The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile
22 Binney Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 5BQ
The Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile
About the project
PBC were instructed to undertake a survey of The Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile, Duke Street, London, to report upon its general condition and to advise upon repairs required to the main building, external structure, fabric and services.
The Cathedral consists of four separate Grade II listed properties which have been adjoined to form the church ‘building’. The areas PBC were able to inspect showed that the building is in a reasonable condition, however requires a full and detailed programme of repair, replacement and renewal of parts of the building fabric to ensure that this condition remains.
The church resides upon a busy one-way system which prohibited the use of elevation platforms and hoists. Consequently, inspection of the facades was undertaken from ground level only, or where suitable vantage points were available through opening windows internally. The remaining ‘high level’ areas were surveyed using aerial photography.
Whilst the building is predominantly watertight, a prolonged lack of maintenance to the exterior has given rise to significant issues of dampness and damage to the brickwork. The scale of the building in terms of the amount of facing brickwork means that an otherwise straight forward repointing and brick repairs programme will be a more onerous undertaking.
Instruction
To report upon the repair and restoration works required to bring the cathedral back into serviceable use and advise upon the longer term strategy for the repair and restoration of the external building fabric across the next 15 years.