Thought-provoking new research reveals the economic and social value of England's Anglican cathedrals

New research has revealed that nearly nine million people visited England's Anglican cathedrals in 2003 - two million more than visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach, five million more than went on the London Eye and almost twice as many as visited the British Museum in the same year. This is just one of many compelling findings in a report on the value of England's cathedrals which is launched today (15 December 2004) as part of Heritage Counts, an annual audit of the historic environment carried out by English Heritage on behalf of the sector.

The research, which was commissioned jointly by English Heritage and the Association of English Cathedrals, provides the first comprehensive evidence of the substantial economic and social contribution made by cathedrals in their local communities. Cathedrals are first and foremost places of worship, and well recognised as places of great spirituality and beauty, but until now little consideration has been given to the boost that their presence gives to the local economy and the range of opportunities they offer for education, events and volunteering.

Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "Our cathedrals are at the very heart of England's heritage and, as this new study shows, their contribution reaches far beyond bricks and mortar. In an increasingly complex world, these great edifices are vital forces for social cohesion and focal points for both celebration and mourning, not just in their cities, but in the large areas they serve."

The Very Revd Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark and a member of the Association of English Cathedrals Executive, said: "We welcome this report which is published during our busiest time of the year! It underlines the key role played by England's 42 Anglican cathedrals in the nation's life. It shows the enormous economic benefit that English cathedrals provide for society - in addition to their vital spiritual and community role.

"In fact, more detailed research by the Church of England - which includes, for example, Westminster Abbey - indicates that across all the cathedrals in England the number of visits in 2003 was as high as 12.5 million."

Highlights of the research:

* Visitors attracted to an area by the presence of a cathedral spend ?91 million in the local economy per year. When the amount cathedrals themselves spend on goods, services and employment is taken into account the figure rises to ?150 million per year.

* The 42 Anglican cathedrals account collectively for the direct employment of 1,885 full time workers. Through spending in the local economy they support 5,500 workers in total.

* Cathedrals provide huge opportunities for volunteers and benefit significantly from their time and skills. The survey suggests that the number of cathedral volunteers is in excess of 12,000. This is equivalent to over 500 full time employees and is more than the total number of volunteers for the RSPB across the UK.

* The cathedrals spend approximately ?25.9 million per year on wages and salaries.

* Cathedrals spend ?11 million per year on repairs and maintenance, much of it raised from the public.

* Cathedrals are open 365 days a year. They are open to all and have more contact with non-churchgoers than any other part of the Church.

* More than 300,000 schoolchildren benefited from organised educational visits to cathedrals in 2003.

* All but five of the smaller cathedrals have a designated education officer.

* All cathedrals have, on average, between three and five special events (concerts, plays, lectures, art exhibitions etc) per week. More than 50% reported an increase in the number of events they hold.

* Almost 50% of the cathedrals reported an increasing trend in congregation size with attendance at its highest on Sundays.

* An average of 23 regular services takes place at each cathedral every week and an increasing number of requests for special services were reported.

* The report concludes that there is a pressing need to reinforce these findings with more in-depth research on the economic and social impact of Anglican cathedrals in England. It suggests that future research should focus on the characteristics of visitors to cathedrals, such as age and nationality, for which there is currently a lack of information.

While many people have intuitively understood the value of cathedrals, until now their wider social contribution has been largely overlooked. For the first time, this new research puts figures on the significant economic and social contribution made by cathedrals locally and nationally. It demonstrates the need to treasure and protect these great buildings, so that they can maintain their invaluable contribution to the nation's life.

For more information please contact:

Anya Matthews, English Heritage Corporate Communications, on 0207 973 3372 or 07887 631177 anya.matthews@english-heritage.org.uk or Peter Crumpler or Arun Kataria, Communications, Church House, London, 020 7898 1326 or cofecomms@c-of-e.org.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS

* The Economic and Social Impacts of Cathedrals in England was joint-funded by English Heritage and the Association of English Cathedrals.

* The study was carried out by ECOTEC Research and Consulting Limited between February and June 2004. It is based primarily on a postal survey which was distributed to all 42 Anglican cathedrals (not including Westminster Abbey). The survey was designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative information. An overall response rate of 90% was achieved.

* The survey was followed by in-depth case studies based on a representative selection of eight cathedrals (Canterbury, Chelmsford, Chichester, Guildford, Lichfield, Lincoln, Liverpool and York).

* The objectives of the study were to assess:

-the overall value added by English cathedrals to their local economies, with the focus on the effects on economic activity, incomes and employment -the social impacts which cathedrals have within communities in terms of the contribution made by education, volunteering and social and community activity -potential areas for future research

* For the purposes of research, a typology of five categories of cathedral was established from the large, internationally-known cathedrals such as St Paul's and York, to the Parish Church cathedrals that have come into being since 1836, such as Coventry and Leicester.

* The ECOTEC survey used data from cathedrals themselves but visitor data from 2002 was used when data from 2003 was not available.

* Three of England's top five historic 'visitor attractions' - York Minister, Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey - are places of worship.

* Further data on visitors to cathedrals from 2004 should be available early in 2005 from returns made to the Archbishops' Council.

* The Association of English Cathedrals are actively considering ways of undertaking further research about visitors to cathedrals, to build further on this study.

* To download a copy of the report please visit

http://www.heritagecounts.co.uk

* A VisitBritain report Visitor Attraction Trends England 2003 shows that in 2003 6.2 million people visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 3.7 million people visited the London Eye and 4.5 million visited the British Museum.