EXETER CATHEDRAL has secured almost all of the latest £5.5-million tranche of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Chapter was awarded £4.3 million towards its development appeal to refurbish the Grade I listed building and transform the east end, including the building of a new cloister gallery that will link the main cathedral with the medieval chapter house and Pearson buildings (News, 13 August 2021).

Half the grant will be put towards the refurbishment, half towards the reconfiguration, which will also include an exhibition of its library and archives collections, currently inaccessible; an interpretation of 50 medieval misericords — one of two complete series from before 1290 that survive in England; accessible facilities; and new activities such as a Domesday project and “Riddler Residencies”, based on the Exeter Book (News, 21 January).

The Dean of Exeter, the Very Revd Jonathan Greener, said: “Our 2020s Development Appeal project is focused on making this wonderful building and its fascinating collections more accessible, welcoming, and engaging for a wider range of people. This grant means we can move forward with confidence to deliver an innovative new programme of events and activities, along with some of the most significant improvements to our visitor experience in over a hundred years.”

The second largest grant from this round of Heritage Fund payments — £641,200 — was awarded to Birmingham Cathedral for “Divine Beauty”, a project to conserve stained-glass windows by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and Birmingham resident Edward Burne-Jones.