England, great cathedrals at risk of closure

Some major Anglican cathedrals in England are at risk of closure and will be forced to find alternative sources of funding to avert the danger. Despite talk of eleven million visitors flocking to at least one cathedral each year, the maintenance costs of the buildings are huge and the revenue is not enough to cover them. The cathedrals (there are forty-two in all), Adrian Newman, Bishop of Stepney, explained to the English press, are facing “new and profound” challenges to avoid sinking: “at a rough estimate, I think at least half of the cathedrals are facing significant financial challenges, although virtually all of them are thinking about how they can emerge unscathed from issues of this kind. It may seem impossible, but one can imagine a situation where a cathedral ends up at such a desperate juncture that no obvious solution is uncovered.”

The problems affect some of the UK’s most famous cathedrals. Durham Cathedral, for example, has a budget deficit of £500,000, and as if that were not enough, it has to find £40 million in funds, the cathedral’s dean, Andrew Tremlett, has made known, for restoration work over the next 15 to 20 years: although the building attracts 750,000 visitors a year, funds from donations amount to £150,000. Durham Cathedral is one of many (thirty-three out of forty-two) that are not ticketed. Not dissimilar situation for Guildford’s modern cathedral (it was built between 1936 and 1961), which complains of losses of £100,000 a year, and as if that were not enough, the Church of England has declared that it cannot do anything to lift it out of its financial distress (it is worth remembering that the forty-two cathedrals are financially autonomous from the Church of England).

One solution might be to provide the cathedrals with an entrance fee: however, it is feared that the measure might discourage visitors, and the example of Chester Cathedral, which after introducing a £6 ticket has seen the number of annual visitors drop from the 700,000 who used to enter when admission was free, to the current 60,000. “Putting an entrance fee,” the deputy dean, Peter Howell-Jones, told the Spectator, “is a slippery slope to oblivion.” Ever the Chester Cathedral, to raise additional funding, has considered renting out its event space.

A meeting is scheduled to take place in London this week between the deans of the cathedrals, who have come together in a working group to discuss possible solutions to the problem. There is no shortage, however, of glimmers of optimism: “I think the future is bright,” said Dianna Gwilliams, dean of Guildford, “but the road is very steep. We have a very rich heritage in Britain, and how to fund it is a challenge for everyone.”

Image: interior of Durham Cathedral. Photo credit.

Sources: Daily Mail - The Telegraph - The Guardian - BBC

England, great cathedrals at risk of closure

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