Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage supports Portsmouth Cathedral’s conservation works.

Portsmouth Cathedral are so pleased to have been awarded a grant from the ‘Heritage Stimulus Fund’, part of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund from the government aimed at helping organisations through the difficult circumstances present because of the coronavirus pandemic.

We are one of 445 heritage organisations receiving a financial boost from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage, ensuring we can keep our doors open and support those working within the sector. The grant will allow Portsmouth Cathedral to complete crucial works on both our North Quire roof, and the decorative ‘finials’ which can be found on the two towers towards the West end of the building.

Earlier in the year surveys were completed across the roofs, and the north quire aisle roof, part of Charles Nicholson’s additions to the Cathedral, was identified as requiring essential works. The replacement of crumbling concrete and worn-down asphalt would be needed to reduce the buildings vulnerability from the elements. Work will be made to improve the discharge of rainwater, improve flashing between the different parts of the building and provide longevity for this area of the Cathedral. 

Alongside this, some of the newer parts of the building are also in need of attention. On the west-end towers, completed in the early 1990’s, decorative ‘finials’ will also be receiving attention as part of the funding. Placed on top of our towers, these ball shaped pieces have severe cracking from the lead through their timber cores. Teams will be removing the ‘finals’ for further inspection off-site, in the meantime scaffolding used for the works will be utilised to conduct further surveys on the towers and replace any lead as necessary.

This is the second grant Portsmouth Cathedral will receive from Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. In October we announced a grant that will support of core operating costs until March 2021 as well as a programme of work to improve the overall visitor experience to the Cathedral, and improve our commercial operations and financial resilience as we head towards our centenary celebrations in 2027.