DAMAGED TILES IN MAIN AISLE OF CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL

Wanganui Chronicle, 17 January 1948, Page 6

DAMAGED TILES IN MAIN AISLE OF CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL

(P.A.) Christchurch, Jan. 12. A slight settling of the foundations of the outer walls of the Christchurch Cathedral has apparently damaged the tile floor in the main aisle about the centre of the building but there is no suggestion of a serious subsidence that might indicate the canting of any part of the cathedral. The tiling, done more than 50 years ago, was a beautiful job and, with the tiles laid so tightly, it is considered inevitable by Mr. F. J. Ball, who is engaged on repairs, that they would spring if all the over pressure was disturbed even slightly. The damage was first noticed when the cathedral was opened on Friday morning. A large number of the floor tiles in the main aisle were badly cracked and many of them had lifted during the night. The affected area formed a "L” shape on the pulpit side of the aisle, each of the two arms of the “L”-shaped area being about 12 feet long and three feet wide. Concrete under the tiles appeared to be in good order and, as the cathedral was locked at night, vandalism was not the cause of the damage. The cathedral was closed all day Saturday and for yesterday’s service coconut matting was spread over the damaged area. Today Mr. Ball found a slight fracture in the concrete beneath the displaced tiles. Although subterranean subsidences have been the only really feasible explantion for the mysterious springing of the tiles at intervals for many years, Mr. Ball’s discovery is the first evidence of actual movement in the foundations. Any tiny cracks which might have occurred before probably did not show where the tiles lifted, he said. There would be a terrific weight on the foundations on the outer walls of such a massive stone structure and slight movements might occur long after, say an earthquake, and there was of course the normal settling from time to time, even in old buildings. Tiles, such as those in the cathedral, had no mortar between them as bricks did so there was nothing to cushion any change in pressure. If the floor tended to bow, even minutely, such tightly packed shallow tiles wouldl lift breaking the seal beneath. Mr. Ball said that in the north transept, the tiling was "drummy" or sounded hollow, showing that it also was tending to spring and might lift soon. One unusual feature of the tiles lifting on Thursday night was that the lifting and breaking of the tiles was heard, though not seen, by the caretaker. On previous occasions, the tiles have simply been found displaced. Architects questioned could give no definite opinion about the damaged tiles. Over the years, the springing of the tiles has been attributed to the Cathedrals being built on swampy riverbed. Others held that expansion and contraction occurred in sudden extremes of temperature. Some suggested that reverberations of the cathedral organ unseated the tiles. The most ingenious proposition was that the disturbances were related to a rise yid fall of the tides.