Cathedral statues set for repairs

Repair work includes re-pointing buttresses and walls

Four of Carlisle Cathedral's statues are being removed as part of the ancient building's £100,000 facelift.

The statues of Saints Peter, Paul, John and James above the east window are badly eroded and starting to crack.

They will be winched to the ground on Thursday and moved to a storage place for cleaning and restoration.

It is part of an ongoing programme to restore the building's 14th Century facade, and it is hoped to be complete with scaffolding removed by Christmas.

'Very exposed'

The work includes re-pointing buttresses and walls and replacing stonework with red sandstone quarried elsewhere in the county.

Stonemason John Little said that lowering the statues safely to the ground was a complicated operation.

"We have to put a sling round each of them so they can be taken down without damage.

"Each is a different shape so its quite hard because it involves putting the sling around different parts.

"The statues are very exposed so over the years they have been deteriorating, that's why we are taking them down so they can be looked at and restored."