Salisbury Cathedral – Award for Stone Repair and Fundraiser Launch

Salisbury Cathedral has won a prestigious award at The 22nd Natural Stone Awards Ceremony in recognition of the skilled work restoring the East End gable of the Cathedral which used stone from the same seam from which the cathedral was built 800 years ago.

Salisbury Cathedral wins prestigious award for stone repair and launches a unique fundraising opportunity

The work on the East End and the repair of the North and South Pinnacles of Salisbury Cathedral marks the culmination of a 37-year major repair programme, restoring the spire, tower and main body of the Cathedral.

And to mark this major milestone, the cathedral has launched a unique fundraising opportunity, inviting people to sponsor a stone in the North cloisters as they begin the next phase of conservation.

The Cathedral’s Clerk of Works, Gary Price, and Head Mason, Lee Andrews attended the awards ceremony in London to collect the award and celebrate the very best of the natural stone industry.

The Chicksgrove Limestone, provided by Lovell Stone Group, came from a quarry close to Tisbury and was used to complete the repairs.

It is the same seam which was used when the Cathedral was built 800 years ago. This local collaboration was celebrated by the judges.

Salisbury is one of only ten cathedrals to have an in-house team of skilled stonemasons who still use original carving techniques to conserve the cathedral for future generations.

Clerk of Works Gary Price said

“We are delighted that our work on this incredible building is being recognised by The Stone Federation. It has been a privilege to oversee the Major Repair Programme.”

Canon Treasurer Kenneth Padley, who is responsible for the fabric of the building said:

“We are delighted that our amazing Works team has received this honour, and that the track record of Salisbury Cathedral to delivering heritage excellence has been acknowledged on a national stage. 

“The Cathedral remains, as it was built, a beacon to the glory and eternity of God,” he added.

The newest project is the restoration of the Cathedral cloisters which are the largest in England, they are made up of some of the most elaborately carved stones on the Cathedral, using the same Purbeck and Chicksgrove limestone.

Donors are invited to be part of the preservation of these historic cloisters by sponsoring a stone into which they can have four characters carved into it before it is set in place.

For more information on sponsoring a stone and learning about the fascinating work the Works team does, visit the Cathedral’s website here.