This April visitors to Chester Cathedral will be invited to explore cathedral life in miniature as the building of a scale model of the city landmark made entirely from LEGO bricks gets underway.

The Chester Cathedral in LEGO build project will take 350,000 individual LEGO pieces and transform them into an accurate scale model of the cathedral that will reach almost 4 metres in length and 2 metres in height.

Members of the public can purchase their own tiny piece of history in the form of a LEGO brick to be included in the model and will be encouraged to learn all about the cathedral’s 1000 year history as the multi-layered story of the building through the ages is retold, brick by brick, from the very beginning.

Volunteer bricklayers will work every day of the week to build the model from the foundations up and it is estimated that the project will take up to four years to complete.

The model – which will split in two to reveal the inside of the building - will include special features unique to Chester Cathedral’s interior, such as the Grand Organ, painstakingly recreated in LEGO.

The LEGO build project is the brain child of the cathedral’s education and fundraising departments and the money raised from the selling of LEGO bricks will go directly into a fund to support the Chester Cathedral Education Trust.

The model will be officially opened with a launch event on 18 April 2015.

Director of Operations at the cathedral, Simon Warburton, said:

“We are very excited about the Chester Cathedral in LEGO project and are very much looking forward to it getting underway this Spring.

The unique thing about Chester Cathedral is that our architecture spans nearly 1000 years of history.  The model will recreate each style and so is a really effective way of telling the story of our building.”

Education Officer at the cathedral, Helen Barber, said:

“The Chester Cathedral in LEGO project will have a strong focus on education.  We think the project will help us to reach new audiences – and we can’t wait to use it engage with families, children and young people.”

Chester Cathedral is looking for volunteers to help build the LEGO model.  The project will start in April 2015 and last for at least three years.  If you have a passion for LEGO and can spare three hours every week, please contact Emma Roberts click here to email.