A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help preserve the future of the Vicars Close in Wells is up for grabs.

An invitation to tender, posted in The Guardian is searching for an Interpretation Designer to help preserve the future of the oldest purely residential street in Europe

Vicars' Close was built over 650 years ago to house the Vicars' Choral and it continues to be inhabited by their successors today. Vicars' Close is unique, physically connected to Wells Cathedral and the most complete example of a medieval Close in the UK. 

But a survey in 2013 showed the pressing need for the conservation of every building in the Close. The current condition of the buildings puts them, and the heritage they represent, at risk of being lost.

And so began Vicars' Close: A Medieval Street Singing Through the Centuries, a conservation project looking to:

• Sensitively conserve the buildings of the Close to help protect them for the next 650 years, working towards improving the energy efficiency of these historic buildings to net Zero by 2030
• Work in partnership with the local community to develop a programme of activities which explore and celebrate the heritage of this unique place
• Open up key historic spaces to the public for the first time, including the Chapel, Treasury and Vicars' Hall. They will also offer new ways for everyone to explore the spaces which are physically challenging to access due to their historic design
• Develop new spaces within two of the houses for visitors to discover more about the history of the Close.
• Create new opportunities for volunteering, work placements, apprenticeships and skills development, particularly for young people
• Embrace opportunities to use the public green spaces, explore medieval physic garden design, and work with local environmental partners to improve biodiversity

The project will take six years to complete and cost in the region of £6.2million to deliver, with the Cathedral already successfully raising £1.1million of funding and working to secure a grant of £3.3million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), leaving £1.8million in match funding required by March 2024.

To find out more about the project and how you could support the project please contact Crystal Johnson, Project Manager on 01749 832201 or email [email protected], or you can find the invitation to tender for the project here.