Brecon Cathedral awarded over £2M grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Plans to preserve the heritage and buildings of Brecon Cathedral have come to fruition with a £2,041,756 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Together with other grants of £745,000, the ‘People | Passion | Priory: Brecon Cathedral, The Heart and Soul of Community’ project will transform the cathedral into a destination visitor hub. The plans include creating a new, fully accessible entrance, enhancing the piazza area for visitors and introducing new ways to interpret the interior space for everyone who comes through the doors.

Urgent reroofing will provide a NVQ Level-3 heritage training for 18 young or career-change roofers, ensuring the project gives back to the community it serves. Reorganising the interior will create a communal space at the heart of the building, for exhibitions, concerts, plays and a myriad of other community events. Our history will be presented through innovative stories of our famous people with many of the turbulent episodes of our nation being represented here. 

The Very Reverend Dr Paul Shackerley, Dean of Brecon, said
“Our home team and consultants are absolutely delighted that our vision for the future of Brecon Cathedral can now be realised thanks to The National Lottery players and our additional funders. Now we can start work, fixing decades of urgent repairs, offering a safe and accessible welcome to all who visit and sharing the excitement we all feel for our history and culture, whilst enhancing our position at the heart of community. The project will ensure the cathedral with its history, heritage and outward facing mission is here for future generations to enjoy as we have. We have an ambitious events programme planned to accompany the work and I know that every visitor will find something of interest. Please come and see for yourself.”

Work will be phased and will start in March 2026 with the opening of a new west entrance, followed by interior reordering and the south transept roofs being replaced over the summer. Subsequent years will see more roofs replaced until the project ends in 2018.

Andrew White, Director for Wales, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding will help Brecon Cathedral strengthen its role at the heart of the community, safeguard its heritage and create new ways for people to engage with its story for generations to come”