Wells Cathedral: 'Extraordinary' medieval Vicars' Close gets National Lottery funding for repairs
ITV News' Louisa Britton has spoken to people in Wells
The future of a medieval street in Somerset is a step closer to safety thanks to a multi-million pound grant.
Vicars' Close was built more than 650 years ago to house the choir members at Wells Cathedral.
It's been threatened by a backlog of repairs and is one of five ‘at risk’ places of worship to have been awarded National Lottery Heritage Funding.
The Very Reverend Toby Wright, Dean of Wells Cathedral, said: "This is absolutely wonderful. We're so delighted that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed to support this.
"It's something which is of international significance and we're really thrilled that we've got this very important marker for us going forwards, which will allow us to do some great work in preserving this wonderful historic asset."
The street is in the heart of England’s smallest Cathedral city, Wells, and is the oldest uniquely residential street in Europe.
It's connected to Wells Cathedral and contains 27 Grade I listed residencies, built in the early fifteenth century to house the cathedral’s adult choir, the Vicars’ Choral.
The buildings continue to be home to the Vicars’ Choral and their families, along with Wells Cathedral vergers, staff and a handful of private tenants.
Revd Wright said: "It's remarkable and what's so special is that it's still doing what it's designed to do, which is to house those who are singing in the services here, in the cathedral church by day.
"It gives a great opportunity for that to continue for the next few centuries and for us to be able to address the needs now to prepare us for the future."
The project has been awarded £4.4m of National Lottery funding to help restore Vicars’ Close’s buildings, addressing a backlog of repairs which have left the buildings in poor condition.
Crystal Johnson, projects director of Wells Cathedral, said: "So when we are open in the end, we will have houses open to the public so people will be able to come in and explore.
"We'll be offering various other interpretations so people can find out about the history of the close.
"So it's really very much a project not only about preserving and looking after the buildings, but also opening them up to the public so people can learn more about their heritage.
"And reaching out to people so that they can help us shape what we could be doing with the project in the future."
Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Places of worship, and the buildings associated with them, are some of our oldest and most cherished historic buildings and many play a key role as a gateway to our heritage and communities.
"Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, these six fantastic projects will take vital steps towards securing a brighter and more sustainable future for places of worship and reimagine how they can connect with and benefit their communities.
“We are delighted to invest in these places of worship, ensuring that their heritage will be valued, cared for, and sustained, for everyone, now and in the future.”
The cathedral has also raised £1m from donors but still needs £1.6m to enable completion of the transformational project, which would also enable visitors to access previously unseen parts of the street.