His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester Launches InSpires Project at Lichfield Cathedral.

His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester (KG GCVO) took an inspirational tour around Lichfield Cathedral on April 30th 2008, when he launched officially the Lichfield Inspires project. The Duke, who is patron of Lichfield Inspires, was accompanied by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Mr James Hawley. 

On entering the Cathedral itself, His Royal Highness was given thorough a tour of this magnificent medieval building, by the Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, the Dean of Lichfield, the project’s architect, Robert Kilgour and Chief Officer of the Cathedral, Timothy Pain. The tour enabled The Duke to see first-hand, the incredible conservation, renovation and restoration work that will be carried out from 2009, as Lichfield Inspires gathers momentum.

The Duke was eager to see how the project would change the way the Cathedral housed it treasures and with the help of protective gloves, was able to view various treasures including the 8th century St Chad Gospels, the famous Lichfield Angel, 17th century silverware, the 15th century Wycliffe manuscript and the 1st edition Bible of Henry 8th from 1539.    

The Duke was also introduced to Cathedral volunteers, staff and Chapter members, whilst listening to the enchanting sounds of the Cathedral choristers. As the tour drew to a close, His Royal Highness was invited to say a few informal words, to mark the project’s launch. The Duke commented that “Cathedrals represent many different things to different people. (To me) it represents wonderful and historical continuity”. His Royal Highness said he was “flattered to be Patron” (of Lichfield Inspires) and wished the Cathedral “every luck in their endeavour”.

The Duke is delighted to be a patron for this project which aims to turn Lichfield Cathedral into one of the most accessible, sustainable, inspirational and well-interpreted medieval Cathedrals in Britain.

During the next ten years, through a wide-ranging programme of work, the project aims to double visitor numbers to over 200,000 per year, and to triple educational visitors to more than 15,000.

Mr Timothy Pain, Chief Officer of Lichfield Cathedral, said “Lichfield Inspires has been the culmination of 5 years of careful planning by the Cathedral Chapter. We are greatly excited about the support and encouragement we are already receiving from funders and planners. We very much look forward to the next 5 years with humble anticipation”.

The Very Reverend Adrian Dorber, Dean of Lichfield, said of the visit, “It has been a memorable day for the Cathedral. A Royal visit always encourages volunteers and community to re-double the effort and commitment needed to launch a major undertaking like Lichfield Inspires”.

Photos from the visit: