Lincoln Cathedral secures HLF funding

Lincoln Cathedral has been awarded a £11.4million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a £16m project aimed at boosting visitor numbers to the iconic building.

The ‘Lincoln Cathedral Connected’ project will radically improve the Cathedral’s setting and visitor experience and is the most ambitious plan to develop tourism at the Cathedral for more than a generation.

Surveyor of the Fabric for Lincoln Cathedral and Director at Buttress, Nicholas Rank, was part of a multi-disciplinary team that developed the successful HLF application.

With funding now in place, the practice will deliver the conservation elements of the project which includes repair and restoration work to the West Front and the Southern Run of the Romanesque Frieze, one of the most important pieces of early medieval carving in the country, as well as the 14th century Exchequer Arch, which leads visitors into the Cathedral Close. The Cathedral’s medieval cloisters will also undergo conservation work.

The grant will also fund the creation of a new interpretation centre, restaurant, gift shop as well as extensive landscaping to the west and north of the Cathedral which will create new outdoor zones and open areas, such as the Dean’s Green, to the public for the first time in decades.

The project hopes to bring an additional 125,000 visitors to the Cathedral each year by 2020, creating new jobs and bolstering the regional economy.

Work on the project is due to begin in Spring 2017.