Cathedral’s Undercroft restoration is complete!

Worcester Cathedral is delighted to announce that the Undercroft restoration works are finally complete, and it is now possible to start using the Undercroft Learning Centre!

At a special Handover Ceremony on the Wednesday 14 October the space was officially handed back to the Cathedral by Croft, our contractors. The space was immediately put to use on Thursday 15 October when we welcomed our first school group into the space. 30 Year 5 students from St Barnabas CE First & Middle School, Worcester spent the day in the Undercroft, learning about the Civil War and the role of Worcester Cathedral in the Battle of Worcester.

The Dean, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, said:

“This is the completion of many years of planning, designing, and fundraising. What has been achieved is the first fully thought-out use for this glorious building in five hundred years. We have many people to thank, and when we are able to celebrate in a more public way, we shall be making sure that all our donors and benefactors are properly thanked. In the meantime, we look forward to the Undercroft coming into use”.

Director of Education Daniel Parnell said:

“It was such a special moment when Andy Hutchings from Croft the building company handed over the key to the Dean. We have waited a long time and we are excited for people to see and experience this unique space.”

Located along the side of the South Cloisters and once used by the Benedictine Monks as their store room, this unique space has been brought back to life by a team of master crafts men plus our very own brilliant Stone Masons and it will now be used as a flexible venue for learning of all kinds.

From schools visits to corporate training days and everything in between, the Undercroft has been designed to be part of the community and we are so excited to be able to share it with you.

We have Arts & Wonder workshops in the Undercroft over half term. For more details go to: www.artsandwonder.co.uk

Our intention is that Undercroft will be available each month for general Cathedral visitors to look around when it is safe to do. We’ll let you know more about these soon.

A huge thank you goes to all of the people involved in making this project a reality and to each and every donor that shared our vision, especially the National Lottery Heritage Fund whose support was key to making this project possible.