Nottingham Cathedral is getting a vast £1.7 million restoration

Nottingham Cathedral might not be the UK’s tallest cathedral (that’s Salisbury, at 123 metres tall), nor its biggest (that’s Liverpool’s Church of Christ) but it’s important in its own ways. A local landmark, the Cathedral Church of St. Barnabas – as it’s officially called – is a masterpiece of the Gothic revival style and was built by renowned architect Augustus Pugin.

And soon Nottingham Cathedral’s beauty and significance will be even more obvious, as it’s been confirmed that the Grade II*-listed structure will be getting a major makeover. The building will receive a £1.69m grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to go towards its ‘Restoring Pugin’ project.

Pugin, for any non-architecture-geek readers, also designed stuff like London’s Big Ben (well, the clocktower, not the bell) and much of the interior of the Palace of Westminster – as well as many churches up and down Britain. He designed Nottingham Cathedral in 1841, and when the church opened in 1844 it was the biggest Catholic church to have been built in England since the Reformation. It was made a cathedral in 1850.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund cash will go towards restoring the decoration of Nottingham Cathedral’s three chapels. Much of the chapels’ decoration was covered over in the 20th century, and it’ll take two years to restore their original medieval-influenced starry ceilings, floral motifs, emblems and texts.

But that isn’t all Nottingham Cathedral is spending the grant on. It’ll also improve educational facilities with new information panels and touchscreens, as well as, according to BBC News, ‘audio visual materials and a virtual reality experience’.

Commenting on the revamp, Bishop of Nottingham Patrick McKinney told the BBC: ‘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.’

ICYMI: The 7 most impressive cathedrals and churches in the UK.