Day 24 - A view from the Friends

At the invitation of the Dean, the Friends of Rochester Cathedral are happy to help to record some of the works being undertaken, especially the part earmarked as funded by the Friends. This whole exercise was, I believe, kicked off when the Friends agreed to help in financing the replacing and updating of the disability access from the south quire transept down to nave level and further down to the crypt.

The Beached Whale!

Work is going on behind the screen closing off the crypt, Kent steps and south door. A quick look behind the screen, with the contractor’s site manager, revealed some neat and tidy demolition work of the old chair lift. Now it is officially not working.

Earlier blogs show work being done on the old chair lift and the balustrade, today it remains in the course of deconstruction, the lift a little like a beached whale

Spot the cobweb!

North entrance to the crypt

Kent Steps and South Door

While waiting to be invited into the work area, I took a couple of quick snapshots through the north entrance to the crypt. On the far side was a pile of stones on the window ledge. The workmen are being so careful, not even the cobweb under the window has been disturbed!

The Friends are delighted to be involved in these major works and hope to be able to produce further updates as work progresses.

Terry Wood, Chairman, Friends of Rochester Cathedral

Day 23 - and more dismantling

David dismantling the old shelving

Today's builder is called David, originally from Lithuania but living in Kent for 10 years. His job today was to dismantle the old shelving in the Library.

As well as getting a much needed new roof, the Library is being extended and refitted so that the collection is more accessible to scholars and to visitors. The new shelving will be set at an angle and a new glass screen is to be installed so that even when it is closed people will still be able to
see in.

Library - in disarray!

We have a bit of a problem because we also use the room as a vestry at the weekend and for big services. This poses quite a problem to conservators but we really do not have any choice as there is no other available space. The
Cathedral is big but not big enough!

Day 22- An Outsider Enters In!

Hole to determine the foundation of the pillars

It was a great pleasure and privilege to be invited in as a guest blogger.  Not being too well acquainted with Crypts and having only visited the Crypt at Rochester Cathedral on a few occasions for tourist purposes and the occasional youth event in years gone by, I did not know what to expect.

My overriding impression is one of “outsiders are to be welcomed in”.  Whether it was Marilyn on behalf of the Cathedral, or Jason on behalf of the building contractors, the vision was to open all this up to people.  Their enthusiasm was infectious.  I’m beginning to catch it!

Doorway being opened up

Of course it is a lengthy and no doubt costly enterprise, and the challenges are huge. Floors are being leveled, the lift being removed and replaced, narrow doorways opened up, kitchen area removed for expansion, ceiling taken down to accommodate the renovated library, and vestry/cloakroom (depending on who you are talking to!) being turned into a new Education Activity Area.

Staircase today

Ceiling will have to be removed to accommodate an education space

Forgive me if I am a bit blurred on some of the details – they have been and will be covered.  But my overriding sense is this that is all about changing what was relatively inaccessible and unknown to so many of the general public, to being a place that clearly caters for all, welcomes all and invites all outsiders to enter in.  Many “hidden treasures” will find “fresh expression”.

Rev Peter Marchand

Chairman, Churches Together in Medway

27/08/14

Disabled Access throughout - Day 21

Access for those with disabilities is one of the key drivers for our building works.Until now, those using wheelchairs have not been able to get into the crypt and access to the Quire has been via a decidedly wonky chair lift up the Kent Steps.

Here Paul, one of the workmen is starting the process of dismantling
the old lift ready for the major work to install the new one.

And here is the architects sketch of what the area will look like when finished.

This was one of the most controversial parts of the design process with lots of discussion about the best way to acheive our goal of access throughout the building. But we got there in the end!

Remember the holes being cut through the infill down in the crypt? Well if you look very carefully you will see the remains of medieval wall painting that has been uncovered. 

The whole crypt would have been decorated but only very small patches remain and they are not in good condition. Part of our Hidden Treasures, Fresh Expressions project is to conserve them. I will show you the work that has been done already in a latter post. 

Asbestos Search - Day 20

This seemingly innocuous piece of the crypt floor is anything but... We have had an asbestos survey carried out and it seems as though there may be an asbestos concrete mix in the channel and also in the furnace chamber that I showed you before.

If this is the case it will cause some unforeseen expense and hold us back a bit.

That's all for today, but quite big news round here as you can image.

Day 19 - The story continues...

My name is Lynne and I am guest blogger today. I am the Development Officer for Rochester Cathedral and it’s great to see all the activity around this project. Jamie tells me that today an Asbestos survey is going on – hope there is nothing too sinister found! 

Lynne & Jamie

The breaking through is continuing and there is now quite a draught coming through the hole from the "pigeon parlour". All the guano will be cleared tomorrow – happy days!

Temporary hoarding has been put up by the Kent Steps in the South Quire Transept which is covered in plastic to prevent dust getting into the organ pipework. It's amazing seeing all the attention to detail.

Kent Steps cover

A lot of the stone that was taken away when the knocking through was going on is being set aside for reuse later. There’s a giant jig saw puzzle for someone!”

Building blocks

A watching brief - Day 18

As part of the planning permission process which is run for Cathedrals by The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England we have to have an archaeologist who has a watching brief on the works. Graham Keevill is our man and he came for his fist visit to the work today.


He came to look at the hole that is being dug through the wall of the crypt, which I showed you last week. Distinct progress has been made by Clinton and his fellow work men. To the left is the state of play last week and now you can see that light has been reached on the other side fo the wall into the Pigeon Parlour - so named for obvious reasons.

The photo to the right shows the Pigeon Parlour and the eagle eyed among you will see that they have left their mark....

And here is Clinton, I had to persuade him to take off his mask and hi - vis jacket which added nothing to the photograph.

 Some of the items that Graham was interested in are here:

A piece of stone showing evidence of one of the many fires that the Cathedral has experienced over the years.

 This piece of stone shows signs of early moulding, it probably dates from the 12th century and was used as part of the Victorian infilling that I have described.

 Here are some animal bones, a jaw to the right and part of a leg to the left, or so I am told.

And finally, a piece of wood which was probably part of the form work used to support the infilling and was left in place 140 years ago. We were not sure what to expect here but true to my earlier comments about over zealous work by the Victorians, the whole arch is filled in supportive masonry. So far, nothing has fallen down that we did not want to.