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.

Trials of Organs - Day 17

Because there will be so much dust around the Cathedral over the 9 months or so and because we do not want that dust sucked and blown through the Cathedral organ we have borrowed an electronic organ which is in the process of being installed.

The organ we have borrowed is based on the Hauptwerk system:

Hauptwerk is a computer-based "Virtual Pipe Organ" system, driven from any MIDI keyboard or MIDI-compatible organ console.It requires a powerful computer with a fast multi-core processor and lots of memory. The PC inside this console has 16GB of RAM.

Every single pipe of a particular pipe organ is recorded (3 times over) in better-than-CD quality.

But not only the pipes: all the "noises off" are recorded as well - such as the blower motor, the clatter of the keys, the "thud" of the stops going in and out, and the swell shutters opening and closing.

All this contributes to the amazing tonal quality and stunning realism of a Hauptwerk organ. 

The organ console is made by Magnus Organs of Sulechów in Polland who specialise in Hauptwerk-based organs.

The beauty of this instrument is that is can play a number of different organs which have been recorded from all over the world ... for example

The organ which we will be "virtually" using most of the time is the 1892 "Father" Willis organ of Hereford Cathedral.

When the occasion demands (e.g. if we are singing a French Mass) we can also use the organ of St Etienne Abbey in Caen, Normandy, built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in the 1880s.

If the organists want to play Baroque repertoire, they can use the 1721 Schnitger organ of St Michael's Church in Zwolle ( Netherlands ).

And for silent movies, there is a choice of Wurlitzer theatre organs..... 

Ideally we would like the speakers up in the organ loft so that they can "speak" into both the Quire and the Nave, as the Cathedral organ does very effectively.

HOWEVER, getting the speakers up in to the organ loft was more of a problem than we had imagined and there was a Summit Meeting (every bit as important as the G8) this morning to solve the problem. Thankfully, the combined wit of our Precentor, Director of Music, Head Verger and Director of the Voluntary Choir (who also owns and markets the Magnus Organ in the UK) has solved the problem. Phew!

Demolition - Day 16

Today's work in the Cathedral has been all about knocking holes in things!

Back in the 1870's the south side of the Cathedral started to collapse. In typical Victorian fashion, they massively over engineered the shoring up. This included some of the arches in the Crypt. We are now assured that this shoring can come out to open up the space again.

The photo on the left shows what will be the entry into the new wet area for washing up etc.

The picture below shows the area that used to be the Servery and will now open up the view from the entry to the Crypt.

Tomorrow our Archaeologist will come and inspect the work and hopefully give us permission to remove all the infill.


The other area that has seen activity today has been the old vestries underneath the Library. This used to house the Girl Choristers and the Lay Clerks. It was a dingy area which smelt damp and was pretty horrid, if I'm being honest!

It will become a dual use Vestry and Education area. Already the wooden paneling has been removed and you can see that it is going to be a great space which can be sub-divided for different purposes. 

The picture to the right shows the former Lay Clerks area.... Already a great improvement!

Finally for today, here is the Candle Store or, more recently the Embroiderer's Store. It lies the other side of the wall from the first photo, so very soon the light will be let in. This is where the wet area will be.

So, little by little progress is being made even if so far its all about destruction!

Please don't forget that I am looking for guest bloggers, if you would like to have a go, just get in touch with the Cathedral office.01634 843366

Day 15 - Who's Who!

Hi everyone. It is Marilyn blogging again.

Today is another challenging day. Work is progressing but there is not too much in the way of any different photos today so I thought that I would let you have a look at some more staff involved in the project.

Here is Dave Nash who is the Site Manager for Buxton’s, making sure that everything goes to plan and he is someone we can go to when anything needs sorting out.  Just caught him in a ‘hole in the wall’ but he couldn’t get any cash out!

Dave Nash - Site Manager

Here is Sue Malthouse who is our Estates’ Administrator. She has a very tough role trying to keep all our properties in tip top shape and making sure no one tramples our gardens. Here she can be seen supervising the extraction of one of the chillers from our Tea Room Kitchen to make sure that they keep to the path.

Sue supervising

Keep reading our blog as it will get interesting very soon – I promise.

Day 14 - Blocking Off and Breaking Through!

Another new blogger today. I am Marilyn and I have been asked to do the blog for today and tomorrow- so watch this space!

Things are gradually moving on and as you see the hoarding is now up in a number of areas – just wondering if anyone is going to make it all look pretty!

Hoarding by the South door

Hoarding in the Quire

Now the crypt has been cleared the serious work begins.  As you can see the builders are now beginning to put all their might into breaking through the wall in our vestry  in the crypt into what is known as the ‘pigeon parlour.’ They will have to watch out as they may have more than falling rubble to deal with!

They are also dismantling our kitchen in the vestry area which is in badly need of renovation. There will be a new servery area so refreshments can readily be served.

Breaking through the wall

Vestry being taken apart

 As you can see this is a very dismal and very underused space.  This area will be completely transformed into a large open space but with the ability to subdivide the space so that it can accommodate two groups at a time and be used for a variety of activities, including educational and musical

Corridor to Lay Clerks room

Day 13 Roofs and Roof lights

Hello,Gilly blogging again.

The library roof is the roof star of the show in our HTFE project, but there are lots more roofs to think about.  I am busy contemplating the state of the roof light to Gundulph's tower, while others take essential measurements and photographs.  I think I had earned my few moments of contemplation as we reached the various parts of the roof using extraordinary stairways and doorways (only one head bump) and climbing a perpendicular ladder plus a scary little walkway.

Gilly in contemplation mode - don't do it!

Meanwhile, back at the main project, Matt Newton and Alison Webster, Planning Supremos from
Medway Council, assess the impact of the proposals in one corner of the Garth garden.  Lovely to see people looking so happy in their work!

Day 12 - The Continuing Story!

The Loos!

I am a guest blogger today, so have started with a bog for the blog.  Cries of alarm were heard earlier in the project when the contractor's loos were sited within sight of the Tea Rooms.  We all felt that this was a rather too obvious demonstration of cause and effect.  Now they are clothed in a seemly screen and I am assured that this will look even more beautiful in days to come.

The Project Team in deep discussion

Running a project like this can't all be done by Edwina (Project Director) and a sharpened pencil. Here is the project team hard at work in our Council Room, deciding on 'What Happens Next'.  They all said that they try to look intelligent, so you can make up your own minds about their level of success.   Banquo's Ghost in the corner is apparently a very lovely cope.  I keep meaning to check this out but have always been scared to in case it actually is a skeleton.......

Gilly Wilford - Chapter Clerk- Executive Director

Day 11 - The Wheel of Fortune

Hello. My name is Philip Talboys. I've been asked to do a guest blog by The Dean.

Here is a photo of the well-known wall painting in the Choir of the "Wheel of Fortune", or "Rota Fortunae" (as Boris Johnson would say). Like many familiar symbols, it has an interesting past, I learn.

Wheel of Fortune

 The origins of the Wheel of Fortune metaphor are ancient. It goes back to Ancient India, the Greeks and the Romans - well before the eponymous television programme, in other words -
and ties in with contemporary understanding of the structure of the universe. In the Middle Ages, however, philosophers and divines took it up, and it became a symbol of, not only the
capriciousness of life, but of the fate awaiting those who get too full of themselves.

A Cathedral brochure describes the men as having 'climbed' to their respective positions. This rather misses the point, dare I say it?  Instead, it is the spinning of the wheel by the Goddess,
or Empress, of Fortune (often shown blindfolded) which is responsible for where the men find themselves. Where we end up is outside our control.

If I've got too full of myself, no doubt the Wheel will be spinning tonight! (I will recognise the hand of Mark Beach...)

Day 10 Closure of the South Door

Preparations for closing access  

Builders at work 

We are now approaching the end  the 2^nd working week. The preliminary  work needed prior to the start of the main works is coming along nicely.  Today we saw the closure of access through our South Door entrance of the Cathedral to all members of the public. There is  also no disabled access to our Quire. This access will remain closed whilst the work to the crypt and library is being undertaken. This is another big step in our project and we look forward to the time when we can see the new lift that will be installed, allowing access to all levels of the cathedral.

Colin -swiftly moving on!

Colin, our Head Verger is taking it all in his stride.  He is making sure that the Cathedral runs smoothly and that he maintains contact with the builders on a day to day basis. As you can see he is getting really adept at moving swiftly on should an extra pair of hands be called upon!

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