Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal reaches £7million

A little over a year since it was publicly launched, the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal has raised over £7 million. The appeal was launched to fund an extensive conservation and development programme for the Cathedral.

Canterbury Cathedral costs over £12,000 per day to run and relies entirely on its own resources and donations. The cathedral is one of only two UK cathedrals to be a World Heritage Site, putting it among the ranks of the Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon.

During the last year work has been done on the cathedral to restore its stonework and roofs. In addition monitoring equipment has been installed to keep track of the effects of environmental changes on the 12th century stained glass windows.

The appeal was launched in October 2006 and has gained support and donations both in the local area and even overseas. Increasingly supporters are coming to include business and some grant-making trusts and foundations.

The appeal also introduced Sponsor a Stone and Sponsor a Lead Tile schemes to allow contributors to play a more personal role in the task of restoring the historic structure.

The Chief Executive of the Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal, Brigadier David Innes, said: "An enormous amount of progress has been made during the year both in terms of fundraising and the important conservation work.

"Although it is still early days, the work that has been taking place at the Cathedral over the past year shows how right the decision was to launch this important Appeal to ensure that this magnificent national treasure can be enjoyed by generations to come."