Four North Wales businesses are combining their expertise to offer a unique experience in Britain’s smallest ancient Cathedral.

The fourteenth century building is to host a wedding reception with a difference as guests gather for St Asaph Cathedral’s first Murder Mystery Dinner.

The event on Saturday 7 October at 7pm, entitled Till Death Do Us Part, is the latest in a series of activities designed to appeal to wider audiences and follows a successful 90s Silent Disco in August.

St Asaph Cathedral is working with local hospitality company, Marc Macauley Catering, mobile bar provider, Hops and Scotch, and Denbigh based, Black Box Events, to host the evening.

The Business Development Officer for St Asaph Cathedral, Jackie Feak, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with local businesses to host Till Death Do Us Part. We know Murder Mystery Events are popular and prove to be great fun for people.

“We will have tables of 10 or 12 people but we welcome bookings from smaller groups or individuals too. Just like a typical wedding reception, a table plan will help guests find their seats.

“The evening will include a two-course meal and a disco and there will be a prize for the group whose sleuthing activity identifies the culprit of the murder.”

Earlier this year, St Asaph Cathedral hosted an Abba Tribute Night which proved very popular and it has a series of Concerts by Candlelight scheduled for next year. Plans are taking shape for a Food Festival featuring local businesses and more details will be announced in due course.

Jackie added: “As well as being a venue for an event such as a Murder Mystery Dinner, the Cathedral can also host actual wedding receptions. This event will be an opportunity for prospective couples to see the Cathedral dressed for a reception.”

St Asaph Cathedral is currently fundraising to complete two urgent building projects totalling £500,000. The large stained-glass east window needs repairs and the wall around the iconic west door entrance requires urgent re-pointing work. Half of the money has been pledged by the Church in Wales centrally, but the Cathedral needs to fundraise to find the rest of the money.

In 2018, St Asaph Cathedral was awarded £255,800 of Heritage Lottery Funding to create new interpretation displays about the history and story of the Cathedral. The money also enabled a series of family craft events to be held regularly during school holidays and helped set up the volunteer-led heritage gardening project.

St Asaph Cathedral tells the stories of St Asaph and St Kentigern and was instrumental in the preservation of the Welsh language. It displays an original copy of the William Morgan Bible which dates from 1588, along with the first translation of the New Testament into Welsh dating from 1567, made by the Denbighshire scholar William Salesbury; the revision of the William Morgan Bible from 1620 made by Bishop Richard Parry – also Bishop of St Asaph, and a Book of Common Prayer from 1621 containing The Edmund Prys Psalter which allowed Psalms to be sung in Welsh in church for the first time.

The Cathedral is one of the main heritage attractions along the A55 corridor and features on the brown tourism signage from that route.

St Asaph Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of St Asaph, one of the six Bishops of the Church in Wales, an autonomous Province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

To find out more about Til Death Us Do Part and to book tickets, visit https://CathedralMurderMystery.eventbrite.co.uk or call 07812 892833.

You can find out more information about the services and events at St Asaph Cathedral at https://stasaphcathedral.wales/en