‘Shattering Blow’ to Westminster Abbey, Cathedrals

Oct 13, 2020 by

by Mark Michael, The Living Church:

London’s Westminster Abbey, which relies on visitor admission fees for 90% of its income, is down more than £12 million in revenue this year, and will soon lay off nearly 20 percent of its staff. The Very Rev. Dr. David Hoyle, dean of the abbey, described the losses to the BBC as a “shattering blow,” and said that a further loss of £9-12 million is expected in 2021. “We’re negotiating one of the greatest challenges to hit the abbey in recent times,” Hoyle said. £1 is the equivalent of $1.29 US.

The Association of English Cathedrals separately reported that the Church of England’s 42 cathedrals are experiencing a £28.4 million revenue shortfall. They are projecting another £15.5 million loss next year. The Association said that job cuts would likely hit churches around England in October, when the British government’s pandemic-related job retention scheme ends.

Churches across the UK were granted permission to reopen for visitors and worship services on July 11, but numbers are sharply restricted because of social distancing requirements. Hoyle said that in a “normal” July day, 1,000 visitors per hour would be admitted to Westminster Abbey, the traditional site for the coronation and burial of British monarchs. Visitor numbers are not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for another five years.

Westminster Abbey has been drawing from its financial reserves to pay for staff salaries and other operating expenses, but its financial reserves will be depleted by a third by September. Plans have already been announced to consolidate the congregations of the abbey and St. Margaret’s, Westminster, which share the abbey grounds. Sunday services will no longer be held at St. Margaret’s, traditionally the church of Britain’s House of Commons, and its professional choir has been disbanded. “In the short term we will only be able to sustain our familiar commitments to Parliament,” the abbey announced. “In the years to come a much more ambitious program of worship and events will be possible.”

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