William Anelay completes cathedral bell tower project

BUILDER William Anelay has completed a £1.3m tourist attraction at Chester Cathedral’s bell tower.

Funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council the Chester Cathedral at Heights project, allows visitors to take a tour up spiral staircases into the refurbished bell ringing chamber and onto the roof.

William Anelay’s work involved repairing and making safe existing walkways, providing new handrails, repairing worn stone treads, and installing LED lighting.

The project was designed by Chester architect Donald Insall Associates and managed by Turner and Townsend also worked on the project.

Anelay’s site Manager Gary Shea said: “There’s a lot of history here with parts of the cathedral dating back to the 11th Century. The work we’ve carried out will transform the visitor experience and open up previously unseen areas of the cathedral as well as offering brilliant 360-degree panoramic views across the region.

“The biggest challenge during our six months on site has been transporting a carillon, a framework that allows for automatic bell ringing, up the tower. Removed in the 70s, the half ton carillon was hoisted up using a two-tonne mechanised block and tackle within a 35-metre high scaffolding structure erected up the side of the tower.

“It was a tricky operation that was carried out before Christmas 2013. It involved a lot of care and inch perfect manoeuvring to get it into the tower’s bell frame chamber.”