BLACKBURN Cathedral’s ‘iconic chairs’ are getting a special facelift.

The £88,000 refurbishment of the intricately designed stackable chairs is in the hands of craftsman Paul Case.

Paul, who runs Osbaldeston business Paul Case Furniture, has been tasked with renewing the cathedral’s 400 nave chairs The 1960s beechwood chairs are of an unusual design which allows them to be both stacked and assembled as pews.

The innovative design is the same as the chairs used in the St George’s Chapel of Windsor Castle.

Paul has been tasked with taking each of the chairs apart into 30 pieces, sanding each part, reassembling and spraying.

He and his team have been working on just a handful of chairs at a time to avoid leaving the cathedral without seating. So far, 110 chairs have been refurbished.

He said: “The chairs which have not been done appear a bit tired at the moment. They are an incredibly cunning design which means you can link them together or stack them.

“They need to be taken apart so it is intricate but it will also improve the chairs structurally. It will look incredible when it is finished.”

Many of the chairs have remembrance plaques on them. As part of a church appeal, supporters have been donating £210 per chair as part of new plaque installations.