PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL is appealing for £300,000 by the end of March.
The Dean, the Very Revd Christopher Dalliston, says that this sum would see the cathedral through 2025, would help to meet the annual £2-million running costs, and build relationships that would be the platform for a sustainable future.
Without fund-raising, there was a real fear that the cathedral could not continue to keep its doors open seven days a week, Dean Dalliston told a gathering of civic, business, and community leaders on Monday. Also present were representatives from the voluntary sector, the university, and other educational establishments across the city. The Muslim Council of Peterborough made an immediate gift of £1000.
The cathedral, which is at the heart of the city, was one of the most significant medieval abbeys, and a church has stood on the site since 654. Mary, Queen of Scots, was originally buried there, before her remains were reinterred in Westminster Abbey. The cathedral authorities describe the cathedral as “a cherished piece of the city’s identity . . . a place that belongs to all of us, that has served as a cornerstone of community life for generations”.
The cathedral had faced many financial challenges over the years (News, 13 January 2017), the Dean told the Church Times on Monday. “We have no reserves here, really — a particular challenge we have inherited from the past; so there’s very little to enable us to weather any storms that come. We’re a grand cathedral in an ambitious and diverse city, but one which has a lot of issues, and we don’t have the great and good here that tend to support cathedrals in the way they do.
“So, we’re reaching out to a new constituency to try and build these kind of relationships, and to create a more sustainable platform. We’re not a honeypot tourist destination on people’s immediate visitor list in the way that the Yorks and the Elys are, perhaps. Even though we have great treasures to offer, and people are surprised and delighted to discover us, we don’t have that reputation at the moment.”
A cash-flow crisis at Peterborough Cathedral in 2016 led to a Visitation, after the then Bishop, the Rt Revd Donald Allister, found that staff were in imminent risk of not being paid (News, 29 July 2016). A loan was secured from the Church Commissioners, but at the same time it was announced that the Dean, the Very Revd Charles Taylor, was resigning.
The episode led to an investigation into the management and governance of cathedrals, which warned of “serious governance mistakes” (News, 19 January 2018). Widespread reforms of cathedral governance followed under the Cathedrals Measure 2021 (News, 4 December 2020).
The Dean said on Monday that Peterborough city centre was emerging from a challenging period and showing signs of revival, although it felt a bit fragile. The cathedral had had a record-breaking year of events, including the hugely popular “Monsters of the Sea” exhibition, but those efforts could not keep pace with escalating costs.
“There’s a lot of good will in the city towards the cathedral, but also a certain degree of complacency, because of the success we are seen to be in the number of activities and events and concerts and exhibitions. We’re seen as a vibrant institution,” he said.
“We have done a huge amount to bring people in, and to make contact with new demographic constituencies, and so on — all of which has been wonderful and marvellous — but the underlying challenge is to build a properly funded, sustainable, and ongoing future. There’s a limit to to what you can do both in terms of the staff we have, and maintaining our core purpose as a place of worship.”
The £300,000 sought would help to maintain worship and musical programmes that “uplift and inspire”, continue educational initiatives nurturing the next generation, and enable essential repairs to be carried out. “It’s not something you can keep asking for,” the Dean said. “We don’t want to have to return to this situation, going forward. There’s only so many times you can do that.”
Cathedral buildings have recently been re-purposed, on a small budget, to create conference space, which, it is hoped, will increase revenue.
The Dean concluded: “We’re very heartened by today, and positive about the future, but this is a challenge we share with others, in that the cathedral model is not an easy one to work with. Everything is interconnected and organic. We can’t redeploy our fixed assets, or downsize, and things are not easy to disentangle.
“But I am optimistic by nature, and I’m hopeful, in that I hear from the people who are our stakeholders a real desire for the place to flourish and do well.”
Owing to the forthcoming C of E spending review, cathedrals were putting their markers down, he said.
“Many of our cathedrals are facing critical situations, and there is, of course, the national-government dimension about treasure-houses of national heritage and culture. . . We’re committed to doing what we can at the local level, but there are others who have some influence to support cathedrals in their national role.”