Cathedral restoration gets £1.7m lottery boost

The cathedral is an early example of the Victorian Gothic revival style

The restoration of a landmark in Nottingham has been boosted by a major lottery grant.

Nottingham Cathedral has been awarded a £1.69m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards its Restoring Pugin project.

The Grade II* listed building was designed by Augustus Pugin in 1841 in the Gothic revival style, which influenced many Victorian buildings including the Houses of Parliament.

The scheme will restore the original decoration of three chapels but also enable educational and outreach work.

Much of the original decoration, painted over in the 1960s, is being revealed

The original design used schemes inspired by medieval decoration, including vividly coloured starry ceilings, floral motifs, emblems and texts using rich pigments and gold leaf.

Much of this was covered over in the 20th Century with neutral paints, and it is expected reversing this will take two years.

The Bishop of Nottingham, Patrick McKinney, said: "I am delighted that we are going to be able to restore Pugin's beautiful original design work to the cathedral's chapels over the coming years.

"This grant will also enable Nottingham's cathedral to become ever more engaged with the wider population of the city, and especially those most in need."

Planned educational activities will include new information panels, touchscreens, printed materials, audio visual materials and a virtual reality experience.

In addition, the project will offer a number of opportunities for heritage training and skills development for people of all ages, from schoolchildren to older volunteers.