THE final tile was slotted in and the roof of Blackburn Cathedral’s new court of clergy accommodation blessed in a topping out ceremony.

Work is now proceeding on fitting out the rooms of the £6 million extension to the main church building creating a new library, refectory, conference room, cloister garden, townhouses and apartments for priests, staff and musical scholars.

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Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson, cathedral dean Christopher Armstrong and the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire Lord Shuttleworth climbed a scaffold to reach a platform for the ceremony marking the completion of the external structure.

A short service then took place during which a blessing for the building, for the construction work, and for the workers was said.

The development is part of the £34 million Cathedral Quarter development in Blackburn town centre, which includes a hotel, office block and a public square.

The bishop, who placed the final roof tile in position, said: “This is an important day for the cathedral and the clergy and staff who worship and work here.

“A lot of hard effort has brought us to this point and I pray the new cathedral court will, when finally completed, be used to further the work of God and his kingdom in the heart of the rapidly changing heart of Blackburn.”

The building is due to be completed by November and is the first major new cloister for a cathedral in more than 500 years.

Lord Shuttleworth said:“This is a tremendous project that has taken years to bring to fruition .”

Canon Andrew Hindley, in charge of the project being built by contractors John Turner Construction Group said: “We are now fitting out the rooms, installing partitions and doing the mechanical and engineering work needed.

“Work is proceeding on the interconnecting passage over the refectory linking the Cathedral transept to the new court of accommodation.

“It is all very exciting and we start work on the enclosed cloister garden in late September or early October when the construction work is complete.”