More than 70 years of stories of looking after one of the West's most important churches are to be captured for posterity, just as the latest transformation of the building gets underway.
Bath Abbey has been awarded £22,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to run a project called 'Creating Voices',
to record the stories of the many individuals who have cared for the building ever since the dark days of the Bath Blitz.
The abbey elders are embarking on an ambitious £18 million programme of works, known as the Bath Abbey Footprint, to transform the inside of the abbey to make it fit for the 21st century, both as a place of worship, as a visitor attraction and as a venue for music and events.
The lottery grant for the Creating Voices project has been backed by £7,000 from the abbey itself, and the project will collect and present people's stories from over the last 70 years and beyond.
It will cover personal memories of the Bath Blitz in 1942, the formation of the Friends of Bath Abbey in 1948 and the 13-year post-war restoration, through to the restoration that centred around the millennium.
The Rector of Bath Abbey, the Rev Prebendary Edward Mason, said it was a chance for the individuals who work tirelessly behind the scenes, to tell their stories.
"We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund," he said.
"Thousands of people visit the abbey and worship here every year but often take for granted the amazing architecture and atmosphere, not realising just how many individuals have helped contribute to this. If we don't act now, their stories will be lost forever."
The abbey volunteers and heritage students from Bath Spa University will work together on the audio recordings. Heritage Lottery Fund boss for the South West, Richard Bellamy, said backing the project was important to show that the West's medieval buildings are as alive today as they were hundreds of years ago.
"Our great medieval buildings are often thought of only as relics of the distant past, but projects such as this demonstrate that they have continued to grow and develop across the centuries, maintaining their place at the centre of the lives of succeeding generations," he said.
"We are delighted to be supporting Creating Voices which will collect and preserve the stories of a more recent period in the life of Bath Abbey, allowing local people and visitors a wider insight into its long and fascinating history," he added.
