ANNUAL visitor numbers to cathedrals in England have surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time, statistics published on Thursday suggest.
But weekly attendance at cathedral services — while increasing by 10.4 per cent in 2024 on the previous year — remained about 13 per cent lower than in 2019, before the Covid pandemic resulted in the closure of church buildings during national lockdowns.
The 42 cathedrals in England reported 9.87 million visitors in 2024, surpassing both 9.35 million in 2023 and the 9.7 million reported in 2019.
An average of 31,900 people (of whom 86 per cent were adults and 14 per cent were children) were reported to have attended “regular” Sunday and midweek cathedral services in 2024 — an increase from an average of 28,900 in 2023. The total weekly attendance in 2019 was 36,800.
This excludes figures for festivals in peak holidays, and special events and services.
“Midweek attendance at these regular services grew more than Sunday attendance from 2023 to 2024, the report says. “However, while adult midweek attendance in 2024 was almost back to 2019 levels, child midweek attendance was still 34% lower in 2024 than it was in 2019.”
The report was written by Dr Ken Eames and Hilary Day, who are part of the Church of England Data Services team. The report states that, from 2020 onwards, this data were collected in October, which “may affect the comparability of the figures between years”.
For special services, an annual attendance of 667,300 was reported in 2024 — an increase of 4.45 per cent on the 638,900 people attending in 2023 .
In 2024, the total reported attendance at Easter services held at cathedrals was 50,200 (of whom 47 per cent received communion) — a significant increase from 45,000 in 2023, and which almost caught up with the 2019 figure of 52,300.
For Christmas services, however, the figures have not improved. In 2024, total reported attendance at Christmas services was 121,100, down slightly from 124,600 in 2023 and below the 2019 figure of 132,300.
Data on volunteering were also gathered: 13,000 people volunteered in cathedrals in 2024, down 2.3 per cent from 13,300 in 2023, and significantly lower (about 17 per cent) from the 15,700 recorded in 2019. This includes servers, welcomers, stewards, flower arrangers, committee members, and other unpaid roles.
The Dean of Canterbury, the Very Revd David Monteith, who chairs the Church of England’s College of Deans, was positive about the overall figures, which, he said, reflected a Church “alive with possibility”. He said: “We continue to see a significant revival in cathedral worship since the depths of the pandemic, with renewed energy in midweek services, music, and community engagement.”
He commended those who minister, volunteer, and serve in cathedrals, saying that their “imaginative dedication is helping to shape a Church that is resilient, responsive, and determinately rooted in the life of the nation”.