Issue 36 2023 - Journal - Page 36
Ely Cathedral shines
bright with Pharos
Ely Cathedral is located in the picturesque city of Ely in East Cambridgeshire. The site can be
dated back to AD 763, when it began its life as an abbey church built by St Etheldreda. The
current building dates from 1083, and Ely was raised to cathedral status in 1109.
The flexibility of the external system is important as it
allows the Cathedral to use colours and dynamic lighting
to mark special occasions or events, such as red, white
and blue for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, or the colours
of the liturgical calendar. The previous lighting allowed
for only a single colour. In addition, the new system has
removed the need for someone to change the lighting
manually when required, which incurred time and cost.
As part of the Church of England, Ely Cathedral is
committed to being carbon neutral by 2030. To help
achieve this, the lighting at Ely Cathedral is currently
being upgraded to a more energy-efficient and sustainable
system.
While the Cathedral is primarily a place of worship, it is
also an important heritage attraction, a venue for music
and events, and an occasional location for filming. It was
therefore key to ensure that any new lighting scheme was
capable of showing the architecture off to its full potential,
while supporting a range of uses and enhancing the
Cathedral’s daily round of worship. The new system will
reveal more of the detail and beauty of the building while
being less visually intrusive.
Light Perceptions worked exceptionally well with the
Cathedral to obtain the permissions needed. These are
especially exacting for a Grade I listed building governed
by the Church of England’s regulatory system.
To deliver the control aspect of the exterior lighting
design, Pharos Architectural Controls was selected
by Light Perceptions. A Pharos TPC (Touch Panel
Controller) is now used by the Cathedral, offering a
customisable 4.3” touch screen with a single Power-overEthernet (PoE) network connection. The touch screen
interface allows Ely Cathedral to create multiple pages of
controls and configure their appearance to provide
immediate visual feedback.
The work has been split into phases, with phase 1 focusing
on the exterior of the Cathedral’s Octagon Tower.
Light Perceptions, specialist lighting consultants for
historic buildings, were appointed to the project. Their
brief was to remove the existing flood lighting and design
a scheme that was flexible and controllable while offering
higher levels of energy efficiency.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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