Free viewings of saintly treasures
CATHEDRAL TAKES PART IN LOTTERY ANNIVERSARY
FROM this weekend, visitors to Durham Cathedral will have a chance to see its Open Treasure exhibition for free.
A special offer – in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the National Lottery, which helped fund the exhibition – will launch for nine days from Saturday and means visitors can see such exhibits as St Cuthbert’s coffin and his gold and garnet cross for no charge.
All they need to do is take along a lottery ticket or scratchcard.
The cathedral is one of a number of visitor attractions across the UK which have come up with ways to say thank you to those who buy lottery tickets, which raise money for good causes.
Its Open Treasure stand-out display, which opened in 2016, is a £10.9m visitor attraction which benefited from a £3.9m award from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It was three years in the making and brings history alive with exhibits such as Anglo-Saxon and Roman stones, casts and crosses.
The treasures normally cost £7.50 to see, while a ticket for a child from five years upwards is £2.50. The Durham landmark’s free offer will apply from November 23 until Sunday, December 1. Open Treasure is accessible off the
Cloister via the 14th Century Monks’ Dormitory – now a Collections Gallery – which is a treat to view in itself with its 21 roof beams each made from an individual oak tree trunk.
From there lies a special temperature-controlled entrance into an area leading to the great kitchen and then visitors progress through the pilgrimage and community galleries before returning to the cloister.
On show along the way, besides the remains of the ancient oak coffin which carried the remains of Cuthbert and his Pectoral Cross studded with gold and garnet which he wore in the 7th Century, are his portable altar, which accompanied his missions and rare examples of Anglo Saxon embroidery.
Visitors can see the medieval Conyers Falcho sword and the famous Sanctuary Ring – the original knocker from the cathedral’s north door where a replica now hangs. For details on the Thanks to You offer, visit www.nationallottery.co.uk/life-changing/projectthankstoyou