Durham Cathedral has launched a campaign to raise the £10 million needed to preserve the UNESCO listed monument over the next few years.
The Foundation 2020 campaign, which hopes to generate the £10 million by 2020, aims to safeguard the cathedral – seen as one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Europe – for future generations to marvel at.
An inspection in 2013 revealed that around £40 million of restoration work will eventually have to be done on the building.
The cathedral’s website states, “The scale and significance of the cathedral and its precinct present complex challenges in terms of continual conservation and repair work.”
“The Chapter of Durham Cathedral is making a strategic step change in the way it manages the care of this much-loved historic building to help meet these challenges.”
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded a grant of £1 million from @heritagelottery! https://t.co/zWmtxCz2PO @HLFNorthEast pic.twitter.com/W3BHuzTCIR
— Durham Cathedral (@durhamcathedral) July 17, 2017
Durham Cathedral has already contributed £3.7 million of its own money to Foundation 2020. The campaign has also received a boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The HLF has awarded £1 million to Foundation 2020, a sum which is available to match donations on a £1 for £1 basis.
The Dean of Durham Cathedral, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, said, “Sharing our faith and heritage with the world is a fundamental part of the cathedral’s vision.”
“Conservation and repair of this wonderful building is crucial to that vision. We are very grateful to the Lottery Heritage Fund for its continued support of Durham Cathedral. Its grant of £1 million to Foundation 2020 we hope will open doors to match funding, helping secure the cathedral’s future.”
“This grant is on the back of National Lottery support of Open Treasure, which has enabled us to widen access to the cathedral’s internationally important collections of artefacts, objects and manuscripts and to the magnificent claustral buildings where they are displayed.”
“We are enormously thankful for its support and faith in the cathedral to deliver.”
The head of HLF North East, Ivor Crowther, said, “Thanks to money raised by the National Lottery players, we’re pleased to help kickstart Durham Cathedral’s ambitious fundraising campaign to enhance their long-term financial resilience and to ensure the incredible heritage of the cathedral remains accessible for all.”
(Featured image courtesy of The National Churches Trust, from Flickr Creative Commons)
