The contract covers the replacement of lead on Cathedral’s Southeast Transept roof.

The contract win continues Norman & Underwood’s proud history of recent restoration work at the Cathedral.  The company undertook work on the roof of the Corona Chapel, which is topped by stone pinnacles known as Becket’s Crown, in 2001 followed by the South Aisle roof in 2003.

The contract is the company’s third and largest to date in recent years at Canterbury and is the first phase of a £7.5 million programme of roofing repairs, which is a major element of a £30 million building conservation programme launched in 2006.

The project will require the company’s craftsmen to replace 450 square metres of lead on the cathedral’s Southeast Transept roof.  Norman & Underwood will also carry out restoration work on the roof timbers.

Over thirty tonnes of sand-cast lead sheet will be stripped from the cathedral roof and all the old lead will be taken to Norman & Underwood's Leicester headquarters for traditional re-casting then returned to the cathedral roof in re-cast sheet form.

Craftsmen will use many of the same tools and methods as the original builders, whilst also employing the latest modern conservation techniques, and will also be providing skills training to the Cathedral’s own lead-workers.