One of the great joys living in Durham England has been spending so much time volunteering at the Cathedral. Even on days when we are at home we can still hear her bells tolling the hour from our open windows. As late afternoon approaches we can hear the persistent calling all of Durham to evensong.
We all love to be in and around the cathedral. It is such a peaceful and comforting place. Inside the nave, though it is a large room, the buttresses reach high arching over and around you like the enormous arms of the loving Heavenly Father. It is a place of awe and wonder, unexplainable beauty and fearsome height.

The brilliant colors of the stained glass windows cause me to ponder the possible spectrum of heaven. While the earth toned,  hand cut sandstone causes reflection towards the one who gave up the splendour of heaven for the humility of an earthly life.

As you can see the cathedral itself is a beautiful treasure. There are however, other treasures of the cathedral which, at this time are not able to be seen. Many artifacts of St. Cuthbert and the cathedral itself are not able to be on display due to simple fact that there is not a museum quality area in which to safely display the treasures.

Open Treasure is a project that seeks to build that space. The project is a three-fold one. The first phase was the refurbishment of the Undercroft area to house the gift shop.

Undercroft area

The second phase was the refurbishment of the cafe area also in the Undercroft. The third phase is the two-story renovation of an old room off the Monk’s dormitory connecting it to the old kitchen below. This final phase will create the two-story museum which will be fully accessible and will utilize existing space previously unused and closed to the public.

The Monk’s Cloisters (you may recognise from Harry Potter)

Open Treasure is the cathedral project that the kids and I volunteer with each week. Joshua and Meg have learned a great deal about Norman architecture and cathedral design while working on the Lego model.

This week a major milestone has been reached in that 70,000 bricks have been donated thus far.  This brings the fundraising total to £70,000. Open Treasure is now well on its way to the £350,000 goal.

If you would like to see updated photos of the Open Treasure Lego build visit the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DurhamCathedralLEGObuild

If you are not in the Durham area and would like to donate to the Lego build visit this link for more information:

http://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/donate

We hope that whether you live near or half a world away that you can enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of this place through these photos today.

Cheers,
Beth