At 123 metres, it’s the tallest cathedral in the UK at and was built in 1258, 730 years ago. To celebrate, the Salisbury Cathedral treasury decided to invest in a spectacular lighting scheme, designed to highlight it’s historical architecture.
The building’s previous ground-mounted 2kw floodlights were functional but produced poor colour rendering and light waste due to beam inaccuracy. The Cathedral Treasury appointed Light and Design Associates to design the lighting scheme and Sill Lighting to supply the luminaries with with excellent optics and glare control- past projects have included the Royal Albert Hall and Hexam Abbey.
Commenting on the project, James Morse of Light and Design Associates said, “We chose Sill projectors for the accuracy and quality of the product. The new 70w and 150w luminaires are energy efficient and more accurate in highlighting the architectural features of this iconic building.”
The walls of the tower were lit with 8 narrow beam Sill 490 series Power Projectors, complete with integral control gear and 70w HCI-TS lamps mounted on adjacent roofs. The spire was lit using 8 narrow beam spot Power Projectors with 150w HCI-T lamps, mounted and concealed on the roof parapet of the octagonal base of the spire for a close offset with minimal light pollution. All projectors are fitted with anti glare shields.
Whereas the external lighting of the Cathedral used to be turned off at 10.30pm, the lights on the tower and spire of the Cathedral will now be left on until 1.30am as the accurate beam projectors reduce excess wasted light, allowing the Cathedral to be highlighted as a symbol of faith and local pride for longer periods of time.
Commenting on the completely new exterior lighting, Mark Bonney, Canon Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral said, “We are delighted with the new lighting scheme which reveals an enhanced look, showing the Cathedral’s architecture and architectural features to such great effect and, at the same time, giving the Cathedral a far more uniform approach outside.”
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