Union Jack flag icon Canada flag Canada Ireland flag Ireland
Church
Insurance specialisms
Financial advice
Resources
Insurance specialisms
Schemes
Resources
Claims ... Worcester Cathedral

Worcester Cathedral

Restoration of the tower pinnacle at Worcester Cathedral

In November 2021, Storm Arwen hit the UK with severe winds causing damage in its wake. Even buildings that have stood for hundreds of years were impacted. In the early hours of 27 November, the 100mph winds tore part of one of the tower's pinnacles from the Northeast corner of the Cathedral tower. 

It is estimated that the sections of fallen stonework could have been 0.5tonnes in weight and had fallen from a height of more than 30m.  While the north Quire aisle roof would have slowed their fall slightly, there was still considerable impact with the stone vaulting. 

The priority was to ensure the safety of the building. Though serious, the damage was thankfully confined to the aisle. The roof’s ribbed vault had buckled with the impact but did not give way. The hole in the roof could be given a temporary, weather-proof covering to protect the building from further damage caused by the elements.  

Pinnacles sit near the top of the Cathedral tower.

It was Worcester's north-facing pinnacle that was damaged by storm Arwen.

Damage from the outside of the Cathedral.
Damage to the roof above the vaulting.

Restoration timeline

Understanding the customer

Once we knew the building was safe, we could look at what was possible to keep the Cathedral open. With Christmas approaching, this building is a hugely important focal point for so many and had a full schedule of events through December. 

Keen to maximise the use of the spaces that were not damaged, we worked with the Cathedral to plan temporary repairs and a schedule for the full restoration. 

We helped put temporary measures in place so areas such as the nave and cloister could still be used. However, the Quire would need to be closed off altogether, blocking off popular attractions such as King John’s tomb and Prince Arthur’s chantry, but at the very least the event schedule could continue. 

The photograph on the right was taken from Worcester Cathedral's Instagram and shows King John's tomb.  

Preserving Cathedral history

The fact that the arched vault had not given way, demonstrates the strength of the original arch. However, some of the stone ribs had deformed and there was evidence of damage and movement to the vaulting in several areas. There was a possibility of collapse, so temporary support was introduced to stabilise the vaulting. 

We had two options, remove and replace part of the arch and lose the history and heritage that goes with it, or give the arch some permanent support to help it remain in place.

Keen to avoid an unfortunate loss of heritage, we held discussions with the structural engineers and agreed that the vaulted stone ceiling below the roof would not have to be dismantled and rebuilt. Instead, we could repair in situ with additional support provided via a steel frame constructed within the roof void. 

The permanent frame was constructed above the vault. Fixings were secured to the roof above to reinforce its structural integrity. A number of metal hangers were fitted and these, in turn, provided support to a flat metal plate, which was itself fixed to the upper edge of the masonry.

Wider impact

Often with an incident, especially with a heritage building, there is more specialist work required than the damaged area itself. Despite spanning the roof spaces on both sides of the Quire, the organ was not damaged during the incident. It did, however, need to be protected from the ongoing works and be cleaned so any dust could be removed. 

This meant carefully extracting 1,500 of the 3,500 organ pipes and taking them off-site to a specialist. In the meantime, the Cathedral sourced a digital organ for services.

Once repairs to the vault were completed, scaffolding was put back up to reinstall the organ pipes. 

March 2022

Reopening of the Quire.

Once a frame was constructed and the vault reinforced, the Quire was safe enough to reopen and the Cathedral could resume some planned activities.

This was just in time for the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship (CWF) graduation ceremony which celebrates graduates of the programme. 

Run by the CWF and sponsored by Ecclesiastical, the programme covers a range of practical work-based topics from the principles of stone and wood construction to historic building conservation. 

The importance of preserving specialist skills is proven with this very incident.  

As a specialist insurer, we rely on skilled craftspeople who can sympathetically restore historic treasures and these stonemasons were able to help reinstate their own Cathedral pinnacle. They were able to create a new piece of history along the way, to help tell the Cathedral’s story and to pay tribute to the late Queen and mark the coronation of King Charles III. 

Ecclesiastical is very passionate about supporting initiatives like the CWF, University College London's (UCL) Sustainable Heritage Master's Degree and The King's Foundation's new Building Arts programme, helping ensure that we have these traditional craft skills for future generations. 

March 2023

Some unexpected but very welcome guests.

For the second year in a row, Worcester welcomed a pair of peregrine falcons to the city’s skyline.

In 2022, the nesting pair were spotted at nearby St Andrew’s Church, but in March of 2023, they returned to the Cathedral spire – the first time since 2009. 

The pair laid four eggs in a nest box built by the Works Yard team. This meant the restoration of the pinnacle had to be put on hold until the chicks had fully-fledged and left the nest. 

The fluffy chicks could be watched around the clock and around the globe via live webcam footage. A total of 400,000 people tuned in to watch the birds grow. 

The Cathedral had the tough job of picking names based on suggestions from the public. They landed on: 

Mum: Peggy 
Dad: Peter (to mark the Dean's retirement) 
Chicks: Penguin, Penelope, Percie and Mr Lazy (the male who took forever to fledge). 

Completing carving of the new pinnacle

While we waited for the peregrine falcon chicks to fledge, carving of the new pinnacle was underway. 

The damaged pinnacle had been carved in the 1950s and is constructed of several parts. The centrepiece of the repair works is the new pinnacle, crafted by the Cathedral’s team of stonemasons. 

Apprentice stonemasons, Debbie Branford and Alfie Rollett, worked on replacing the cornice stones on the north upper Quire clerestory parapet, cutting out and replacing the damaged cornice stones. 

The new north-facing pinnacle comprises a unicorn and a lion head, crafted by Stonemason Neil Berry, and a dragon’s head created by Master Mason, Darren Steele. 

These are to represent the Royal Beasts and commemorate the Coronation year. The unicorn will have an oak horn made by the Cathedral Carpenter, Dave Skipp. 

August 2023

Gravity-defying scaffolding

Scaffolding reaches the pinnacle for the first time.

In August 2023, the family of peregrine falcons left the nest and we were able to put up the rest of the scaffolding.

Malvern Scaffolding, a local company, were appointed to take on the task. They had to construct levels all the way to 62 metres in height to reach the tower's pinnacle and the very top of the Worcester skyline. 

September 2023

Work could now begin to complete the final stage of repairs, installing the new stonework at the site. 

With the scaffolding in place, the individual pieces could be carefully lifted using a winch. You can watch the team in action in the video to the right. 

The new pinnacle is made of a red sandstone sourced from Hollington quarry in Staffordshire to match the colour and texture of the original.

Watch video here.

The new pinnacle measures 8.8ft (2.7m) tall. You can see it here next to one of the original pinnacles. 

The icing on the cake - laying the last stones

Completion of the works was marked by a 'topping out' ceremony, an ancient tradition whereby the final piece of stone is placed, and the Interim Dean blesses the stonework.

The ceremony took place exactly two years to the day since the damage first happened. Attendees including contractors, stonemasons and clergy, scaled the scaffolding to witness the event which was a proud occasion for everyone involved.

The new pinnacle with its superb carvings and design is a testament to the skill and excellence of our Stone Mason team, and to them, and all our professional advisers we express our appreciation for their dedication and hard work. It is wonderful to see the pinnacle in place after two long years of continual repair works.

Reverend Canon Dr Edwards - The Interim Dean of Worcester
Please accept marketing-cookies to watch this video.
Watch the 'topping out' ceremony above and the complete timelapse video below, courtesy of Worcester Cathedral's YouTube channel.
Please accept marketing-cookies to watch this video.

Special thanks for the hard work and dedication of all those involved, including:

Acanthus Clews Architects (architects and principal designers), Andrew Waring Associates (structural engineers) and Crawfords (loss adjustors).