Major work needed at cathedral

The people of the Westcountry who care about one of the region’s most beautiful buildings should “use it or lose it”.

That’s the warning today from The Very Reverend Jonathan Greener, the Dean of Exeter, where the Cathedral needs £13 million in repairs and upgrades. The building needs to be fit for the 21st century and requires more support, says the Dean.

Exeter Cathedral needs £13million in repairs and upgrades to safeguard its future, says the man in charge of the building.

The sum is needed for the cathedral and for associated buildings, one of which will collapse unless work is done urgently, says The Very Reverend Jonathan Greener, the Dean of Exeter.

Work needed includes a new heating system for the 15th cathedral and up to £1.5m on two associated buildings, the Chapter House and Church House, which has a badly leaking roof. Plans for a multiphase project lasting over eight years are in the early stage of preparation.

“The cathedral is a marvellous building, the greatest in Devon, certainly, and I would say the greatest in the South West,” said Mr Greener.

“We are lucky to have it, but this is a case of ‘use it, support it or lose it’. We have to make it fit for the 21st century.”

The planned work includes opening up for permanent public viewing two of the UK’s most precious books that are in the cathedral’s collection: The Exeter Book, an 10th-century anthology of poetry in Old English, and Exon Domesday, an 11th-century volume that is the only surviving source for Great Domesday Book for anywhere in England. Both are currently on display at the British Library.

“We are still at an early stage of conceiving this project, but we are working with the University [of Exeter] on digitising some of the content,” said Mr Greener. “We also want to display the books permanently.”

However, the bulk of the work is for the fabric of buildings including up to £700,000 on Church House. “Without that it will collapse,” said Mr Greener. Other work includes new lighting for the cathedral and an improved sound system.

The cathedral will have to find the £13m in addition to the £2.3m that is needed each year to cover running costs, which presents a major challenge. Cathedrals do not receive any state funding. The Church of England pays for three clergy plus a grant of about £30,000.

Intended funding sources would include grants and donations for individuals, he said

In recent years the cathedral has been through a financial crisis that led to a deficit of £350,000 in 2016. Measures to reduce costs and increase income included reducing the number of staff and taking the Christmas market in-house. Last year there was a surplus of about £9,000. Part of the crisis was due to the cost of preparation work for an ultimately unsuccessful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £8.7m to restore and open to the public the Roman Baths, hidden beneath the cathedral green for nearly 2,000 years. The crisis led to the departure of Mr Greener’s predecessor, The Very Reverend Jonathan Draper. The baths plan remains on hold. Mr Greener, who took over a year ago this month, comes with a reputation for safe financial management and improvement work. In his previous post as Dean of Wakefield that included the most complete makeover of any cathedral in recent times which involved raising £7.5m.

‘This is a case of ‘use it, support it or lose it’

Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter

Exeter Cathedral has recovered from a financial crisis but needs to raise £13m for urgent repairs and improvements