Report on the Condition of the Fabric

When I undertook my Quinquennial Inspection in 1998, it became apparent that the overall condition of the fabric of Ripon Cathedral was good. To a large degree this has been the result of the continuing efforts by the Dean & Chapter over the past fifteen years to undertake the necessary repair work as required. Nonetheless, my Inspection showed that there are still areas of concern, most notably to the roofs of the Cathedral as well as the stonework to the North Transept.

In conjunction with English Heritage, a five year programme of necessary major repairs was prepared. The first area of concern was the condition of the roofs to the two West Towers. The reroofing of the Southwest Tower has been completed. That to the Northwest Tower is now in hand and will be completed by July.2002. Once this work has been completed, the next task facing the Cathedral is the reroofing of the Nave. This pitched roof, some 40 metres long, is covered in Welsh slates laid to diminishing courses. It dates from the 1870s when Gilbert Scott undertook his major restoration of the Cathedral. As the slates are, therefore, some 130 years old they have come to the end of their natural life. The Dean & Chapter are faced with an ongoing problem of slipping, cracked or broken slates to the Nave roof. Over the past eighteen months, when the weather has been particularly poor, the situation has reached a critical stage. If reroofing is not undertaken within the next two years, major problems may well arise within the interior of the Cathedral. At present, estimates are being sought for the cost of reslating the Nave but it is anticipated that these are likely to be in the region of some £300,000. The Chapter hopes to make an application to English Heritage to part fund this work. In addition to the slates, the parapet gutters, which at some stage were covered in asphalt, will also need to be renewed, preferably in leadwork.

Following on from the repairs to the Nave, the releading of the central Tower roof will then follow. After these reroofing works are undertaken, we will then need to return to repairing the stonework as previously stated, to the North Transept and North elevation of the Choir.

 

 

Although these are the major areas of concern, there are ongoing needs for other repairs to be undertaken which arise from time to time. Examples of these have been resetting loose and dangerous floor slabs within the Cathedral, the relaying of defective drains to the Southeast and the complete renewal of the tiled central Aisle to the Choir.