Preston’s Syro-Malabar cathedral in need of extensive repairs, council told
An 1830s church, designated as a cathedral by the Pope, is in need of extensive repairs after becoming riddled with wet rot, a report has said.
Following an inspection at St Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Preston, documents submitted to the city’s council this week have revealed that the building’s drainage system had “failed significantly”.
They also said rot had “taken hold” of the vestry roof after decades of water seepage and gutter failure at the Grade II-listed place of worship in Meadow Street.
Plans have been outlined for gutter and floor replacement work at the cathedral, which is also known as St. Ignatius Church, as well as roof and stonework repairs.
Papers accompanying the notice describes the work now planned to restore the building to a “stable and watertight condition”. So far, that includes gutter replacement, improving the capacity for water discharge, replacing some of the slated louvres on the roof and installing new lead flashing.
Deteriorating stonework will also be repaired – and some stone pinnacles removed and rebuilt – while the timber flooring within the tower will be replaced. Meanwhile, the church cross will be re-fixed in position with new stainless steel fitments.
An initial assessment found entire roof timbers in some parts of the building were “saturated and decayed with wet rot”.
The report concluded that all of the inspected areas were showing “some form of problem or decay”, meaning whole roofs may ultimately need to be replaced as opposed to carrying out “numerous localised repairs and treatments,” it warned.
The church was part of the Diocese of Lancaster until 2014, when it briefly closed after the congregation declined.
It reopened the following year to serve local Roman Catholics from the Indian Syro-Malabar community.
Pope Francis designated it as a new cathedral in 2016.
Image from https://taking-stock.org.uk/