European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pum Niino cd Nuuanu 9pdiiudi flip ult u it Dilall i cathedrals saving them will Cost millions editor s note they have stood since the age of chivalry eight centuries or More and they Are Sho Wing their age. Many of the Church of England a cathedrals scattered across the Countryside Are crumbling in sad need of repairs. But the kinds of repairs that ate needed will Cost millions or dollars Money that is not in the coffers. For the first time the cathedrals have appealed to the government for help. By Maggie Jackson a associated press Brian Eacock Shook his head As he clambered Down from a scaffold stretching nearly to the vaulted ceiling of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester England Quot another emergency Quot said the Cathedral s clerk of works his dark hair powdered with the dust of antique Stone. A worshipper happened to notice a Stone working Loose 70 feet above but Eacock fixed it in time. Quot we were Lucky it could have dropped Quot he  might drop tomorrow the red Sandstone Cathedral perched elegantly. Quot above the River Severn in Western England needs $20 million in repairs Over the next 1s years Church officials says.1 Worcester is not alone. The Church of England has found that half of its. 42 cathedrals will need at least $140 million by the year 2000 to repair. Damage caused by acid rain natural decay and poor Victoran restoration work. Famed edifices such Scanterbury or. London s St. Paul s survive Well. Those such As Worcester Gloucester and Hereford far off the beaten path in Western England Are in pressing need. Last summer Cathedral caretakers conceded that individual donations marmalade sales and vicar s teas cannot preserve the buildings. Banding together. For the first time they appealed to the. Government. V. A Quot unless such  Given there is a real danger of our Cathedral buildings and artefacts falling into a spiral of decay Quot archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie wrote in August to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The government on nov. 8 promised to make $23 million available Over the next three years.1. A a. Eacock and his craftsmen meanwhile Ai e planning How to Bandage the a. Worcester Cathedral s weak spots. A in the 11 the Century Bishop Wulsten. V began to erect the present Church on the site of an earlier Cathedral founded by h = Benedictine monks Wulstan s crypt has j. Worn Well but the legacies of the victorians 1 haunt Eacock and his Crew. A. A a a during massive restorations Between a a 1  5 and 1870, workers defaced 7 x percent of Worcester with new Stone and replaced  and statues it wide and nut. .1 he Square Centra Tower  scraped Down several inf bos. O v a Rothove decay. A a. A a t lit1 work saved the great  \ a a. It s a Sliech to a Gantly mod. By song swirl Worcester s Dean the very Rev Robert Jeffery a portly Man with Ben Franklin glasses and Tufts of untamed White hair. Quot they were tempted to do Only the things that showed and they used some technologies which proved not to  some problems come from the natural decay of Stone slate Timber and Lead but the victorians caused others by for instance refacing Walls with poor Quality store bound to the original Walls with Iron Damps that have rusted expanded and burst the facing Quot Worcester s been a holding operation for years Quot Eacock said. So far an $8 million crisis Appeal has. Raised $7 million. A flying buttress has been rebuilt and workers have begun rebuilding the North porch. Each time scaffolding goes up new problems Are detected. Quot we keep losing track of the program Quot said Eacock who has spent 22 years at Worcester. Quot we have a goal then something else comes  victorian work is also a problem at Gloucester. Quot what they chose just has t stood the Tost of time,&Quot.said Dean Kenneth Jennings w to launched an Appeal fast december iof $8 million. A a  cathedrals have been overhauled every 100 to 150 years and All the major ones were restored Between 1860 and. A ��1880,.= v a a a a a. Quot it w As a mixture of scholarship and. Need Quot that led to the enthusiastic and o ten a Good work,.su�?Td Alan Rome the  strips Magar Fie january 17, t99i