England. Across the Channel, French public budgets for the restoration of cathedrals leave dreamers those responsible for religious buildings. While religion is of state in England, no public envelope is provided annually. “For historical reasons, all these cathedrals work like charities. They are decentralized and manage dioceses which have their own budget and which collect funds each in their own way ”explains Ben Sims, the director of fundraising and public affairs of the National Churches Trust (NCT). The NCT is responsible for providing financial assistance to churches for emergency repairs. If the cathedrals were excluded from this system until 2024, the administrators voted for a change in their statutes and integrate them, due to the great financial difficulties encountered by religious buildings. But in 2023, the organization’s aid budget was 2 million pounds (only € 2.36 million).“We are far from being able to cover the needs of cathedrals”he comments.
To contribute to their maintenance, in the 1980s, some Anglican cathedrals decided to set up a ticketing system for tourists, while keeping free access for people who want to pray or attend a service. Today, out of the 42 cathedrals which depend on the church of England, eight have set up a paid entry for tourists, with an average standard price of 17.7 pounds, or more than 20 euros. Westminster Abbey, which is not in itself a cathedral and which depends directly on the king, the chief of the Anglican church, presents the most expensive visit of all, with an entrance to 30 pounds (35 €). Its annual operating costs amount to 24 million pounds (€ 28 million).
Westminster abbey in London.
Contrasting financial situations
Depending on tourist attractiveness, the financial situation of these cathedrals therefore varies a lot from one establishment to another. But since the Pandemic of Covid 19, even the cathedrals who set up an entrance ticket have faced financial difficulties, due to inflation, increase in costs of repair materials and labor. “There has also been a general drop in the number of people who frequent churches, which has helped reduce the number of donors”says Ben Sims. Ely’s cathedral in eastern England, decided to increase its standard ticket by 9 pounds to 14 pounds (€ 16.50) last January. She was one of the first to have set up a ticket office in 1987, to avoid closing. Saint-Paul cathedral, which attracts around 1.5 million visitors per year, recently increased its prices by 25 to 26 pounds (30.5 €).
Since April 2024, a new weight has been added to the cathedral budget. “” There was a system that reimbursed VAT for work in the classified places of worship, but it has just been capped at 25,000 pounds (€ 29,400), Indicates Ben Sims. If you have a repair project of 10 million pounds (€ 12 million), overnight, you have to pay 2 million pounds (€ 2.36 million) of VAT. »» This cap is set up for a year, but the future of the system is uncertain.
Faced with this situation, some of the non -paying cathedrals are thinking about the implementation of a ticketing system. In April, Peterborough cathedral (east of England) has just managed to raise 300,000 pounds (€ 353,000) in April to avoid paying your entries to tourists. “The church of England had even started to discuss what would happen if a cathedral should close, Indicates Ben Sims. QAre we doing the building? It is an unexplored territory, but we must think about it because of the difficulties encountered by certain cathedrals. »»
The director also believes that the British government should take responsibility. “”This is one of the biggest heritage crises we meet, half of our most important buildings in terms of classification are churches and cathedrals. Some are sold, others deteriorate. »» Informed of the plan of President Emmanuel Macron to collect 200 million euros for the religious heritage, Ben Sims would like to be put in place, across the Channel, fundraising by the government for donations made for religious buildings.
There are other public organizations or mechanisms that occasionally support cathedrals, such as the cathedral sustainability fund, but the financial aid provided do not come from direct state subsidies. From 1977, the government had started to give subsidies to cathedrals and churches for specific reparation projects, but this scholarship system was abolished in 2017 due to the change of priorities of the culture budget. “Today, one of the few state financing options is the national lottery”Ben Sims recalls. In 2024, the organization announced a program of subsidies for the religious heritage of 85 million pounds (€ 100 million) over three years, but it concerns all places of worship, and not exclusively cathedrals.
