It’s good funding news as more of our Church of England cathedrals benefit from the latest round of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund which is administered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and Historic England to support their re-opening.
Culture Recovery Funding for English Cathedrals.
Truro Cathedral will receive £72.3k, which will support improvements in its visitor experience, staff costs, equipment and allow the testing of some new events at the cathedral.
Durham Cathedral has been awarded £732,800 to support its phased reopening as a safe place of worship in April and later as a visitor attraction with a programme of heritage activity from May 17.
The majority of the funding will go towards essential maintenance and operating costs, as well as the salaries of almost 60 staff working in all areas of the cathedral, from front of house and property to library and collections. Beyond that, the funding will support the continuing work of the cathedral’s Change Programme. You can find more information about the cathedral’s reopening plans on its website.
The Very Revd Andrew Tremlett, Dean of Durham said:
“We are exceptionally grateful to receive further support from the Culture Recovery Fund. It is difficult to overstate the impact of the original grant on Durham Cathedral, allowing us to deliver a transformational change programme that will safeguard the cathedral’s future at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site for generations to come.
“When we closed our doors in March 2020 we could not have imagined the challenges we would face in the year ahead; but it is certain we would not be in the strong position we are now without the Culture Recovery Fund.”
A total of 2,700 English culture and heritage venues will share the latest round of the Culture Recovery Fund. Canterbury Cathedral and Ely have both announced they have benefited from the Fund and elsewhere Worcester Cathedral has been awarded £482,900, with Lichfield Cathedral having £364,400.
St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds has received a grant of £72,900 to help it recover and reopen by enabling the Cathedral to carry out essential maintenance, develop its digital technology and train and equip staff and volunteers for new and enhanced roles post-pandemic.
The Grade 1 listed Cathedral, located on the historic Abbey of St Edmund site, welcomes around 70,000 visitors annually. Due to the pandemic it is adapting and re-imagining its offer to visitors, pilgrims and worshippers in order to offer engaging heritage experiences in new ways. The Cathedral is preparing to re-open and plans to mark the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund by King Cnut with partners from the wider community.
The Very Revd Joe Hawes, Dean of St Edmundsbury, said:
“This generous grant means that we are going to be able to invest properly in necessary preparations for a full reopening this summer. We will be able to train and upskill our staff and volunteers, undertake all the repairs and implement all the changes necessary to ensure visitor safety, and make good use of new technology in marketing as well as visitor experience. It is very exciting and we are immensely grateful to the government’s Culture Recovery Fund for assisting us in this way.”
Earlier funding for cathedrals here >
Winchester Cathedral has received a grant of £467,800 to support its plans for re-opening to the public and to retain and increase audience engagement, especially digitally, as this has proved to be so successful throughout the last 12 months.
After a difficult year, the grant will safeguard the immediate future for Winchester Cathedral by covering on-going costs to keep it Covid-19 secure and will help to retain the skilled and committed workforce and ensure the essential work to conserve the historic building can continue.
Alison Evans, Chief Operating Officer at Winchester Cathedral, said:
“We are incredibly grateful for this funding which has enabled us to support key areas of the Cathedral’s activity in what continues to be an economically challenging time following the effects of the pandemic. The grant will help to ensure that when we’re able to fully re-open to the public, we have the team in place to provide an excellent visitor experience in safe and secure conditions for everyone. It will also help to fulfil our obligation to care for this heritage, enabling all to appreciate and enjoy the wonderful cultural and religious life on offer at Winchester Cathedral. Our team continues to work tirelessly to find creative ways to adapt to the shifting environment and we are extremely appreciative of the support given by the Culture Recovery Fund.”
Chester Cathedral has received a grant of £884,000 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.
The Cathedral was forced to take drastic measures to ensure the viability of the organisation since the start of the pandemic. Staff levels were reduced, reserves expended and loans taken to cover losses incurred through 2020. This award will enable the Cathedral to reopen and reconnect with the city and its communities.
The Dean of Chester, the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford, said:
“It is great news that a grant of up to £884,000 is to be made through the Cultural Recovery Fund to Chester Cathedral. This will make a huge difference whilst we prepare to open our doors to visitors again.
I hope this means that the Cathedral will be able to make a great contribution as the cultural, heritage and spiritual heart of Chester in the way we did before Covid, benefitting both the local community and its economy as well as enriching the lives of visitors.”
Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic – including many of our 42 Church of England cathedrals.. This brings the Government’s total investment across grants, capital and repayable finance from the Culture Recovery Fund so far to more than £1.2 billion across over 5,000 individual cultural and heritage organisations and sites.
The second round of awards made this month will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for reopening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead.
Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:
“Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.
Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors – helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”
