Fury has erupted after an iconic cathedral got a £1million bling-covered makeover, but residents have said the ‘Disney-style’ stained glass windows are ‘horrible’.

Canterbury Cathedral attracts more than a million people a year and the famous entrance Christ Church Gate has been restored in a ‘gaudy’ and ‘awful’ fashion, say locals.

Tudor dynastic coat of arms have been highlighted in brand-new bright colours and golden trim and a bronze statue of Christ has been reinstated, but it has drawn some unfavourable comments.

The 16th-century gatehouse was recently unveiled ‘in all its gold-leaf splendour’ after more than 10 years of careful restoration work.

While history buffs approve of the gate now looking ‘a bit bling’, in keeping with the ‘show off’ vivid style of medieval times, locals have turned their noses up and taken to social media to air their upset.

‘It’s gaudy with those bright colours,’ Rosemary Hill wrote.

Kean Farrelly said: ‘Oh dear. That’s pretty awful. The Cathedral has a Disney-style stained glass window as well. That’s horrible too.’

‘What’s with the bubblegum colours! Awful,’ said Dan Barrett.

Locals are outraged at the ‘bubble gum colours’ on the ‘gaudy’ restoration

‘I think it looked better without the colours,’ added Gill Wyatt.

The reinstalled figure of the ‘Welcoming Christ’ has also come under fire. It had been put up in 1990 after Klaus Ringwald sculpted it to replace the original statue, which was torn down in 1643 during the English Civil War by Puritan Richard Culmer, who smashed it down from a ladder.

But it looks ‘creepy’, according to local Hazel Eames, and ‘an ugly depiction of a loving Christ’ by Tom Clarke. 

However, the chairman of the Canterbury Heritage Design Forum Tim Carlyle came to defend the Gate’s refurbishment, siding with historians in saying it was originally bedecked in colour.

‘I can understand why people might think it looks a bit bling,’ he said.

‘But that’s how things often were in medieval times when it was the fashion to show off bright colours.

‘If you had a heraldic shield, it was usually designed to stand out. But I think the restoration has been a splendid job.’

The Forum’s heritage architect expert, Clive Bowley, agrees, describing the restored gateway as ‘magnificent’. 

Chairman of the Canterbury Heritage Design Forum Tim Carlyle defended the resoration, saying it was a ‘splendid job’

‘I can understand why people might think it looks a bit bling,’ Mr Carlyle added, ‘But that’s how things often were in medieval times when it was the fashion to show off bright colours.

‘In my opinion, this has been a very well-informed and complicated piece of work, which is a credit to the Cathedral’s stonemasons and conservationists,’ Mr Bowley said.

‘The trouble is that people are not used to seeing it colourful and it’s come as a bit of a shock.

‘But that’s how it originally would have been and it will mellow over the years.’

A statement from Cathedral bosses issued earlier this month about the restoration described it as the result of more than a decade of meticulous research, repairs and remodelling.

‘Its unveiling marks a significant moment – both a celebration of the team’s skills and a powerful statement that the Cathedral is continually evolving and proudly preserving its heritage for generations to come,’ they said.

More controversy surrounds the landmark as there has been an application to turn an office inside into a holiday let.

Cathedral bosses were contacted for comment.