HRH The Prince of Wales (The Duke of Cornwall), Patron of Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust, made a visit to Hereford Cathedral today (Tuesday 22 February) while visiting The Duchy of Cornwall Estate in the county. It was the first opportunity that His Royal Highness has had to meet the new Dean of Hereford, the Very Revd Sarah Brown.
‘It was wonderful to welcome His Royal Highness to Hereford Cathedral’, said the Dean. ‘His Royal Highness first visited the cathedral in the 1980s and has supported our work throughout that time. It was a pleasure to be able to talk to him about our future aspirations.’
During the visit The Prince visited a number of projects which have been supported by the Perpetual Trust. These included the restoration of the Choir House and Old Chapel as part of the recently completed Eastern Cloister Project and he learnt about the developments in the music department, the restoration of the Cathedral Close and the installation ofAscension, the memorial to the SAS. He also had the opportunity to view the ‘All Things Bright’ exhibition, which highlights a thousand years of metalwork from cathedral and diocese, on display within the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library.
‘His Royal Highness has always been a very supportive Patron of the Trust.’ said Nat Hone, the Chair of the Perpetual Trust, ‘He has visited and has hosted events for us. It was a pleasure to be able to show him some of the projects we have funded, to talk about the importance of building an endowment to secure the cathedral’s long-term financial future and to be able to discuss Dean Sarah’s vision for our future ministry.’
‘We were very touched by His Royal Highness’s visit. Like so many other organisations, due to Covid, we were not able to commemorate the Trust’s 25th anniversary last year and His Royal Highnesses visit has given us an opportunity to celebrate.’
During the visit, The Prince had the opportunity to hear about projects from Robert Kilgour, the Cathedral Architect and the current Chair of the National Cathedral Architects Association; Glyn Morgan, the Chief Executive of the Perpetual Trust, who has been involved with the charity for 25 years; and Mr Edward Harley, recently appointed as the Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall as well as being the Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire and an Honorary Canon of the cathedral.
The visit lasted almost an hour and His Royal Highness also took the opportunity to meet visitors to the cathedral including children taking part in half term activities.
Photos by Gordon Taylor, Hereford Cathedral.
