Cathedral preparing to close for 18 months
FINAL SERVICE
LEICESTER Cathedral is preparing to close for 18 months of repairs, restoration and the construction of a new visitor centre.
The last service in the church will be held on Sunday, January 2. It will reopen in autumn 2023, for long awaited major repair and rest.
Sunday morning worship will take place at St Martin’s House, next to the cathedral, with weekday services at nearby St Nicholas Church.
On Sunday afternoons, the cathedral choirs, clergy and members of the community will works with parishes throughout Leicester and Leicestershire to plan a service, event or occasion.
The first of these will be a choral evensong at St Dionysius Church in Market Harborough on January 16.
Signs outside the cathedral and on the construction site hoardings will direct tourists to a cathedral welcome desk in St Martin’s House, where volunteers will explain the closure, provide information about the building, its history and share updates on the Leicester
Cathedral Revealed project. They will also direct people to the King Richard III Visitor Centre and offer chaplaincy services and a prayer space, as appropriate.
Simon Bentley, project manager for Leicester Cathedral Revealed, said: “The King Richard III Visitor Centre will display the coffin pall created for the reburial of the Richard III, which would normally be on display in the cathedral, and show video footage of the tomb of King Richard.
“A programme of hard hat tours to look at the archaeology and key aspects of the conservation works, and also view the tomb of King Richard, will be arranged during 2022.
“These will be advertised in advance, dependent on the access available at various stages of building works.”
ON JANUARY 2 BEFORE WORKS SET TO BEGIN