Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a living Church, a designated World Heritage Site, and one of the most celebrated religious buildings in the UK.

In early 2000, as part of an initiative to ensure the 750 year old building was equipped to meet the increasing demands associated with a top visitor attraction, the Abbey decided to update its communications infrastructure, installing a new server and supporting cabling network.

The Challenge

As one of the UK’s most prominent tourist attractions, work on the new installation required meticulous project management skills.

The infrastructure needed to not only meet the current communication needs of the Abbey, but also build in flexibility for any future moves, changes and additions. Furthermore, any work had to conserve the aesthetics of the site to ensure that the visitor experience was not diminished, while causing as little disruption as possible to the daily working life of the Abbey.

Work had to be scheduled around the Church’s daily pattern of worship, which included stopping at hourly intervals for prayer.

Solutions Delivered

ISG technology was responsible for laying a new cabling infrastructure throughout the Abbey and its associated buildings.

Working in partnership with Siemens Communications Limited, one of the UK’s leading telecommunications suppliers, ISG installed a full voice and data cable network, incorporating a copper and fibre-optic backbone. To do this the team had to pass through cellars, under ancient flagstones and over rooftops. An extension point was even installed at the seat used by Her Majesty the Queen on State occasions.

The cabling network was designed to support a new Realitis DX server, providing 180 digital and analogue extensions in the Abbey and its adjoining historic buildings including the Choir School, Dean’s and Canon’s residences, offices and shops. During the deployment, ISG’s experience of working in specialist buildings of historical importance, as well as its familiarity with the Abbey, enabled the team to be sympathetic when dealing with any problems that arose during the project, such as having to pass cable through the Abbey’s 300 year old walls.

Successfully completing the installation without impacting on the Abbey’s day-to-day activities, ISG was commended for its friendly and professional approach and the expert capabilities of both the project management team and installation crews.

Please click on the following link to download the Westminster Abbey case study as a PDF.