THE second stage of restoration of the Cathedral of St Michael and St John has begun with works on the exterior brickwork in the original part of the building.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now that work on the bell tower is complete, stone mason Ron Lodewijks and his small team from Stone Restorations, based in Rylstone, are moving along Keppel Street repairing damaged sections of the walls.
He estimates restoration work will take around 18 months. He has also been working on two stone heads in the Keppel Street doorway.
One is currently being repaired and Mr Lodewijks will also carve a second head in stone to match the original.
He is also cutting out the damaged old hood mould over the door and replacing it.
“It’s a process that takes a lot of time,” Mr Lodewijks said.
“For me it’s really important to match the original design as much as possible.”
Mr Lodewijks said the original wall has not sustained quite as much damage as the bell tower. It is slightly lower down and the bell tower has protected it a bit from the weather.
The team will also maintain the more modern additions to the cathedral.
Mr Lodewijks has already spent two and a half years on restoring the cathedral. He worked on Goulburn Cathedral for seven years and said church restoration was 90 per cent of his trade.
A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst said a lot of damage has been done to the structure of the original old building – the bell tower is only one small portion.
She said Stage II of the project will also include work to address water damage on the inside of the cathedral. The parish will be consulted before a decision is made on what work will be done inside the cathedral.
“We will decide what can be done with the budget we have,” the spokesperson said.
However, it looks like the foundations for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (formerly the nun’s chapel) will need to be replaced.
When the chapel was demolished and redone many years ago, the original timber floors were pulled up and concrete laid.
Consequently, dampness coming up through the floor is a big problem. It seems likely the floor will need to be taken out and replaced with timber to allow the space to breathe. Cosmetic work will be done to the building's interior during stage two of the project, along with landscaping.
The amount of concrete surrounding the cathedral has also blocked off any ventilation which has added to the damage caused to the cathedral.
“All this work will allow the cathedral to stand for another century,” Mr Lodewijks said.
