Visiting the Great British Cathedrals by Simon Heptinstall
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At 6.45 each morning, the Vergers slide back the well-oiled bolts and the huge wooden doors swing slowly open with an ancient creak. The architectural masterpiece that is the interior of Lincoln Cathedral is open to the public for another day.
Like the other great Cathedrals scattered across Britain, Lincoln is a sensational building packed with priceless treasures and historical wonders. Two huge round stained glass windows facing each other across the central transept are considered among Europe's finest examples, and experts drool over the relief carvings, decorated Choir, Bishop's Palace, and its historic gardens and vineyard.
Lincoln Cathedral is one of the essential sites for any visitor to Britain - but so are all our other Cathedrals too. Further north, for example, is Durham Cathedral a marvellously impressive 900-year-old building that dominates the city's skyline. It was the first in Britain to use pointed arches, the burial place of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede, the first English historian. Bill Bryson called it “the best Cathedral on planet earth” and a poll of Radio 4 listeners recently voted it Britain's favourite building.
Great ecclesiastical edifices like Lincoln and Durham help to form the foundations of our magnificent architectural heritage; they are part of our very national identity. That they are spectacular regional and spiritual landmarks there is no doubt: Lincoln's 800-year-old stone tower stands higher than the Egyptian pyramids. Further north, York Minister is Britain's largest remaining medieval building. Durham Cathedral has been deemed so important it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Little wonder that these great churches have become major tourist attractions. From St Paul’s in London to St Andrews in Inverness, our Cathedrals attract millions of visitors each year.
This year, however, as you take a look at those spires soaring towards the heavens you may spot a cloud darkening the sky above. The cost of maintaining and restoring such crumbling spiritual monuments has spiralled beyond the scope of traditional donation boxes, grants and legacies.
In London St Paul's has been undertaking a huge £40-million restoration project for its 300th anniversary. Lincoln is spending more than £4-million a year on upkeep and running costs. Ely needs £1.4 million a year, Ripon is trying to raise enough money to rewire the Cathedral and Peterborough Cathedral says it costs £2,500 a day just to keep it running. York Minster may have taken an extraordinary 250 years to build but today it needs vast funds just to keep it standing. Yorkshire's most famous building has been running at an annual loss of £600,000.
So what is to be done to protect these cherished monuments? For an increasing number of Cathedrals the answer has recently become the reluctant introduction of entrance fees. Others have decided to ask visitors for a 'suggested donation'.
These charges have brought predictable moral controversy but much needed new income for some hard-pressed Cathedrals. For example, at the time of writing it now costs a hefty £11 for an adult to enter St Paul’s. At first sight that seems as steep as the steps to the famed Whispering Gallery. But think what's on offer to the tourist inside a unique building designed by Sir Christopher Wren, unlike any other church in Britain.
The highlights of this unmistakable domed building include the beautiful wrought iron gates of 1700 that still separate the quire from the ambulatory; the unforgettable experience of testing the acoustics in the Whispering Gallery; and hearing the 1695 organ which Mendelssohn once played. The magnificent mosaics are the result of Queen Victoria’s mid-19th-century complaint that the interior was “most dreary, dingy and undevotional.”
As the Cathedral of the capital city, St Paul’s is where people and events of overwhelming importance to the country have been celebrated, mourned and commemorated, including the funerals of Nelson, Wellington and Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria and King George V; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the Service of Remembrance for the events of the 11th of September 2001: the 80th and 100th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; the wedding of Charles to Diana and, most recently, the Thanksgiving for the Golden Jubilee of the Queen. Suddenly the entry fee doesn't seem such a price to pay…
St Paul’s spokeswoman Anya Matthews also points out that "charges were first introduced in St Paul's as early as 1709”. They provided much needed income and were useful at regulating those wishing to sightsee.
"In recent decades entry was free but in 1991 Dean and Chapter again had to re-introduce entry fees," she explains. "They took this step with great reluctance and only after a very long period of prayer. It was apparent that the increasing costs of running the Cathedral could only be met by the reintroduction of admission fees as less than five per cent of the cathedral's needs are met by grants." Admission charges now form 70 per cent of St Paul's income. Its restoration will take until 2011 to finish but the will have been one of Britain’s largest ever heritage restoration projects.
Head 200 miles north and you'd find yourself in York. York has been the capital of the north for 2,000 years and its premier place of worship is the seat of the Archbishop, for centuries one of the kingdom's most powerful men. This church was a grand and fitting headquarters for the government of the north of England.
A few years ago York Minster was in such financial straits it was forced to introduce admission charges after revealing it was operating at a loss of £10,000 a week. Appeals to visitors to give donations hadn't worked - only a quarter had given any money.
The compulsory £6.00 entry fee seemed small - but within a few weeks staff found they had increased the Cathedral's income by £5,000 a week, while local residents and those attending services can still enter for free.
The charges do not appear to have dented visitor numbers. Tourists seem to consider that for the price, entry to one of our finest buildings is a bargain. They find, for example, that the Minster contains around half of all the medieval glass in the whole country including the largest intact window of that era in the world. Other must-see features include the beautiful carved stone of the Chapter House, the choir screen depicting 15 kings of England, and the panoramic view of York from the top of the Central Tower.
So is charging an admission fee the only way to save our wonderful cathedrals? Well, not all Cathedrals have taken the same financial course. Glasgow Cathedral, an Ancient Monument maintained by Historic Scotland, makes no charge for visitors.
Glasgow's Cathedral grew up around the cathedral founded by St Mungo in the 6th-century. The present Gothic building dates from the 13th-century and is the only part of medieval Glasgow that remains. Its attractions include a vaulted crypt where, amid a forest of pillars, is St Mungo's atmospheric tomb. In the Middle Ages this was a focus of pilgrimage as spiritually worthy as a trip to Rome. King Edward 1st came here three times. But why no entrance fee?
"The building is used by a living active congregation as a place of worship throughout the week," explained Cathedral spokesman Dr William Morris. "Historic Scotland have decided that a charge will not be made."
Clergy at Peterborough's striking Cathedral have also said they have no plans to impose entry fees. Despite costing £2,500 a day to keep the building running, Canon Stephen Cottrell, Vice Dean, told local news reporters: "We have no intention of even reviewing our policy of not charging entry. Peterborough Cathedral belongs to the people of Peterborough, and I would hate to think people couldn't come because they can't afford it."
Large numbers of tourists visit the Norman building, with its fabulous arched medieval west front, Romanesque interior and colourfully painted wooden ceiling. It is the burial place of Catherine of Aragon and was the site of Mary Queen of Scots' original tomb, before she was moved to Westminster Abbey. In the Cathedral signs display the maintenance costs and encourage visitors to make a donation in one of the boxes around the building, but ushers have been told to leave the final decision with the individual.
At least none of the great cathedrals have been forced to follow the unlikely step of Chester Cathedral. Church leaders in the North West came up with an unlikely solution to their funding crisis. They claimed that entry to the cathedral would remain free because they had successfully returned to a 1,000-year-old monastic tradition…. brewing and selling their own brand of beer. Sadly, the cathedral beer failed to alleviate the financial crisis and Cathedral bosses have now been forced to implement an entry fee.