Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle, Carlisle, Cumbria, 1967 (b/w photo)

Builder, John Laing and Son Ltd; Photographer, John Laing and Son Ltd; Foreman stonemason, Ted Drinkwater, working at Carlisle Cathedral checking a stone head on the north face of the cathedral. Half its face had been replaced using SBD Certite as the adhesive. This photograph is part of a batch taken by Laing to show restoration work being carried out using SBD Certite. In 1961, N M Phillips, the architect for Carlisle Cathedral started experimenting with the bonding material SBD Certite in the restoration of the cathedral. It was used on all but one of the decorated Gothic windows of the South Clerestory and by the time this photograph was taken, it was being used in the restoration of the north face of the cathedral. By using SBD Certite, Laing stonemasons were able to remove just the weathered surface of the stonework. New stone only two inches deep could be bonded to the old stone saving more of the original fabric of the building and cutting costs by a third. The photograph was published in April 1967 in Laing's monthly newsletter Team Spirit.