But finally tomorrow a "topping out" ceremony will be performed high above the church floor to mark the end of a rescue and repair project that began in 1986, and before Christmas the scaffolding that has wreathed the cathedral for decades will be gone.
The cathedral's clerk of works, Gary Price, said it had been a "great honour and a privilege" to have been a part of the huge repair programme.
"By mid-November all traces of the scaffolding that has made its way around the building for the last 37 years will be gone and the cathedral will stand in glory as it did in the 14th century after the spire was added," he said.
The project began with a survey by the then clerk of works, Roy Spring, when he noted that stonework was in a dangerous condition and major work was required.
A huge fundraising appeal was launched and since then the stonemasonry, glazing and maintenance teams have been working their way around the building, most often using methods and skills that their medieval forebears would recognise.
Tomorrow's ceremony will involve Kenneth Padley, canon treasurer of the cathedral, clambering up scaffolding to bless a cross that sits at the east end.
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