CRYPT REDEVELOPMENT

St Chad's is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the flagship of the Catholic presence at the heart of Birmingham itself. It is a supreme example of the quality of Birmingham's tradition of fine design and craftsmanship. St Chad's featured in a Time Team Special 'Pugin: The God of Gothic' shown on Channel 4 on 1 March 2007. So we want to ensure that the Cathedral is fitted to make its unique contribution to the 21st century.

We intend to develop the crypt as an Education and Heritage Centre with displays on the history of the Archdiocese and the Cathedral and exhibitions of the Cathedral's collection of treasures. Provision will also be made for a rolling programme of exhibitions on people and institutions connected with the Archdiocese and the Cathedral. It will be a valuable resource for the many school groups who visit the Cathedral as well as for the people of Birmingham as a whole.

In order to provide the necessary facilities structural work needs to be done in the crypt, including access for the disabled, heating, lighting, atmosphere control and repair of stonework and tiled floors. There will also be refreshment and audio-visual facilities.

The Heritage Centre is being professionally designed by Colin Morris Associates and will be of the highest standard. Colin was responsible for the Holy See's Pavilion at the Expo 2000 in Hanover.We hope to have everything in place for 2008, the bi-centenary of the opening of the original St Chad's Chapel on the site.

To create the St Chad's Visitor and Heritage Centre will cost £1 million. The Campaign to raise the funds has the Archbishop of Birmingham as its Patron, and Lady Wedgwood, the world famous Pugin scholar and patron of the Pugin Society, Professor Carl Chinn, Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham, and Brian Andrews, Pugin scholar and Heritage Officer of the Archdiocese of Hobart, Tasmania, as Presidents.

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