The Friends of Chichester Cathedral

The Friends help us to provide funds to assist the Dean and Chapter in their task of maintaining the Cathedral as a centre of worship, mission and community life and to arouse and foster interest in the Cathedral.

Since its foundation in 1939 the Friends have contributed well over a million pounds. This money has been spent on projects great and small so that the building is properly maintained for the worship of God in beautiful surroundings.

The Friends’ Millennium project was the life-size sculpture of St Richard, commissioned from Philip Jackson, which was dedicated by the Bishop after the Friends’ AGM on 15 June 2000, and which stands on the western concourse outside the Cathedral. We have recently provided new surplices and cassocks for the Cathedral choir, and our current projects are an inscribed paving stone acknowledging the Friends’ gift of the statue, and wooden arches for use in children’s workshop sessions.

You can become a Friend by completing an application form which is available from the Information Desk in the Cathedral or from the Cathedral Office in the Royal Chantry. Membership of the Friends entitles you to receive both the Cathedral Journal and two Cathedral Newsletters each year, which contain a comprehensive list of forthcoming services and events in the Cathedral. The Council arranges a wide range of social events for members.

We are greatly indebted to members of the Friends who help us as volunteers in the Cathedral – acting as doorkeepers, guides, stewards, cleaners, to name but a few. If you feel you would like to help us in some way, we shall be delighted to hear from you.

Annual Subscriptions

Please give as generously as you can.

Individual members - minimum £10 each
Joint members - minimum £15

Subscription under Covenant

Members who pay income tax at the standard rate may covenant their regular subscriptions for a four year period. This enables the Friends, as a charity, to recover tax appropriate to the amount of the subscription. This is of considerable benefit to the Friends at no extra cost to the subscribers. Covenants can be cancelled at any time.

Gift Aid

As from April 2000, the Government changed the rules relating to Gift Aid and a minimum level of donation was abolished. This means any donation received from a UK tax payer will allow the charity to reclaim the related tax, provided the donor has signed a Gift Aid Declaration. Gift Aid Declaration forms are available from the Cathedral Office in the Royal Chantry or at the Information Desk in the Cathedral.

Legacies

The work of the Friends benefits considerably from bequests. Would you consider the possibility of making a bequest?

Enquiries should be made to:

The Friends’ Secretary
Cathedral Office
The Royal Chantry
Cathedral Cloisters
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1PX.

Tel: +44 (0)1243 812485
Fax: +44 (0)1243 812499

Email: friends@chichestercathedral.org.uk