Lichfield Cathedral

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Lichfield Cathedral needs a bit of work done on it. Some repair here, some restoration there. Some refurbishment, some conservation. Let's see... labour, materials, scaffolding and hoardings. £8million should fix it.

That's right, £8 followed by six zeroes. We're talking about a big job, a very big job - one that will last well into the next decade. You don't after all, restore and conserve unique Herkenrode stained glass windows with a bag of bits from B&Q.

Cleverly named Lichfield InSpires, the project will preserve the cathedral and its treasures for future generations, increase the pleasure they give visitors and provide an educational resource. Summed up in buzzword jargon, it's: conservation, education and interpretation.

Lichfield InSpires was launched by Royal Patron, His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester this spring and contractors started work shortly afterwards. There's now scaffolding on the Cathedral but the disruption to visitors will be minimal. Indeed, people are encouraged to experience the work in progress - a viewing platform on the outside will be available on certain days and one-to-one instruction sessions with the stonemasons have already taken place.

The Dean, the Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, explains that the work is intended to do several things; not just make good, but restore to a standard that will endure for many hundreds of years, to reduce the carbon footprint of the building, to preserve the treasures of the Cathedral and make them and the building accessible to all. He says: "It's a building for worship and many who come initially as a tourist to admire the craftsmanship and the architecture leave finding that they have after all 'done business with God'.

"Continuing into the future, this building's 1,300-year role as a place where all can commune with the Divine is the responsibility of the current caretakers."

Approach the Cathedral from Beacon Street to appreciate the full glory of the West Façade. Going closer reveals its secrets, the figures of saints and kings with the Virgin Mary in the centre with Christ in Majesty above. Look more closely and to the right of Edward III there is a small, grilled opening. You will see more openings as you look along the other figures.

The Dean says: "When people came on pilgrimage to visit the shrine of St Chad they would gather in front of the cathedral and sing psalms. Hidden behind the façade, on a walkway built into the wall, choirboys would sing back to them. Once inside you can't see this passage but a small gallery is used by musicians for certain services."

And the façade was not just a thing of beauty and skill, it was a story. When it was created, the Holy Trinity was the biggest discussion point in Western Europe and this façade was created to say in stone: the reign of Christ starts here and once inside you will achieve a taste of Heaven.

Enter the Cathedral at the front, using the door to the left, and pause to admire the 14^th Century ironwork. This will be made more accessible as part of the project. You are now at the Welcome Desk, where you can pick up a guide, or join a tour (2pm Monday to Saturday, 1.30pm on Sundays). Walk towards the centre to get your first breathtaking view of the cathedral up to the Herkenrode windows.

The Dean says: "The Cathedral was restored by George Gilbert Scott who wanted to say in his work that the glory of God shone through the glory of local skill and local materials."

Inspect the pulpit closely when you pass and spot the Blue John stone. The Quire screen with its musical angels is similarly studded with polished stones, fewer than there were originally as some have been stolen.

"These are the gates into Paradise and are to welcome you into glory not shut you out," says The Dean. "They are the gates of a garden of delight and decorated with strawberries, roses and acanthus leaves. Notice the Minton tiles from Stoke-on-Trent."

At your feet in the Crossing is a compass rose. The glass in the South Transept to your right is by Betton and Eve, 19^th Century glassmakers from Shrewsbury.

To the left, is the Chapter House which houses three of the cathedral's treasures: the Lichfield Angel was discovered when the hydraulic platform was put in the Nave, a wall painting and the St Chad Gospels. Also known as the Lichfield Gospels, the Book of St Chad and the St Teilo Gospels (plus variations thereof), the St Chad Gospels is an 8th Century book which contains some of the earliest known examples of written Welsh. As part of the project, the surviving folios will be displayed better.

You will have passed a pedilavium, the only one in Europe, where the Bishop still washes the feet of modern pilgrims in Holy Week. Above the Chapter House is the library.

Behind the High altar are the Shrine of Saint Chad and the Lady Chapel. The Dean points out that the two end figures of those that look out over the altar are looking in towards the altar here, and that they are both female saints.

The medieval glass of the windows was brought back from the Abbey of Herkenrode (now in Belgium), when that abbey was dissolved, and was installed here in 1803. The Dean says: "Unfortunately, the glass is dirty, the window supports are increasingly unsafe and very soon the glass will have to come out."

A 'Say Goodbye to the Windows' month is planned next year. Do watch out for this, as once out they will not be put back for at least five years. On the outside, it is hoped to remove the protective iron grilles, which are an unsightly green, and to replace them with isothermic double glazing.

As you walk round the cathedral as well as looking up, look down. This cathedral has no crypt. The stones of the floor were laid onto bricks lying directly on the earth. Chief Officer Tim Pain says: "Over time, many have tilted or cracked. In the past, the only way to get them up to repair them was to use a crowbar which chipped the edge of the stone."

You may be lucky enough to come across Dean Baker and his Kerblifter machine, which enables two people to lift a stone without damage for on-going temporary repairs. The whole floor will have to come up at some point, so be prepared in future visits to find parts of the cathedral no-go areas.

Moving outside again, Tim took us up to the viewing platform. Here, we saw the damage caused by musket fire and cannonballs during the Civil War and the damage being done now by mason bees.

Tim says: "As the modern masons work they are discovering the mason marks which may resolve one of the puzzles of medieval buildings - did every mason work independently or did they work in teams?"

As they work, they are also reinventing the skills used hundreds of years ago. The soft Staffordshire stone is being replaced where it is damaged but the old stone will be reused wherever possible.

And so it is that Lichfield Cathedral will be preserved for future generations - quite InSpiring really.

Staffordshire County magazine will monitor progress over the coming years. To keep abreast of what's happening at, in and to Lichfield Cathedral, go to www.lichfield-cathedral.org

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