CATHEDRAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT


Over the course of a year the Cathedral welcomes 450,000 people either as tourists or those who use the Cathedral by attending services, concerts, lectures, events, etc.

In order to cope with this and other requirements of the modern age, both in terms of legislation and good practice, over recent decades medieval spaces in and around the Cathedral were put to inappropriate uses and compromises made. Some areas could not be opened up for use by the public or even retained as glorious, tranquil spaces because they had been pressed into service for storage or other temporary usage due to lack of any alternative room.

Wells Cathedral is a hugely significant site. It has been a place of worship and mission for centuries and is the seat of the Bishop. Its historic set of buildings form an unrivalled medieval complex and the Cathedral itself is an architectural gem housing one of the finest medieval art galleries in Europe on its West Front. The Cathedral forms a focus for the community, both locally and regionally, and it has a significant position in the local economy. The musical heritage of the Cathedral stretches back centuries and the Cathedral continues to uphold the unique English Choral tradition.

However the Cathedral and its precincts are medieval structures which were designed to the usage and requirements of the Middle Ages. Those uses have changed radically over the years and modern expectations and regulations have to be applied. In 1995 the Cathedral authorities began to plan for solutions to these problems - the Cathedral Development Project.

The vision has been to open up the Cathedral more - to increase access in every sense of the word. We wish to enable people to visit more parts of the Cathedral; to enable disabled persons to visit all the ground floor areas of Cathedral and precincts; to open up more of the meaning of the place. We wish to provide a better experience for everyone who comes and to provide a proper education resource for children and adults. We have wanted to provide in-door lavatories. We also intend to conserve the fabric of the Cathedral more effectively.

The project was designed as one coherent package with modest new buildings on three sites around the Cathedral, each in a location that has been built on before.

Basically all the phases of the Project have been completed. The first phase was the construction of a new Yard Building which allowed for the demolition of 1950s concrete block buildings in the Masons Yard. Builders, Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd, then built the second phase Friends Building containing the Education and Music Resources and new public toilets. This building won an award from the Somerset Building Preservation Trust.

The third phase, consisting of a combination of new-build and restoration of the old, has seen the beautiful pillared and vaulted medieval Undercroft opened to the public for the first time. An Interpretation Centre has been installed in this space and we have received a major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to assist with this element of the Cathedral Development Project.

The final phase of the work has also been in two parts with both a new-build portion, consisting of a new entry cloister and new spaces for our kitchens, restaurant and shop, and the restoration and conservation of the old. The original Cloister walkway has been cleared and re-opened and the medieval Pilgrims' Porch has been unblocked at both ends and restored.

Whilst the main public spaces have now been completed, restored and opened work continues on a number of smaller linked restoration and conservation projects.

This exciting and major project has provided new facilities for thousands of schoolchildren;dedicated practice rooms for our world-renowned Cathedral Choir; new restaurant and kitchens; new shop and storage spaces; an interpretation area in the medieval Chapter House Undercroft; clearance of the whole Cloister walkway; and reuse of the Pilgrims' Porch for the first time in five hundred years.

Do come and see what we have done to open up more of this glorious Cathedral for everybody.