A billionaire couple donated £550,000 to revive the enduring Harry Potter cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral which grew to become synonymous with Hogwarts. 

Hans and Julia Rausing granted the cash to protect the historic fan vaults which featured in three of the Harry Potter movies together with the Thinker’s Stone (2001), Chamber of Secrets and techniques (2002) and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). 

Fan vaults, which seem in Gothic fashion buildings, are traces spaced equidistantly from each other and curve inwards to resemble a fan on a wall or ceiling. 

The ribbed vaults are a quintessential a part of British structure and had been first recorded in England at Gloucester Cathedral within the 14th Century. 

However in 2019 a report acknowledged that they had been in danger and in dire want of conservation. 

Gloucester Cathedral was constructed within the 14th Century. It’s the first instance of elaborate fan vaulting in Britain

Couple Julia and Hans Rausing, who gave the restoration funds, stated: ‘Nobody who walks by means of the cloister at Gloucester Cathedral can fail to be struck by its overwhelming magnificence. 

‘The intricate design of the stonemasonry, significantly the fan vaulted ceiling, is exceptional and its visible affect touches the various hundreds of tourists to the Cathedral every year.

‘We’re delighted to assist make sure that this magnificent feat of medieval structure is preserved in order that guests and worshippers can proceed to take pleasure in it for a whole bunch of years to return.’

Interim Dean of Gloucester Canon Dr Andrew Braddock stated: ‘The cloisters, with its superb ‘fan-vaulted’ ceiling, is one in every of Gloucester Cathedral’s most iconic and delightful areas.

‘Sitting on the coronary heart of the cathedral’s buildings, it’s a place of encounter, assembly, reflection and surprise, attracting hundreds of tourists yearly.

‘This venture will make sure the cloisters stays open for everybody and will probably be on the very coronary heart of the cathedral’s day by day rhythm of life for generations to return.’ 

Fan vaults had been badly broken within the Victoria period after staff used cement to fix them which led to cracks and water harm.

To revive the breathtaking structural varieties tradesmen should rigorously take away the cement utilized by the Victorians 200 years in the past. 

Filming of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone in 2001. The fan vaults had been featured in two different Harry Potter movies together with the Chamber of Secrets and techniques (2002) and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Hans and Julia Rausing (pictured) donated £550,000 into the restoration venture. They stated ‘Nobody who walks by means of the cloister at Gloucester Cathedral can fail to be struck by its overwhelming magnificence’

Specialists stated the motor was stopping the stones from respiration which subsequently induced the partitions to rot and mildew. 

When Gloucester Cathedral was accomplished in 1412, the Cloister shaped a central a part of day by day life for the monks who ate, slept, studied and exercised there. 

The long-lasting vacation spot is now used for prayer and reflection in addition to an area for artwork exhibitions and neighborhood occasions.