Cathedral and church admission
Jan 17th, 2009, 03:37 PM
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Cathedral and church admission
I'm working on plsnning our trip to London for our family of six in late March. I've noticed that a number of interesting cathedrals and churches have no admission charge, but have minimum donations instead. I've never visited a cathedral without making a donation, but I generally do not donate the equivalent of 30 to 40 pounds (which is what Southwark would cost my family). I guess my question is this -- how much pressure is exerted to make the minimum donation? Is there a manned ticket booth or merely a donation box? Please do not insult me for asking this question -- I realize that these old buildings require expensive upkeep. However, it is important for me to get a feel for how much admission fees will run while planning my trip.
Thank you very much for your responses.
I'd also appreciate information on interesting old churches/buildings in London that may not necessarily show up in guidebooks.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for your responses.
I'd also appreciate information on interesting old churches/buildings in London that may not necessarily show up in guidebooks.
Thanks!
Jan 17th, 2009, 04:02 PM
#2
sheesh - right in the middle of posting my reply, the site went down momentarily. Here goes again . . . .
They do not stand over the collection box and watch what you put in. Anything would be fine - maybe £5-£10 or a little more for your whole family would be fine. You be amazed (and likely saddened) to see that many if not most visitors leave nothing at all.
At Southwark they also will sell you a very inexpensive photography pass - I think it was £1 or £2 last time I was there. A bit more for video. You get a little sticker and then can take photos (w/o flash of course)
They do not stand over the collection box and watch what you put in. Anything would be fine - maybe £5-£10 or a little more for your whole family would be fine. You be amazed (and likely saddened) to see that many if not most visitors leave nothing at all.
At Southwark they also will sell you a very inexpensive photography pass - I think it was £1 or £2 last time I was there. A bit more for video. You get a little sticker and then can take photos (w/o flash of course)
Jan 17th, 2009, 04:27 PM
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Thank you Janisj. I have also seen people fail to leave a donation at cathedrals -- even when lighting a candle -- and it has surprised me. I guess that's why some cathedrals make donation suggestions -- as a reminder to please leave something.
Jan 17th, 2009, 04:56 PM
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It's good to know Southwark is still a voluntary contribution and it is hoped people donate what they can.
The first time I saw an actual ticket booth was in York Minster two years ago. Unless attending a service, the entrance fee is 5 pounds 50 for the minster or 9.50 for admission to the minster, tower, crypt, etc.
It does add up for families and is a dilemma because as noted, the upkeep is steep and there are less public and church funds available.
The first time I saw an actual ticket booth was in York Minster two years ago. Unless attending a service, the entrance fee is 5 pounds 50 for the minster or 9.50 for admission to the minster, tower, crypt, etc.
It does add up for families and is a dilemma because as noted, the upkeep is steep and there are less public and church funds available.
Jan 17th, 2009, 10:16 PM
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I really don't know anyone who gives, or suggests anyone else gives, anything for children.
If there were a British Miss Manners on this it'd say you should give the suggested amount per earning-able adult. Britain has an elaborate list of "concessions": people routinely paying about two-thirds the going rate (over 60 or out of work), and Miss Manners would probably apply the formula to these voluntary payments too.
London's surprisingly short of interesting churches, since so many got destroyed in 1666 and replaced by cookie-cutter clones of each other from Christopher Wren's 'Churches R Us' design factory. Exhausted by all that activity, we then more or less stopped building any until the mid 19th century, and most of what went up then is out of fashion these days.
If you gave us a list of what you've already identified and your broad criteria for "interesting" (are you really that interested in High Victorian decoration, for example?), you'll get loads of suggestions.
If there were a British Miss Manners on this it'd say you should give the suggested amount per earning-able adult. Britain has an elaborate list of "concessions": people routinely paying about two-thirds the going rate (over 60 or out of work), and Miss Manners would probably apply the formula to these voluntary payments too.
London's surprisingly short of interesting churches, since so many got destroyed in 1666 and replaced by cookie-cutter clones of each other from Christopher Wren's 'Churches R Us' design factory. Exhausted by all that activity, we then more or less stopped building any until the mid 19th century, and most of what went up then is out of fashion these days.
If you gave us a list of what you've already identified and your broad criteria for "interesting" (are you really that interested in High Victorian decoration, for example?), you'll get loads of suggestions.
Jan 18th, 2009, 03:36 AM
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...but here are some suggestions anyway.
Not all London churches are Wren lookalikes.
Old St Pancras (not the one on Euston Rd) church was originally an Early Christian place of worship. Very substantially remodelled inj the early 19th century, but you can still see some traces of very early design
St Andrews, Greensted juxta Ongar is the only church in the region with visible traces of its wooden Saxon origins - though tricky to get to by public transport
Two churches close to the City of London are essentially Norman: St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower (free entry if you're attending a service: see the Tower website) looks as spartan and military as any really ancient Italian church. St Bartholemew's, close to Smithfield market is also spectacularly robust.
St Ethelreda's, Ely Place is wrongly described in many guide books as the only church in London to have stayed Catholic through the Reformation. No so, but it IS medieval and Catholics now use it, so it's decorated much the way English churches were before the Prods ripped all the art out. It's the only medieval church in England that looks, feels and (after an incense-laden Mass) smells like all our churches once did.
St Dunstan in the West, 186 Fleet St, has about a dozen side chapels, as churches used to. Each is used by an "orphan" variety of Christianity - above all, the Romanian Orthodox, whose church it has sort of become (though the Anglicans still pay for it), but also more obscure varieties of Syrian Old Catholics and the like. It's also the church of Izaak Walton, the fishing bloke
Wesley's Chapel, in City Rd, is the spiritual centre of Methodism, and next to Moor Fields cemetery, where a huge host of Dissidents, like John Bunyan and Wiliam Blake, are buried.
Of the Wrens, St Mary Woolnoth isn't actually by Wren (he built one here, but so badly it was pulled down for safety and a Hawksmoor put up in its place). One of its Rectors, commemorated in the church, was John Newton, the slaver who got religion, campaigned for Abolition and wrote Amazing Grace.
Or try the Pocahontas trail. John Smith's commemorated outside St Mary le Bow church (which houses the Bow Bells, proximity to which defines Cockneyness), where he would have worshipped except that the church he grew up in got destroyed in 1666 and - yup - Wren designed the replacement. The Princess is buried at St George's Gravesend.
Not all London churches are Wren lookalikes.
Old St Pancras (not the one on Euston Rd) church was originally an Early Christian place of worship. Very substantially remodelled inj the early 19th century, but you can still see some traces of very early design
St Andrews, Greensted juxta Ongar is the only church in the region with visible traces of its wooden Saxon origins - though tricky to get to by public transport
Two churches close to the City of London are essentially Norman: St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower (free entry if you're attending a service: see the Tower website) looks as spartan and military as any really ancient Italian church. St Bartholemew's, close to Smithfield market is also spectacularly robust.
St Ethelreda's, Ely Place is wrongly described in many guide books as the only church in London to have stayed Catholic through the Reformation. No so, but it IS medieval and Catholics now use it, so it's decorated much the way English churches were before the Prods ripped all the art out. It's the only medieval church in England that looks, feels and (after an incense-laden Mass) smells like all our churches once did.
St Dunstan in the West, 186 Fleet St, has about a dozen side chapels, as churches used to. Each is used by an "orphan" variety of Christianity - above all, the Romanian Orthodox, whose church it has sort of become (though the Anglicans still pay for it), but also more obscure varieties of Syrian Old Catholics and the like. It's also the church of Izaak Walton, the fishing bloke
Wesley's Chapel, in City Rd, is the spiritual centre of Methodism, and next to Moor Fields cemetery, where a huge host of Dissidents, like John Bunyan and Wiliam Blake, are buried.
Of the Wrens, St Mary Woolnoth isn't actually by Wren (he built one here, but so badly it was pulled down for safety and a Hawksmoor put up in its place). One of its Rectors, commemorated in the church, was John Newton, the slaver who got religion, campaigned for Abolition and wrote Amazing Grace.
Or try the Pocahontas trail. John Smith's commemorated outside St Mary le Bow church (which houses the Bow Bells, proximity to which defines Cockneyness), where he would have worshipped except that the church he grew up in got destroyed in 1666 and - yup - Wren designed the replacement. The Princess is buried at St George's Gravesend.
Jan 18th, 2009, 04:24 AM
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"England's 1000 Best Churches" is a great guide to ecclesiastical architecture. It skips the great cathedrals like Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's and gets down to the parish level.
Among my favorite London churches are St. Paul's Covent Garden with its memorial placques to theater luminaries -- it's an Inigo Jones church; St. Martin in the Field and St. Bartholemew the Great. St. James Picadilly (Christopher Wren, Grinling Gibbons carved font) and St. Mary Abbots have particularly charming church yards. St. Mary Abbots on Kensington High Street has sculptures by one of Queen Victoria's daughters.
Among my favorite London churches are St. Paul's Covent Garden with its memorial placques to theater luminaries -- it's an Inigo Jones church; St. Martin in the Field and St. Bartholemew the Great. St. James Picadilly (Christopher Wren, Grinling Gibbons carved font) and St. Mary Abbots have particularly charming church yards. St. Mary Abbots on Kensington High Street has sculptures by one of Queen Victoria's daughters.
Jan 19th, 2009, 10:03 AM
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Thank you all for the wonderful responses. These are exactly the types of suggestions for which I was searching. Kids seem to be more impressed with quiet little stories to which they can relate (i.e. Pocahontas, Wren's church needing to be destroyed because of safety, strange names) than to overcrowded cathedrals-- even if Newton is buried there. Of course we'll go to the "big" cathedrals but having my map marked with the small churches with interesting stories keeps the trip more interesting than merely looking at the tube map and hurrying from "major" site to major site.
FlannerUK-- I hadn't really thought about the suggested donations being per adult. Of course that makes it much more affordable for a family to visit.
VirginiaC -- I'm going to search Amazon for that book tonight. Thank you for the suggestion!
Laura
FlannerUK-- I hadn't really thought about the suggested donations being per adult. Of course that makes it much more affordable for a family to visit.
VirginiaC -- I'm going to search Amazon for that book tonight. Thank you for the suggestion!
Laura
