A FIRM of Ledbury architects has been commissioned to produce a survey report on every cathedral in England.

The Bye Street-based practice of Stainburn Taylor has been commissioned by English Heritage to carry out its Cathedral Fabric Survey 2009.

And this job means a lot of hard work for the firm, as the survey covers every Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedral in the country, 61 in total.

Its results will be used to allocate more than £1m in grants for urgently-needed repairs.

The survey follows one undertaken by English Heritage in 1991, which resulted in the setting-up of the Cathedral Grants Scheme.

"It's due to be completed by the end of May this year," said partner Ian Stainburn. "We won't have to visit every one, but we will have to compile a report on each one and, from the information we're given, decide which ones to visit for further inspections. We will probably end up going out to about 20 of them."

Russell Walters, head of operations at English Heritage, said: "We are delighted to have appointed Stainburn Taylor after a competition which saw 10 organisations bid for the work.

"Stainburn Taylor came out as one of the two top tenders and were then invited to interview. After the interview, we appointed them as they had the necessary skills and people to undertake the work."

Stainburn Taylor has had plenty of practice with ancient buildings, as the business specialises in repairing and converting them.

And Mr Stainburn has just retired from the post of architect at Gloucester Cathedral, which he has held for the past 11 years.

During his time there, he has worked on a great variety of projects, including the restoration of the tomb of King Edward II.

"It was the right time for me to leave," he said. "It's been absolutely wonderful and a great privilege for me to work on the cathedral."