Cathedral awarded £275,000 from the First World War centenary cathedral repairs fund
Liverpool Cathedral is delighted to have received its second award from the WW1 centenary cathedral repairs fund. The award will go to finance much needed repair work to the Lady Chapel and Nave roofs.
Part of the award will enable essential repairs to the Nave West Bay roof. Exposed to the elements – and in particular the high winds that buffett the cathedral - this area has suffered from considerable storm damage over the years. Regular inspections have revealed that the copper panels which cover a large part of the roof have lifted in places, allowing water to seep through. Water ingress in the roof causes represents a considerable threat to any building, not one that is least a Grade I listed. The grant will enable emergency repairs which will be carried out as soon as is practicable in order to prevent further deterioration whilst we look for additional funding to complete the entire work.
The remainder of the award will help us repair parts of the cathedral’s oldest roof - that of the Lady Chapel. The timber in this roof structure is subjected to many small, persistent leaks in the copper. This repair work will involve re-covering part of the damaged copper roof.
This work all forms part of the constant repair challenge associated with being guardians of the largest cathedral in the UK, widely regarded as one of the great buildings of the world. These challenges led the cathedral to launch its ambitious £24m for 2024 campaign earlier this year. The campaign, which has a target to raise at least £10m to fund capital repair projects, aims to secure the cathedral for future generations. 4 months into the appeal we have raised £2.8m.
The Dean, the Very Reverend Dr Pete Wilcox said “This is great news. We have a major challenge to ensure our beautiful building is repaired and well preserved. If we fail in this challenge then we are failing those whose generosity helped build this place as a centre of Christian worship and mission, as well as those who could benefit from its impact in future. We want many generations to come to encounter in our cathedral the warmth of a welcome in the spirit of Jesus. This grant award is a small, but significant step towards our goal.”