Lottery stories

A community of Cistercian monks on a tiny West Wales island has had some of its prayers answered after receiving a major National Lottery grant. Caldey Island, off the coast of Tenby in south Pembrokeshire, got £562,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to pay for the restoration and conservation of the Grade II monastery complex.

The island, which has played a key role in monastic activity in Wales since the sixth century, has improved buildings, churches and visitor facilities with the money. The monastery, visited by 65,000 tourists every year, had become seriously rundown, with leaky roofs a particular problem.

The island, a key part of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, is widely recognised as one of the most important archaeological sites in Wales. It is inhabited by just 58 people, of which 18 are monks, who eat sleep and pray within the confines of the site.