Canterbury Cathedral makes its gardens free after prices row

CANTERBURY Cathedral will trial a free entry scheme after a backlash over its prices, but will only provide access to limited areas.

The historic building, which opened in 1834 and stands as England’s first cathedral, announced a “free precincts” scheme for large sections of the site for six weeks.

However, sightseers will still need to pay £17 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.

The move comes after The Telegraph reported that one in four cathedrals are 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 which 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 increased 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 four years to £29. Normal entry tickets for the whole site of Canterbury Cathedral are £17 per adult (over 17s) and are valid for 12 months and for repeated visits.

The Rev David Monteith, the Dean of Canterbury, told BBC Radio 4 that there was a sense 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 ena- ble many more people to do that.”

The Dean said the cathedral had to raise £12million a year to keep the building open, and its utility bill is £550,000 a year. “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,” he said

Asked how he felt on a theological level about charging people to enter a place of worship, he added: “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. 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.”