Cloisters go ahead as fund tops £2.33m (From Western Telegraph)

Cloisters go ahead as fund tops £2.33m

St Davids Cathedrals Millennium Appeal, launched three years ago on St Davids Day, has topped £2.33 million.

Out of that, £1.86 million has funded the repair of the West Front, the renovation of the gatehouse and creation of a visitors centre, the installation of two new bells and the restoration of the organ.

The Dean, the Very Rev. J. Wyn Evans, said: Im absolutely astonished that we have done as well as we have. Weve managed to complete four out of the five projects, which is magnificent.

The one remaining project, and the most ambitious, is the recreation of the 14th century cloisters between the cathedral and St Marys Hall.

The project will cost £1.85 million. Around £500,000 is available from the appeal funds, and the cathedral is now waiting to hear if its bids for Lottery and European funding have been successful. If they are, the cathedral will received a further combined £1.2 million.

The cloister plans have only recently been approved by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, which had deferred them several times because of concern over four main issues.

These included the proposed use of wood and glazing, external finishes, and the design of the north porch.

Detailed discussions took place between the officers and the applicants, the Dean and Chapter of St Davids, and the plans were eventually amended. They were approved by the Park Authority on February 13th. The Very Rev. J. Wyn Evans said they hoped to start work on the project next year.

We will probably start in 2003 and finish in 2005, he said. Its a difficult site because its quite confined. We now need to work through what we need to do next, and we need to do more fundraising.

The cloisters were originally used to connect St Marys Hall with the cathedral, but fell into disuse after the Reformation and were subsequently destroyed.

It is hoped that their reconstruction will make a valuable contribution to the architectural heritage of the Close as well as provide extra space. The two-storey cloisters will completely surround the central cloister garden. They will recreate the link between the cathedral and St Marys Hall, and facilities will include vestries, exhibition space, a new treasury space, and toilets.