Leicester Cathedral prepares to reopen after restoration

A new stone floor has been laid that is level throughout

Finishing touches are being made to a city cathedral that has been undergoing a huge restoration project.

Work has been taking place at Leicester Cathedral - the burial site of King Richard III - since January 2022.

The interior work is now nearing completion and services are expected to resume on 26 November.

The whole project, called Leicester Cathedral Revealed, had a budget of £12.7m

Work has taken place to restore and conserve the cathedral's stonework, windows and ceilings over the past 21 months.

A new stone floor has been laid that is level throughout and has energy-efficient underfloor heating.

Services are expected to resume at the cathedral on 26 November

Architect James McCosh said the building was a mixture of medieval and Victorian construction and came with some challenges.

"The South wall, on to Cathedral Gardens, is entirely medieval," he said.

"It leans by about 12 inches because the roofs had slowly pushed it out.

"The Victorians did lots of rebuilding and in numerous phases.

"You can see as you walk around the building, as you look at old documents, how it has changed and evolved."

Mr McCosh said the building was a mixture of medieval and Victorian construction

The building's previous heating and electrical system was installed in 1926 and had not worked property for months before the cathedral closed.

Mr McCosh said this was unlikely to be the last time the building was renovated.

"In 100 years' time we'll have another go as people's needs change," he said.

The cathedral said visitor numbers had increased ten-fold since the tomb of King Richard III was installed

Work outside of the main cathedral building will continue until summer 2024, including the completion of a new building to be used as an exhibition and learning space.

Some unexpected discoveries have been made during the construction including more than 1,000 skeletons and a Roman altar base.

The broken altar base was discovered in what would have been the basement of a large Roman building

The whole project, called Leicester Cathedral Revealed, was given a budget of £12.7m.

The cathedral said visitor numbers had increased ten-fold since the tomb of King Richard III was installed, which made the work more urgent.