Lincoln Cathedral In Bid For £12million Lottery Boost

You are never far from a headline as far as Lincoln Cathedral is concerned, and the latest news to eminate from Lincolnshire is that cathedral officials are making a bid for up to £12million of Heritage Lottery Funding.

Lottery funds would help tourism

If the bid is successful, the funds will be used to produce interactive tours, create a learning centre and improve access at the main entrance. Speaking on their behalf, Canon John Patrick said the work would transform facilities at the 900-year-old building, which attracts about 180,000 visitors a year.

He said the "ancient and historic city deserves to be better known", which will be music to the ears of the local tourism chiefs.

Canon Patrick went on to say that the project, known as Lincoln Cathedral Connected, would dovetail with a £20m scheme at the castle. This part of the project includes the creation of a special underground vault that would house Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta.

He added: "This is a really exciting project - and not only for the cathedral but the city and the county as well. The number of visitors to the city could be increased significantly."

Explaining what they hoped to achieve with the scheme, he said: "One of the things we are really interested in doing is making sure people understand the building by using electronic tablets and creating a new interpretation centre.

"We are also putting the ground back to where it was before the Victorians lowered it in the 19th Century to create an open space which will allow people to walk straight in without the need for ramps."

Although there is free entry to the cathedral, a charge of £6.00 is made for adults who take a guided tour of the building with a £1 fee for a child. Work could begin in 2016 and take about five years to complete.

Some interesting facts about the Cathedral include -

•    It costs about £3m a year to run the cathedral, with about £1m being raised from visitors and events
•    In recent years, it has raised extra revenue being used as a set for films, including The Da Vinci Code and The Young Victoria
•    TV shows, including Antiques Roadshow and Scaling Britain, were also filmed there

                                                             http://lincolncathedral.com/