A new lighting scheme is set to raise the spirits of worshippers at St George's Cathedral, London. Alison Luke reports.

To the majority of visitors to London St Paul's Cathedral is somewhere not to be missed. Christopher Wren's architectural masterpiece is known and worshipped worldwide as the seat of English religion. But another relatively unknown cathedral just a few miles away in South London has attracted such religious nobility as Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama.

St George's Cathedral in Southwark is comparatively small and undiscovered by the masses but it is one of the country's most significant cathedrals. Opened originally in 1848, it was the first Catholic cathedral to be built in the UK following the Reformation and was designed by the great Victorian architect Pugin. A recent refurbishment has seen a dramatic and flexible lighting scheme installed that highlights the cathedral's architecture to its best.

"The work was prompted by the condemning of the electrical system during a five-yearly inspection," explains Jim Morse, partner with lighting consultant Light + Design Associates. The system had been completed during a 1958 renovation to repair World War II bomb damage. "The brief was to rewire the church and provide a new lighting system," says Morse. "Key requirements of the client were for improved light levels and to create a sense of drama," he adds.

Light + Design Associates was recommended for the project by architect Jonathan Louth following previous sucessful church projects together. Ward Electrical was then selected as electrical contractor by the two firms after discussions with the consulting engineer Gemini Management Services.

The cathedral's heritage plus the importance of the architectural work, from the original Pugin-designs to the 1950s Romilly Craze work, means a Grade-II listing. This meant retaining the period fittings (see ‘Listed lighting', over) and the challenge of rewiring without disturbing the stonework. "The assumption was that having been installed in 1958 good rewireable conduit would have been used, but we found that a lot of the wiring was cast into the fabric," says Morse. This meant careful work from Ward Electrical to redistribute it into discreet areas.

The project completed in late 2005, in time for the congregation to enjoy the full effects for the Christmas festivities.

Heart of the design

The nave (the main central area) of the cathedral is lit from from the upper level clerestory walkway. Here, existing fittings have been directly replaced by downlight PAR56 washlights, minimising any changes needed to the structure.

The roof of the cathedral is uplit by 200 W halogen elliptar fittings from the clerestory level.

Altared images

The new lighting design has made the altar a prominant and imposing feature in the cathedral. The high altar is bathed in white light from 575 W Source 4 par washlights installed at the clerestory walkway.

The statues carved high above the altar have been brought to life by 100 W tungsten halogen spotlights that are fitted with spread lenses.

Central to the altar area is the spectacular East window. To highlight this stained glass feature for evening sermons it is lit externally by a 1 kW Sill floodlight mounted at high level on an adjacent building.

Spreading the light

In the side pews at either side of the nave, existing pendant fittings have been updated to provide a more even spread of light. The original fluted glass shades have been covered with spun aluminium reflectors and fitted with 240 W tungsten halogen lamps to provide downlighting. Dimmable compact fluorescent tubes provide uplighting to highlight the ceiling architecture. These are on separate control circuits to enable full control.

Scene setting for sermons

The client wanted a flexible lighting system for stage-managed events and concerts. To cater for this each of the areas in the chancel, such as the choir seating, pulpit and altar are individually lit. Each lighting circuit can be altered and lights dimmed from a touchscreen master controller in the cloister. From here, the church deacon controlling the system has views into the cathedral through a side chapel.

Listed lighting

Part of the Grade II listed building requirements was that the decorative 1958 period light fittings be retained. These were modified over an eight week period by specialist firm LB Lighting based on drawings provided by Light + Design Associates.

To minimise fixing issues, the lighting design enabled fittings largely to be remounted in the same positions.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor