Current conservation and related project works

On this page, you’ll find information relating to current conservation and other project works related to the Cathedral building.

The West Front

Last updated: 22 October 2021

A video update from the Canon Chancellor, the Revd Canon Dr Rob James, discussing the visit of the Cathedral Chapter to the West Front and detailing the conservation works taking place.

Anyone visiting the Cathedral at the current time will see scaffolding going up in the middle portion of the West Front. This is due to be a short-duration project with the main aim of assessing the lasting effect of the conservation works carried out in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This scaffolding is due to be in place until late August. The aim is to see what of the previous conservation work has lasted the test of time and what has not worked so well. The assessment will inform the next phase of the conservation work, which will see the entire West Front covered in scaffolding. Whilst the current scaffolding is in place, any emergency repairs that are needed will also be carried out.

Many thanks to the Wells Cathedral Preservation Trust, who are paying for this work in its entirety.

The North Transept

Last Updated: 15th April 2021

The stonework of the North Transept has been in a particularly poor state. Some of it can be repaired with mortar, some stone need to be replaced. Besides this, the entire facade is being cleaned, a chemical-free process that uses steam. This will help preserve the stonework for longer. Below are various images of the stonework, one showing obvious damage, the other showing where almost all the mortar had weathered away from joints. As of mid-April, the work is almost complete and we hope that the 80 ton of scaffolding can soon come down!

Many thanks to the Cultural Recovery Fund, the Headley Trust and the All Churches Trust who are paying for this work.

The External Clockface

Last updated: 23rd April 2021

Allied to the project on the North Transept stonework, the external clockface and associated parts are in need of conservation and repainting. Paint analysis has been undertaken to establish historic painting schemes of the face. It turns out that the clock has been repainted many time in many different schemes, with only a few pieces consistently presented in the same way. In particular, the four evangelists, one at each corner of the square face, have always been gold, as far as we can tell. Whilst the scaffolding has been in place for the stonework conservation, it has been possible for conservation companies to quote for the work that is needed on the clock and it is hoped that this project can progress soon.

One interesting fact that many people have been surprised by: The jacks (those are the characters in armour who turn to strike the quarter bells) are made of wood. They are largely an unknown quantity at present in terms of how much conservation they need and thus how much they will cost to conserve.

Thanks to those who have already agreed to put funds towards this project: the Dickinson Family Trust and the St. Andrew’s Conservation Trust

The North East Pinnacle: Project Completed April 2021

The NE Pinnacle was damaged in a storm in 2020 and was in serious and imminent danger of falling. It was temporarily secured by cables and then scaffolding was built to remove the stone. It was finally replaced and in the scaffolding removed in April 2021.

The picture below is of the scaffolding in place, with the cables holing the pinnacle in place, prior to its removal. In this picture, the weathervane has been removed to decease the load on the pinnacle. It’s now back in place.

The Cathedral Sound System

As part of the ongoing aim to equip the Cathedral for the digital age, the existing sound system is being upgraded. The analogue system (Photo 1) has provided sterling service, but is now starting to show its age, and as the major components are no longer manufactured repairs are becoming harder to facilitate. A new digital sound system is in the process of being installed, with thanks to the Friends of Wells Cathedral and the Bounce Back Appeal for funding.

The first part of the project is to install all of the new cabling for the replacement sound system (Photo 2). This includes all of the fibre and data cables for the control systems, as well as new speaker cabling after it was found the existing speakers are running on microphone cable. This has given the opportunity to rewire the speakers in a different configuration so that in the future if one set goes down the rest will still work, unlike before where a whole area would stop working. For the first time the Nave Aisles will also have speakers, and the sound system is also now extending to the Lady Chapel along the Quire Aisle roof space (Photo 3).

In all nearly 7000m of new cables are being installed in readiness for the new system to be installed in May. All of the works are being undertaken along pre-existing cable runs within the Cathedral to minimise the impact on the irreplaceable historic fabric. The only slight puzzle at the moment is, now the existing cable holes have been opened up in preparation, how all of the new cables are going to fit (Photo 4).