After nearly five years of beingshrouded in scaffolding, the beautifully restored south walls and turrets ofthe Edgar Tower will soon be revealed! The Edgar Tower is one of the citysoldest structures. This impressive gateway to Worcester Cathedrals CollegeGreen was built in the mid-14th century, replacing an earlier stonegateway built in the early 1200s by order of King John, who is buried in WorcesterCathedral and whose legacy lives on in Magna Carta. It is one of only a fewmedieval Gatehouses that has survived largely unaltered from this period and still houses what is possibly the oldest schoolroom incontinuous use in England, as the Classics Department for the Kings School.
The verypoor condition of the existing structure and the structural fragility caused byearlier phases of repair work, combined with the exposed condition to theprevailing weather from the southwest, led Historic England to add the EdgarTower to its Heritage at Risk register in 2016.
The restoration was carried out bythe Cathedral Works Department under the guidance of the Cathedrals Surveyorof the Fabric. The Archaeological assessment was undertaken by the CathedralArchaeologist and the sourcing of materials by the Cathedrals Master Mason.Replacement stone was selected on a like for like basis and in each case anatural stone closely matched to the existing was selected.
The scaffolding is now being takendown from the south side and the Cathedrals stonemasons have just begun workon the north walls and turrets.
Louise Brennan, Regional Director of Historic England in theMidlands said:
"We are thrilled at the progress that has been achieved at theEdgar Tower. Working in partnership with the team at the Cathedral has been positiveand the essential work has been done to an amazingly high level of skill. Notonly that, it is wonderful to see Worcester Cathedrals former apprenticesleading the repair work. With the scaffolding coming down, Edgar Tower has beenreturned to the streetscape of Worcester as a beautiful, well repaired and safebuilding."
TheCathedral wishes to thank everyone who supported the fundraising campaign tosecure the restoration. The Make Your Mark campaign caught the imagination ofthe local community and all of the 400 new stones have been sponsored andplaced on the Edgar Tower, raising over 30,000. Both local and nationalcharitable trusts awarded very generous grants and Historic England, who isguiding the Cathedral on its strategy for repair, has awarded major support tosecure the restoration of the north walls and turrets. This means that theCathedral will be able maintain the Edgar Tower and ensure that it can beenjoyed and cherished now and in the future.
