William Walker

He's better known as the Winchester Diver. This may be hard to see, but the east end of Winchester Cathedral is definitely leaning. No big surprise there, given that it was originally built upon marshland using wooden foundations. The water came up and the stone went down....



So how was it stopped from sinking further?



William Walker spent six years shoring up the waterlogged underbelly of the cathedral. Diving into the complete darkness of murky water wearing a really heavy suit, he used over 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks. Only then could the groundwater be safely pumped out, and the walls restored by conventional bricklayers.



It was certainly a group effort, but Walker was the sole diver in the project. This statuette honors the crucial role he played. Quite appropriately, it stands in that leaning east end....