It’s the final countdown!

On 11 July 2013, the first brick was laid on Durham Cathedral in LEGO, an ambitious project which sought to recreate Durham Cathedral from 300,000 LEGO bricks to raise funds for Open Treasure, the Cathedral’s new world-class exhibition experience open from 23 July 2016.

Exactly three years later the model is almost complete, with only 15,000 bricks to go! We are hoping to complete the model in just two weeks and you can help by visiting the Cathedral in person, texting LEGO16 £2 to 70070 or donating online at www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/donate.

And if you’re still not convinced about the awesomeness of this project, here are ten surprising facts about Durham Cathedral in LEGO which might just change your mind!

1. Durham Cathedral in LEGO has been designed by Bright Bricks, a UK-based company licensed by LEGO to design large-scale LEGO models. Other creations by Bright Bricks include a gigantic working scale model of the Rolls Royce Dreamliner aero engine and a world record breaking 35 foot high Christmas tree!
2. The first brick was laid on the model by TV presenter and historian Jonathan Foyle on 11 July 2013, marking the start of an epic three-year LEGO build.
3. Durham Cathedral in LEGO will eventually contain almost 300,000 bricks and over 1,450 individual modules.
4. Durham Cathedral in LEGO has taken 1097 days to build so far (including today), with only 14 days left to go!
5. When complete, Durham Cathedral in LEGO will be 1.7m tall, 3.84m long and 1.53m wide.
6. Durham Cathedral in LEGO is the first large-scale LEGO model to have been built by the general public.
7. Durham Cathedral in LEGO has been built by visitors across the globe, including visitors from as far afield as Alaska, the Seychelles, the Solomon Islands and the Cook Islands!
8. Over 27,000 volunteer hours have gone into the making of Durham Cathedral in LEGO, which has been open almost every day for the last three years.
9. An online mini-series has been produced inspired by Durham Cathedral in LEGO, retelling the story of Durham Cathedral through LEGO animation. You can watch the videos here: durhamcathedral.co.uk/lego-story
10. The final brick will be added to the model on Monday 25 July 2016 by Pearl Richardson from Newcastle who won our LEGO Lottery, but don’t worry if you can’t visit the Cathedral before the model is complete! Durham Cathedral in LEGO will remain on display at Durham Cathedral for visitors to admire for many years to come.

To find out more about Durham Cathedral in LEGO, please visit www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/lego

To find out more about Open Treasure, please visit www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/open-treasure