Restoration work on Chichester Cathedral may have to stop.: Extensive work is being carried out to strengthen the foundations and walls of Chichester Cathedral, Sussex, to ensure that the structure is safe from the risk of collapse. The rate at which funds are being raised for the repairs, costing £40,000 a year, is now insufficient for the completion of the full 20 year restoration programme. The Dean, the Very Rev. Walter Hussey,said at a press conference yesterday that the work might have to stop in 1971 because of lace of money. Recent discoveries show that the original £600,000 target will not be enough. Out of £200,000 estimated to be raised by March, £151,000 has already been spent. The fire which damaged the original church in 1187 caused weaknesses which led to the collapse of the central tower in 1861. Some of the weakness still exists and is being dealt with in the present work. Poor foundations and drainage and the weight of the stonework are pushing the main walls outwards, as disclosed in a survey by Mr. Robert Potter, the Cathedral architect, and E.H.W. Gifford and Partners, consulting engineers. Photo shows a box girder in 4ft. thick reinforced concrete being built under one of the principal 15th century buttresses of the cathedral. The box will be extended to form new foundations.
Photo measures 8.25 x 10 inches.
Photo is dated 1-18-1968.
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