More work on historic archway in Warwick

More work is scheduled to take place on Warwick's historic West Gate Arch.
More work is due to take place on Warwick's West Gate archway.More work is due to take place on Warwick's West Gate archway.
More work is due to take place on Warwick's West Gate archway.

Last year the first phase restoration and repairs was started on the iconic 12th century stone archway next to the Lord Leycester Hospital.

Some of the scaffolding was taken down in January and the next phase of work is expected to in March.

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A spokesperson from Warwickshire County Council said: “The first phase of repairs at West Gate is now complete and Warwickshire’s bridge maintenance engineers are planning the next phase of work which will involve reconstructing the tierceron vault located beneath the chapel’s bell tower.

West Gate archway in Warwick.West Gate archway in Warwick.
West Gate archway in Warwick.

“The first phase of work allowed our engineers to closely inspect the vault and found it to be in a much worse condition than anticipated.

“Following consultation with Historic England, Warwick District Council’s conservation officer and the project’s historic buildings architect, the decision was taken to reconstruct the vault in the interest of public safety. This phase of work is anticipated to take 10 weeks and is provisionally programmed to start on the March 4.

“To undertake this work, a temporary structure is required to support the vault while it is taken down and rebuilt.

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“The temporary support structure is being designed such that pedestrians can safely pass beneath the work while the new vault is being built.

“It would not be safe for pedestrians to use the walkway while the temporary support structure is being erected and the existing vault’s stonework taken down so traffic management in the form of three-way temporary traffic signals will be needed for two to three weeks at the beginning of the project so that pedestrians can be safely diverted around the archway.

“The pedestrian walkway will then be reopened and traffic management removed until the final week of the project when the temporary supports are removed.

“A full road closure will again be required on Leycester Place to allow three-way temporary traffic signals to be used instead of the four-way signals which will minimise the disruption to road users.”