Syro-Malabar Cathedral in urgent need of repairs

Preston council cannot fund any of the work needed at St Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral

A Preston Cathedral where the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ once served as curate needs urgent repairs.

Wet rot has riddled St Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception, now headquarters of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Britain.

An inspection report found the rot had “taken hold” of the vestry roof in the Grade-II listed Victorian building, following decades of water seepage and gutter failure.

Documents submitted to Preston council said the drainage system had “failed significantly.” Yet the council – which has helped fund St Alphonsa’s repairs in the past – says budget cuts mean it can no longer provide any funding.

Saju Paul, the cathedral property manager told The Tablet parishioners cover the cathedral’s daily running costs, but the “substantial” amount needed for the repairs “far exceed what the community alone can raise.”

The exact costs will remain unknown until a quantity surveyor has assessed the building said Paul, who described the expected bill as “significant” given the scale of necessary repairs, especially to the roof.

Work is urgently required, he said on the cathedral tower, vestry roof, the south porch, and some drainage systems. Extra repairs are needed for the stone pinnacles, the nave roof parapet and stained-glass windows. Paul added: “The heating also needs an upgrade.”

The cathedral has approached several charities for aid. In the past, it has received funding from the National Lottery and Historic England’s Stimulus Fund. Paul expressed concern surrounding “the impact of the new VAT claim cap on the repairs and renovations, which may further complicate our ability to secure the necessary funding.”

Designed by Joseph John Scholes in 1833, St Alphonsa’s was the first church with a spire in Preston. An early example of Gothic revival architecture, it was initially a Jesuit parish called St Ignatius. The building was extended twice, in 1858 – a year before the future poet Francis Thompson was baptised there – and later in the 1880s, the period Manley Hopkins served as curate.

Once part of the Diocese of Lancaster, it has been used by the Syro-Malabar Catholic community since 2015. In 2016, Pope Francis upgraded the church status to a cathedral, appointing Mar Joseph Srampickal as the first bishop.

More than 600 Syro-Malabar Catholics attend Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of St Alphonsa, where Mass is also held daily.

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