12 June 2026

‘Church of England figures show that 9.87 million people visited England’s cathedrals in 2024, making them among the most visited heritage sites in the country.‘ wrote the editor of the Church Times recently. ‘Cathedrals are remarkable institutions – sanctuaries of stillness in an otherwise noisy world.

 ‘They offer worship enhanced by an extraordinary choral tradition. They run outreach and education programmes and stage world class concerts and exhibitions. They mark the civic calendar and hold spaces for communal grief and celebration.’

It is quite a summary but it is not sufficient to protect the cathedrals form financial difficulties. This has become evident in a recent report by Theos, ‘Living Stones: English cathedrals as sacred places in changing times’. It makes several salient points.

Firstly, whilst there is a lot of goodwill from the public and people who live nearby cathedrals are proud of them, the study showed that their interest was largely passive. Over half the population sample said that they would be unlikely to donate to a cathedral.

Secondly, in an effort to intensify their profile and to raise money for the cathedral, events have been organised which were in danger of ‘crowding out the sense of stillness and calm’ – the very thing for which a cathedral is valued.

Thirdly, whilst the more recent professionalization of cathedral staff and enterprises is to be commended, the commercialisation has been a mixed blessing. Staff described how lottery-funded projects had ‘influenced and, in some cases, largely erased, the religious meaning of spaces and objects in favour of heritage interpretation.’

Stillness, beauty and wonder are all experienced in a cathedral but they cannot be commodified. This is true of churches especially ancient stone built churches with an 800 year history. Because spiritual experiences cannot be measured, they are no use to our management gurus. But God is to be found in these unquantifiable spaces!