so we’re using traditional craftsmanship and masonry techniques."

The new stone is Dunhouse blaxter stone, from Staindrop, which was chosen to blend in with the original sandstone, which was quarried from the opposite side of the River Wear in Durham.

The cathedral has a team of seven in-house stone masons working on the restoration along with two assistants.

Mr Cotton added: "If you think of all of the iconic buildings in the North-East Durham Cathedral is one of them and of all the bits the belfry is the most prominent. It’s tremendously exciting. The challenge of getting all the scaffolding up was a feat in itself."

The scaffolding took two to three months to construct, while it took the team of four five weeks to remove the balustrade.

Stonemason Scott Richardson said: “It’s been an interesting challenge. Logistically its difficult. It’s not a hard job but because it’s so far up in the sky when you have to move something that’s 450 kilos you need to think about how you’re going to lift it and get it down.”

Mr Clarke also visited the cathedral's Open Treasure exhibition and had a look at the Lego version of the building.

Earlier in the day Mr Clarke joined the Dean of Durham Cathedral to help Virgin Trains launch its Cathedral Room, for the local community to use.

Virgin Trains chose the room’s name to reflect their growing partnership with Durham Cathedral, after whom it named a locomotive last year.

Mr Clarke said: “I am delighted the Cathedral and Virgin Trains are working together to create this opportunity for community groups and small businesses.

"It’s fantastic to have this community space and because it is at a railway station it will encourage people to use it.

“The views of Durham Cathedral are spectacular from the train station and this room, and I am sure it will become a well-used community asset."

Children from across County Durham also prepared art work for the cathedral, and copies of some of this work are now on display in the Cathedral Room

David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on it east coast route, added: “We’re really pleased to continue to work in partnership with Durham Cathedral, and we’re committed to supporting the communities we serve across the UK.

“We’re delighted to open our first ‘amazing community space’ in Durham station, and huge thanks to George and the Dean, as well as the school children who have created artwork inspired by carvings on the Anglo-Saxon coffin of St Cuthbert.”

The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Dean of Durham said: “We are delighted to welcome George back to Durham and the cathedral, a building which is particularly special to him. His advocacy for the Cathedral is hugely appreciated, and I know it means a lot to the people of the North East that he continually acts as an ambassador for Sunderland and the wider region."