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Cathedral gets £57,000 grant to investigate leaks

Zoe Applegate
BBC News, Norfolk
John Fairhall/BBC A drone image of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist. It is a stone-built Victorian gothic-style building. The Norwich skyline can be seen in the backgroundJohn Fairhall/BBC
The Victorian gothic-style building is the second largest Catholic cathedral in the country, according to Historic England
Historic England Archive The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist. It is a stone-built Victorian gothic-style building. The cathedral is at an angle on the right of the image with its tower in the middle, and on its left is another stone-built building, part of its precinct. In front of it is a lawn that has shrubs on its edges and above it is a blue sky with white fluffy clouds.Historic England Archive
The Victorian gothic-style building is the second largest Catholic cathedral in the country, according to Historic England

A £57,000 grant has been handed to the country's second largest Catholic church to help spot its most urgent repairs.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Norwich was put on Historic England's Heritage At Risk register last year.

The public body has now given the sum to investigate how increased leaks across the Grade I-listed building's roofs and drainage system have caused problems.

Tony Calladine, Historic England's eastern regional director, said the grant would "help identify and address urgent repairs needed to protect this magnificent building".

Historic England Archive A close-up of the roof timbers of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist. The brown beams are running towards the top of the image and are in front of a plank roof lining. They are resting on a wooden beam on top of a brick built wall. The middle of the beam can be seen to be flaking away and wet, with a damp sodden patch of water in front and seeping down the brick wall.Historic England Archive
The cathedral team shared last year how the landmark's fabric was being affected by increased rain leaks

Hailed as a masterpiece of Victorian gothic architecture, he added the cathedral was "not just an architectural treasure, but a vital part of Norwich's cultural and social fabric".

"The cathedral's role as both a tourist destination and community hub make it essential that we safeguard its future for generations to come."

The landmark, completed in 1910, was said to be England's second largest Catholic cathedral after Westminster Cathedral, according to Historic England.

Last year, diocese staff told how the building was being affected by climate change and its Victorian gutters and downspouts were being overwhelmed by increased rain levels.

Other challenges included a historical lack of maintenance, some poor-quality previous repairs and questionable choices of building material, they said.

Cathedral manager Charley Purves said the funding was an "important first step" in preserving the building.

She said it would also enable "us to better understand the issues the building is facing so that the work required is suitably planned and allows us to look to the future too".

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