Organ blower project
/1999 saw the beginning of a major project to remove the old organ blower from the crypt and to replace it with a smaller, modern one to be located in the Candlemaker's Room. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1999-2000.
It was sadly to be Martin Caroe's, the Cathedral Surveyor of the Fabric, last project for the Cathedral due to his untimely death at the end of the year.
The project, because of the complexity, was broken down into a number of phases:
Removal of the old blower
Installation of new pipe work
Manufacture of new oak cupboard over the low pressure pit in the crypt
Recording of archaeological data
Installation of new blower
A considerable amount of time was spent on planning to avoid disruption to the daily life of the Cathedral. A period of six days, over the August Bank Holiday, was identified as the most suitable to install the motors. In the end only three days were allowed to carry out the changeover.
There were significant logistical difficulties to overcome particularly with the installation of the new blowers in the Candlemaker's Room. A hole had to be cut into the North Wall Pilgrim Steps to gain access to the Candlemaker's Room. One of the blowers weighed just under a quarter of a tonne which necessitated the use of hydraulic lifts as well as a considerable amount of effort to get it into its new home. It was made more difficult because the work had to be done in a confined space.
The work was completed on time, however a fault developed which was subsequentlv traced to a wire being incorrectly fitted. This was caused in part by a misinterpretation of the instructions which were written in German. Once the correct information was received from the German manufacturers the fault was rectified.
After the blower had been running for about twenty hours it suddenly stopped. Fortunately a temporary solution was found whilst the damaged blower was repaired and rewired by Stuart Fothergill, Roger Sayer and Sean Farrell both agree that the improvement brought about by the installation of the new blowers has been quite dramatic. There remains some fine tuning of the system, in particular with regard to the low-pressure flow from the pit. This entails reshaping the profile at the back of the oak cupboard to enable a smooth flow of air.
One of the major benefits of the project is the opening up of a significant part of the crypt which has not been seen for over a hundred years. It is also the oldest part dating back to Gundulf. The removal of the old blower has revealed a bricked-up doorway that leads back under the Pilgrim Steps. Two old windows have also been exposed. Work will now be needed to restore them as well as the render on the North Wall. It is also intended to clear away and record the rubble behind the bricked-up doorway although it will not be possible for this to be used as an additional access to the crypt because the Pilgrim Stairs are built over it.
Martin Strong
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
Keeping the Cathedral standing, warm, lit, beautiful and ready to receive worshippers and visitors is a never-ending task.
