Heritage Conservation Restoration Ltd carried out roofing and lead work repairs to the lead gutters, flat roofs and eave gutters to the North and South Transept roofs at Blackburn Cathedral. This included the reconstruction of the timber build up to the gutters, ensuring the lead bays were to LCA standards.
Extra precautions were taken throughout the project to protect the Cathedral’s Walker Organ. Some of the works required were directly above the world-class organ and the project was executed successfully without any water ingress, preventing any major damage.
In addition to the lead and roof works, masonry repairs were also required, including 100% repointing to all the high-level parapets and clerestory walls. New stone gablets were also carved to complete the South-East Buttress which was never finished during the original construction of the Cathedral.
The project received enhanced funding from the World War 1 Memorial Fund, allowing Heritage to resolve the ongoing issues of the tower roof leaking over the central altar of the Cathedral. We stripped the old stainless steel roof covering off to uncover the original roof structure, allowing us to build a new timber roof deck and lay a new lead roof to the correct falls and bay lengths.
The project involved a complex designed scaffold that cantilevered from the Cathedral structure, ensuring that none of the scaffold imposed on the grounds, helping the project be more cost effective in line with the Cathedral’s budget.