Canterbury Cathedral trials free scheme after entry fee backlash
Canterbury Cathedral will trial a new free entry scheme following a backlash over its entry prices – but will only provide access to limited areas.
The historic building, which opened in 1834 and stands as England’s first cathedral, has announced a new free entry scheme for large sections of the site for six weeks as part of a pilot scheme, called the free precincts trial. The pilot will run daily between 9am and 9pm until March 10.
Under the scheme, sightseers will still need to pay to enter the cathedral building, as well as the northern side of the precincts including the Cloisters, Herb Garden and Chapter House during standard sightseeing hours.
Normal entry tickets for the whole site of Canterbury Cathedral are priced at £17 per adult (over 17s) and are valid for 12 months and for repeated visits.
The move comes after The Telegraph reported that one in four cathedrals are now charging for entry, prompting criticism that access to the historic buildings is “only for the rich”.
Cathedrals run by the Church in England are now charging close to £30 to enter in some cases. Other cathedrals that charge entry include St Paul’s, which has a £20.50 fee. Entry at Oxford’s Christ Church costs £20, York Minster charges £18, while Ely – which states on its website it “will never turn anyone away if they are unable to or do not wish to pay” – charges £14.
Canterbury upped its entry fee by £1.50 to £17 last year, while Westminster Abbey has increased charges by almost 50 per cent in the space of just four years to £29.
Responding to the pilot announcement, the Very Rev David Monteith, the Dean of Canterbury, told BBC Radio 4 on Sunday that there was a sense that the Cathedral was “a bit shut off” because of “our walls and gates”, adding: “I wanted to try and open things up.
“There’s just a joy in being able to look at the building, even not to go inside, and share that beautiful space, and I’m hoping that this is going to enable many more people to do that,” he said.
The Dean added that cathedral officials would analyse the data from the footfall and its income and likely roll out another trial later in the year.
He said that Canterbury Cathedral had to raise £12 million every year just to keep the building open, and its utility bill was £550,000 a year. “These are just rising costs and somehow we’ve got to square the circle.
“I don’t know a dean in the land who doesn’t want to keep their cathedral as open as possible, but we have to live with realities around us.”
Asked how he felt on a theological level about charging people to enter a place of worship, he added: “I’m very clear that we have to make sure that worship is always free, and if worship is going to be free, we’ve got to find ways of paying for the House of God.
“The people who built Canterbury Cathedral spent a fortune in building it and maintaining it over the years. We now, in our generation, have the same responsibility and we need to make sure that whenever the least, the little or the lost need to come into the House of God, they can come free and we’ll make sure that happens.”
A spokesperson for Canterbury Cathedral said that the free precincts trial has been in planning for over seven months, and that it has been published since Jan 16 – four days after The Telegraph’s analysis of cathedral fees. Monday marks the first day of the trial.
Free access to areas includes the south precincts, the Memorial Garden, the Dark Entry, and Green Court. Attendance for a service of worship and for prayer are also always free.
