Charging to visit Cathedrals/Churches

[colin(bridgend)]

My wife and I went to Chester last week and as we are both interested in old architecture and both religious, me being Church of Wales and the wife Salvation Army, we went to the Cathedral. There was an admission charge of £6 per person to enter the building. I refused to pay this on the principle that all churches/cathedrals should be open to the public free of charge during normal daylight hours. A church is supposed to be a place of sanctuary and peace for the visitor as well as a place of worship. Both the Protestant and Catholic faiths are very rich organisations and therefore to charge entry is disgraceful. When we do visit such a building we always make a donation but the amount we give is out of choice. When we visited France we went to numerous churches/cathedrals out of normal service hours but in all cases there was free admission.

This in our opinion is once again a way of exploiting the public and holidaymaker by charging admission. We understand that there is the upkeep, rates, electricity, etc. to be met by the Church but this would come from donations, service collections and the interest they receive from their investments and should not be from charging entrance fees. How do other members of this forum feel about this?

 

[Robert_374242026]

I do not mind collection boxes just inside the building and usually they have some literature there, but do not agree paying like that.

 

[LMH]

I totally agree with everything you have said Colin.

Lisa

 

[Robtel]

Although not the most religious person I do enjoy visiting old buildings including churches and cathedrals. I cannot recall any churches or cathedrals I have visited having an entrance charge. A collection box with a suggested contribution -yes, but not a specific admission charge. The upkeep of these buildings must be very expensive and I don't mind in the least making a donation. I do tend to agree with you Colin, I always believed that churches etc. were open to all whether they had the price of admission or not.

Can I ask did you make your views known at the cathedral and if so what was the response?

Robert

 

[Val & Frank]

Difficult one this.

These buildings cost a lot of Money to Heat and Light, the Building Maintenance is Horrific.

I bet they still had No Shortage of Visitors, so it's your choice to admire the building from the Outside, or pay to see the Inside.

Now the Rights or Wrongs of that is a different matter, and one I don't feel qualified to comment on.

Val & Frank

 

[parker1158]

Yes I agree with you Colin I would have walked away.

The sad thing is the Church of England bleed churches dry. Also the C of E is not as wealthy as some think-they used to be but they lost a lot of money some years back due to poor investments. I used to be treasurer of our village church not because I'm religious, I'm not, as a scientist I don't believe in the whole god thing, but because, like you, I love old buildings and our village church is over a thousand years old. Doing the books and looking after the money side of things was a real eye opener and as such I sympathise with any church. Without going into detail the C of E take their substantial cut first and foremost and leave very little for the average church to get by on. They are incredibly expensive buildings to maintain and are so tied up in red tape that the simplest of jobs cost fortunes to put right. We have a separate account for the fabric of the church just so people can rest easy that money they give goes to saving the church and just into C of E coffers. With this in mind I would advise anyone paying to visit such a place to makes inquiries as to where the entrance fee money is going.

 

[Chrissylizzie]

I also agree with you Colin. I appreciate the upkeep of Cathedrals must be never-ending and so we do gladly make a substantial donation, but to be asked for a specific amount would not be acceptable.

 

[cris_408518]

Donation is the only acceptable way of visiting Churches and Cathedrals I think.

I've no idea if the C of E has publicly available details of its property portfolio but understand that they are one of the largest land owners in the UK and some people I understand would be surprised to know that they work on C of E owned property such as some large industrial estates.

I understand that the Church Commisioners do not widely advertise there business portfolio but they have around

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Donation is the only acceptable way of visiting Churches and Cathedrals I think.

I've no idea if the C of E has publicly available details of its property portfolio but understand that they are one of the largest land owners in the UK and some people I understand would be surprised to know that they work on C of E owned property such as some large industrial estates.

I understand that the Church Commisioners do not widely advertise there business portfolio but they have around

 

[Val & Frank]

And we always make a donation.

There was an admission charge of

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Frank it would appear to me that you have not fully digested the initial posting. I stated in the original posting that the upkeep, which may be quite considerate, is met by collections, donations and the interest earned from the vast financial portfolio the Church has. Reading a previous posting it would appear the Church is worth over

 

[Val & Frank]

Colin

With all due respect I did read your post correctly. The Church is a Show, take it or leave it, and you left it. I just checked it costs

 

[JandP]

As a wretched sinner who is sure to burn in hell for all eternity I would see a church or cathederal in the same way as a castle or an old house only as an interesting historical building and so would expect to pay for entry. Perhaps it should be like the National Trust where members have free entry to all properties, fully paid up church members have free entry, all others pay at the door! Jim.

 

[Val & Frank]

Thank God for you Jim, I thought I was alone.

ps The Walt Disney Organisation has

 

[parker1158]

I think you have overstepped it there Frank, I've just come back from Disneyland Florida and I'll take the children to church on Sunday but I wouln't expect the church visit to come out on top in terms of entertainment value.