Foundations laid for Exeter’s new Cathedral

The first bricks have been laid as part of an ambitious project to build a new Cathedral in the centre of Exeter – out of LEGO® bricks!

The Bishop of Exeter, Dean of Exeter and members of the Cathedral’s Big LEGO Build team were joined by Ashburton Primary School pupil Isaac Mark to officially launch the build at a special ceremony on Thursday 11th February.
                                                              
Isaac, who attended the launch with his parents, schoolteacher and his friend Alfie, won the opportunity to kickstart the build after winning a Devon-wide competition to answer the question “If you could build anything out of LEGO, what would it be?”

The Bishop of Exeter, Robert Atwell, welcomed Isaac and parents to the Cathedral and congratulated him on winning the competition.
                                                                                                                      
Isaac came up with the idea of a LEGO ‘memory tree’ that could grow and be built upon to remember loved ones who have died.  He placed his first bricks on the Cathedral’s model in memory his great-uncle, Basil Dyer, who recently passed away.

Basil Dyer’s mother (and Isaac’s great-grandmother) was Marjorie Dyer who designed the “Exeter Rondels” (embroidered cushions telling the story of the Cathedral since its foundation) which first went on display in 1990.

Paul Courtney, Development Director at the Cathedral said: “We were thrilled to read Isaac’s competition entry and delighted to discover his family’s historical connection with the Cathedral. We are looking forward to meeting more families during the coming weeks and hearing their stories as they add their own contributions to the Big LEGO Build”.

Once completed, the final model will be made up of 300,000 LEGO bricks, and be an impressive 3.6m long, 2m wide and 1m high. February half term will be the first opportunity for most members of the public to drop-in and get involved in the earliest stages of the build. 

Exeter is one of just three Cathedrals in the country to have its own LEGO model and everyone is invited to get involved in the build; for every £1 donated people can add a brick to the model.