Historic Peterborough Cathedral walls remain ‘at risk’

The 900 year old Precinct Walls have been on English Heritage’s register for a number of years, despite thousands of pounds being spent to maintain and repair them.

Laurel Court, an early 18th century house adjacent to the cathedral is also listed.

Canon Tim Alban Jones, Vice Dean at Peterborough Cathedral said: “Anyone who has enjoyed a walk through the Cathedral Cloisters will know what a wonderful sight the ancient Precinct walls are, showing tangible traces of the Cathedral’s history.

“In places they follow the line of the old Saxon fortified settlement and parts of the wall are over 900 years old, pre-dating the current Cathedral.

“The Precinct walls have been on the Historic England At Risk Register for a number of years now. They are mostly built of coursed rubble and are prone to falling and require constant maintenance and repair. These things are of course expensive and last year £70,000 was spent on just one stretch of wall, to protect it from water ingress.

“I’d encourage anyone to come and take a look and see these treasured relics from our shared history.”

The register describes the walls as: “Parts of the medieval precinct wall of the Cathedral are vulnerable to water penetration and stone decay, and in some places have suffered from later stone and brick re-facings. Repair to those parts of the precinct wall within the control of the Dean and Chapter are being progressed but other parts still remain in poor condition.”

Laurel Court is described as: “An early C18 house adjacent to the remains of the cloister at Peterborough Cathedral. The building is suffering from structural problems and failure of its modern flat roof covering. The building is occupied and maintained, but in need of comprehensive structural and other repairs. Roof repairs carried out during winter 2018-9. Discussions continue.”

This year’s Heritage at Risk Register was revealed this week, and along with the Cathedral there are 22 other buildings and locations in Peterborough listed.

They include Wothorpe Farmhouse, The Church of St Pega in Peakirk and the Church of St Stephen in Etton.

For more information, visit www.historicengland.org.uk