Custodian of a Statue

The Custodian of a Statue appeal was launched in 2007 to help fund vital phases of restoration work to support our largest fundraising and conservation project of recent years - The West Front Project.The iconic West Front of Peterborough Cathedral is arguably one of the most important gothic constructions in the whole of the UK and as it approaches its 900th birthday, it is becoming increasingly need of intensive restoration to preserve and maintain it for generations to come.

Generations of weathering, exacerbated by atmospheric pollution during the past 150 years, demanded a £600,000 conservation and restoration project which began in 2007 and was completed in 2009 on target and on budget, largely thanks to our enormously popular Custodian of a Statue scheme, which rasied in excess of £200,000 towards the project.

When the initiative was first introduced in 2007 when the first phase of work to conserve the 33 statues adorning the West Front began and as such we decided to try and find ‘Custodians’ to sponsor their repair. We are delighted to report that today all but 2 of the 33 statues have been ‘adopted’ including that of St Peter, which was sponsored for £10,000 and a number of other apostles for as much £3500 each!

Although, the project is now complete, there are still 2 statues available and any money raised from the final 2 adoptions will either go towards covering the small funding gap left over from this previous project or will go to support our latest challenge presented by climate change - this time on the Cathedral Roof.

The Cathedral has just launched its newest fundraising project - ‘Save the Ceiling’ - to re-enforce the downpipes on the Cathedral roof to prevent the overflow of rainwater from heavy downpours caused by climate change seeping through to the internal fabric of the Cathedral and putting the great organ and the unique 13th century hand-painted Nave Ceiling at grave risk. The amount required for this project is estimated to be in the region of £100,000 so please if you would like to sponsor a hopper required to carry water away from our roof.

Regardless of whether you would like to sponsor a hopper or a statue the benefits of statue custodianship are listed below.

In return for a donation to the appeal, all custodians receive:

• A beautiful framed limited edition picture of the West Front by a well know local artist
• A diagram indicating the position of their statue
• A certificate acknowledging their custodianship
• A brief description of the history of their statue
• A permanent record of each custodian will be maintained in the Cathedral and online

Anyone interested in finding out more or becoming a Custodian is asked to please contact Richard Cattle at the Cathedral Office on 01733 355315 or email trust@peterborough-cathedral.org.uk.

Alternatively, anyone who would simply like to make a one off donation towards building maintenance and conservation can call 01733 355315 or send a cheque payable to Peterborough Cathedral Development and Preservation Trust, Peterborough Cathedral Office, Minster Precincts, Peterborough, PE1 1XS.