For the first time in 38 years, the exterior of Salisbury Cathedral, can now be seen without the presence of scaffolding and now bares ressamblance, according to experts, to how it looked in the 14th Century.
Following a survey of the historic building in 1986, it was revealed that the cathedral was in need of extensive restoration work.
38 years and over £30m later and the scaffolding has finally come down following the completion of the latest phase of works on the east end of the cathedral.
Further restoration work is scheduled to take place in the not-too-distant future to do with the northern cloisters of the cathedral, but these works are not expected to involve the same scale of scaffolding seen during the recent restoration works completed to the east end of the Cathedral or previous projects.
The recently completed restoration work to the east end of the cathedral involved the replacement of 1,100 stones which is double the amount the cathedral’s Heritage works’ team had anticipated, according to Gary Price, the clerk of works at the cathedral.
Several commemorative and memorial stones were also put in, as part of the recent restoration project, including a stone to commemorate the recent accession of King Charles III to the throne, as well as a stone to commerate the contribution of Salisbury’s secret spitfire factory to the war effort during World War II. Members of the public were also able to have stones dedicated to the memory of loved ones as part of a sponsorship scheme.