Maysand has won a contract worth £1.1 million for work to refurbish the catholic cathedral of Sheffield.

As part of a major restoration project, Maysand will install a new stone floor and heating system in the grade II listed 19th century Cathedral Church of St Marie.

While the floor is up the cathedral has relocated to a nearby former hair salon where a pair of confessional booths have been installed in a storeroom which, until recently, housed shampoos, straighteners and styling creams. Daily services and confessions will be held there while Maysand get on with the project which is scheduled to be completed next winter.

The internal work also includes the installation of 21st century lighting and audio systems, as well as the relocation of some of the church’s treasured historic effigies, including that of Fr Pratt, the priest who worked hard to get the cathedral built in the 1840s. He died before its completion aged just 38, and, though his body was originally buried in Rotherham, it was secretly dug up and reburied in the cathedral by one of the stonemasons.

Externally, one of the most noticeable changes will be a new ‘Planar’ glass canopy, which will span the whole of the West End, from the entrance to the Norfolk Chambers. This will make this entrance much more of a focal point for the cathedral.
The entire project represents one of the biggest changes in the history of the cathedral, which was opened in 1850 and built at a cost of £10,500.

Once the existing floor slab is removed it will be replaced with a limecrete structure — a material that is more environmentally friendly and breathable than traditional cement-base concrete.

Bryn Lisle of Maysand says: “The work will make a significant difference to the cathedral when omplete. Obviously, taking up the existing floor and replacing it is a substantial undertaking in its own right. We will be installing underfloor heating and laying York stone to create a new paved floor which will give the church a completely different look.

“We have worked with limecrete in historic churches before and will draw on that experience for this project. Limecrete was the preferred option over cement-based concrete because it is a more breathable and lightweight alternative. It has clear advantages for use on historic buildings like the cathedral.

“We have also conducted some research recently which shows it is more environmentally friendly option too.”