Topping-out at the Cathedral

The Dean of Southwark, the Very Rev Colin Slee, hosted a topping-out ceremony for Southwark Cathedral's new East Wing on Friday 5 May.

The new wing, part of the development on the north side of the Cathedral, is scheduled to open in October 2000. It will make the Cathedral more welcoming, visible and accessible to visitors, especially those who are disabled. There will be a new hi-tech visitor centre, a theological, historical and social concern library, and a refectory wing, and conference facilities will be improved. The Cathedral's ministry to local people and community needs remains at the heart of the re-development.

The exterior of the Cathedral is being cleaned, to reveal the warm honey-coloured stone, and landscaping and lighting will be enhanced. The construction of a cloister and courtyard recreates the original medieval lay-out and provides a major new entrance for visitors approaching from the riverside walk. The Cathedral is in this way playing its part in the cultural, commercial and residential regeneration of the South Bank, alongside the other Millennium projects at the Tate Modern gallery and the Millennium Footbridge.

The £10 million scheme is being funded by a grant of £3.9 million from the Millennium Commission, £1.7 million from the Cathedral's reserves, and donations of over £1.3 million to date.

Photo (above): Mrs Ivy Bowles, a member of the Cathedral congregation, was among a number of guests invited to sign one of the bricks which will be built into a wall at the end of the new refectory. Other signatories included Livi Mqotsi and Martin Kenyon, who jointly represented Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the event.

All change at the Cathedral

As a result of the Cathedrals' Measure 1999 and a new Constitution, the Cathedral is now governed by a Council which meets twice a year.

A chapter which includes lay representation has the responsibility that normally goes to a PCC.

Some titles have also changed. The Very Rev Colin Slee, formerly the Provost, is now the Dean. Canon Andrew Nunn, formerly the Vice-Provost, is now the Sub-Dean.

The Honorary Priest Vicars now become Cathedral Chaplains and the Provost's Secretary, Ms Anne Lovell, becomes the Dean's Secretary.