Winchester Cathedral Art and Exhibitions
SUMMER EXHIBITION AT WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL
This year Winchester Cathedral is celebrating the work of three heroes, each of whom played pivotal roles in saving the Cathedral from collapse 100 years ago; William Walker the Diver, Francis Fox the Civil Engineer and Thomas Jackson the Architect. The Summer Exhibition Danger, Decay and the Diver: Saving the Cathedral 1905 – 1912, which opens on 31 May, looks back at how the Cathedral’s foundations looked set to bring down the Cathedral and how an incredible conservation project kept the Cathedral standing.
The building of Winchester Cathedral began in 1079 and according to records its foundations gave cause for concern from the very beginning, as below the surface there were deposits of gravel and peat. That peat was compressed as the weight of the walls began to bear down on it and in 1107 the central tower collapsed.
Architects examined the foundations in the 18th century but little action was taken. It was not until the turn of the 20th century that the Cathedral reached a critical state; gaping cracks had developed internally, plaster was falling from the vaults and stonework had crumbled from the west front. In 1905 the Cathedral Architect John Colson advised that the problems could no longer be ignored. The Dean and Chapter sought advice from T. G. Jackson, the Diocesan Surveyor, who in turn consulted Francis Fox, a well respected engineer who helped investigate the problem. Exploratory trenches were dug outside the east end of the Cathedral where they discovered the foundations of the Norman Cathedral sloped steeply eastwards towards the main channel of the River Itchen and that the peat deposits above the gravel were deeper. A solid gravel platform existed but it was up to 24ft below ground. They agreed that the Cathedral foundations needed to be underpinned with concrete and brick right the way down to the gravel.
As teams dug trenches and tunnelled under the foundations groundwater welled up from the gravel and by early 1906 only one of the trenches had been completed. There were concerns that using a stronger pump might draw out solid material from under the Cathedral walls and cause further subsidence, and the pump they were using was being overcome.
Fox worked out that if the pumping was stopped the water would rise to 13ft, enough for a diver to remove the remaining peat and place in position bags of concrete. Within a week two divers were procured from the civilian diving firm but after only a few months only one, 36-year-old William Walker, remained and continued to work at the Cathedral until 1911.
The preservation of Winchester Cathedral took more than underpinning, vaults were repointed, ribs were re-set, and a major restoration of the west front took place. Initially a budget of £4,000 was suggested but more and more work was needed the final bill came to a massive £113,000. By October 1907 expenditure exceeded income to such an extent that the works had to be partially suspended and many men laid off. The Dean appealed to the nation, reminding people that Winchester Cathedral was a national shrine, the ‘burial place of kings’. A National Pageant was held in 1908 in order to raise pubic awareness and funds, Wintonians dressed up in historical costumes and re-enacted scenes from the city’s past. But ‘Diver Bill’ proved to be the greatest fund-raising asset of all. His face appeared in countless press photographs and postcards. Without doubt he was the key figure in the operation, between 1906 and 1911 he laid 25,800 bags of concrete, 114,900 concrete blocks and 900,000 bricks!
By September 1911 the diver’s work was done. Chapter presented him with a silver rose bowl. On St Swithun’s Day, 15th July, 1912 King George V and Queen Mary visited Winchester for a Service of National Thanksgiving. The Archbishop of Canterbury preached the sermon and praised the ‘trio of redoutable men’ who had saved the cathedral: Thomas Jackson, Francis Fox, and, ‘for [his name] must be added, the working diver, William Robert Walker.’
William Walker died during the great Spanish ‘flu pandemic, on 30th October 1918 and was buried at Elmers End cemetery, Beckenham.
Danger, Decay and The Diver: Saving the Cathedral from 1905 – 1912 runs from 31 May – 31 August. In addition to the exhibition a number of supporting events and activities will be taking place throughout the three months. The Cathedral will be holding a family fun weekend on 26 & 27 July which will include activities such as creative workshops and face painting for children, a market, large model railway, Edwardian costumes, a 1912 traction engine, and steam organ, held in the historic Inner Close. Weekly tours looking at William Walker will take place at 2pm every Tuesday afternoon from June – August and a short lecture series begins in June.
For more information about the exhibition and these supporting events please visit www.winchester-catherdral.org.uk <http://www.winchester-catherdral.org.uk/> or call the Cathedral Office on 01962 857200.