Cathedral will not cash in on worship

Jul 21 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

Durham Cathedral has announced plans to throw its doors open to more visitors – including the corporate market – in a bid to raise an extra £7m. And last week a further multi-million pound scheme was announced to restore the riverside gardens which stand in its shadow. But does this mean the cathedral is in danger of becoming less place of worship and more tourist attraction? Neil Mckay reports.

THE Norman Cathedral towers above Durham citizens like a benevolent Gulliver looking down at the Lilliputians going about their daily business below.

But despite the 900-year-old structure being visible from practically every corner of the city, many of Durham’s residents have never set foot inside since their schooldays.

This is one of a number of trends which the people responsible for the welfare of the structure voted Britain’s Best Loved Building in a BBC poll of 2001 – and which travel writer Bill Bryson famously called “the best cathedral on planet earth” – are trying to change.

It is not as if the cathedral makes itself inaccessible to the public. Anyone can wander around, free of charge, any day of the week.

But as Prof John Anstee, chairman of the cathedral’s development steering committee, said: “It is the old story of people not appreciating what is on their doorstep.”

But making Durham residents feel more involved in the cathedral is one of the key points of a five-year development plan aimed at raising £7m.

Although other cathedrals and churches now charge an admission fee, Durham’s Dean, the Very Rev Michael Sadgrove, is insistent that Durham will not follow that route.

But he added: “Given the desire not to charge an entrance fee, there is a greater need to maximise the other income potential from visitors, who form the cathedral’s primary supporter base.

“Enhancing the visitor experience has the potential to both increase the yield per head and the overall number of visitors.”

The Dean added that while, naturally, the cathedral’s primary purpose is to be a place of Christian worship, “the majority of people who visit do not come for this reason”.

He added: “While the cathedral will never exist primarily as a tourist attraction, it is the most visited attraction in County Durham. How the cathedral wishes to engage with its visitors seems to be one of the most critical questions to answer now.”

One proposal almost certain to go ahead is for a multi million pound visitor centre in Owengate, at the entrance to Palace Green.

While Mr Sadgrove confirmed that “conversations were still taking place” with the British Library over a proposal to bring the Lindisfarne Gospels back to the region, he stressed that there was an abundance of treasures already for visitors to enjoy. The cathedral houses the shrine of the seventh-century saint, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. There are some objects on display in The Treasures which date back to Cuthbert himself – including his cross and his coffin. Other items tell the story of the Cathedral and the community associated with it right up to recent times.

Last week North East Minister Nick Brown joined the calls for the region to continue to work with the British Library, which holds the Gospels. Proposals have been put forward to create a sub-section of the British Library attached to Durham University on the Palace Green, where the manuscripts could form part of a Christian hub.

This proposal was given the influential support of Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

But whether or not the Gospels come “home” in the near future, the people responsible for the cathedral are committed to mapping out its future.

“We have to find a direction which God would want,” said Mr Sadgrove.

Part of that future includes opening up the building to corporate clients, in the same way as The Sage Gateshead, the Baltic Arts Centre, as well as St James’s Park and other sporting venues, currently do successfully.

But one recent foray into the 21st century commercial world by the cathedral proved less than successful.

Earlier this month it put up for internet auction a unique chance to follow in the footsteps of James I, who visited Durham in 1603.

The winning bidder and five guests would have enjoyed a private tour of the cathedral hosted by the Dean of Durham, Rev Michael Sadgrove.

The tour would have included a private viewing of the deanery, which dates from the 11th Century and was once the home of medieval priors.

After the tour guests would have been invited to join the dean and his wife for dinner in the King James Room, the room where the monarch himself slept more than 400 years ago.

But the toplots auction failed to find a buyer prepared to pay the reserve price of £1,000. Mr Sadgrove said: “It was worth a try and we are not too discouraged.”

Gaye Kirby, Head of Development, who has responsibility for fundraising, added: “We hope that the many people who love Durham Cathedral will become involved with the development programme.

“Durham Cathedral Patrons and Corporate Partners of Durham Cathedral are two new ways to support the programme.”

Durham Cathedral currently welcomes 600,000 visitors every year, but the Dean said he was also interested in extending its community work, reaching out to young people, prisoners and ethnic minority groups.

Prof Anstee added: “We want the region to know that Durham Cathedral, this wonderful iconic building and place of worship, is somewhere they are welcome and can engage better than perhaps has been possible in the past.”

It currently costs £60,000 each week just to keep the cathedral running.

Footballer Joey Barton is understood to be picking up that amount from Newcastle United while serving a prison sentence. Mr Sadgrove and Prof Anstee diplomatically refrained from comment.

Centre for Christian worship

DURHAM Cathedral was founded in AD 1093 and remains a centre for Christian worship.

Also known as the Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, it is generally regarded as one of the finest examples of a Norman cathedral in Europe.

In 1986 it became a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle, which it faces across Palace Green, high above the River Wear.

The building attracts 500,000 visitors each year who come to climb the 325 steps to the top of the 217ft tower or walk the 496ft across the northern front of the building.