Churches & Cathedrals

Bernard Feilden was an outstanding leader in the post-war conservation movement. St Paul's Cathedral, St Giles' High Kirk in Edinburgh, York Minster and Norwich Cathedral, all complex buildings, owe their continuing power to inspire in part to the courage and skill of Feilden and his partners in the firm he created, Feilden and Mawson of Norwich, London and Cambridge…There was a dynamism about Feilden's leadership rare in the world of ecclesiastical conservation. He excused his late arrival at a meeting of York Minster Chapter by explaining that the tides were adverse as he sailed his inflatable dinghy from the north Norfolk coast. His engineering skill in driving a vital fire-lift through the Wren staircase to reach the Whispering Gallery at St Paul's might lead to raised eyebrows in today's heritage world, but has certainly saved lives. When he lost his left eye in a shooting accident, he used the compensation to capitalise his firm…Feilden felt that cathedrals require a response today as courageous as that which the architects, workmen, citizens and church people had shown when their dreams rose to the skies in stone. He did not hesitate to say (to meet the criticism of purist conservationists): "The cathedral gives the orders". By that he meant using the most modern methods, as the first builders had used the latest techniques of their day.

Sir Bernard Feilden: Dynamic architect who led the post-war conservation of British cathedrals

Nowich Cathedral is one of the finest sights in Norfolk, but without the expertise of Sir Bernard Feilden, the spire as we know it today may not exist. In 1962 it was in a poor state of repair, prompting one authority to suggest it should be pulled down and rebuilt.

Sir Bernard's reaction? "Not on your life!" He set about strengthening the spire by inserting stainless steel wires into the horizontal joists, a solution he predicted would be good for 100 years. The first time he climbed the outside of spire it was swaying in the wind and he felt sick. Later he climbed it with no safety equipment in just four minutes. This restoration of the tower and spire was just one of many projects worked on by Sir Bernard during a long and distinguished career.

Extract from Obituary by Mark Nicholls 17 November 2008