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CASE STUDY: ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL 2008 - 2013


OVERVIEW

Rochester Cathedral is the second oldest Cathedral Foundation in the Country and the current building dates from 1087.  It is often over looked as the poor cousin of is county counterpart Canterbury Cathedral, which is the seat of the highest ranking clergyman in the Church of England.  Despite this, it is a building of extraordinary historical, architectural and social significance, positioned right at the crossing of the River Medway into Rochester.  Standing at the great West Door you can almost tell the architectural story of England travelling down to the East End through its walls.  

In 2008 following a successful grant application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Rochester Cathedral was awarded £937,000 for a new interpretation of the building, crucial capital works, and an extensive audience development and marketing plan. It was a crucial moment in the life of this beautiful building, and provided opportunities to engage new people, and really reveal the otherwise hard to access stories hidden within its stones.

In 2012 the work continued with another injection of HLF cash, this time for significant improvements to the fabric, including wheelchair access to the crypt for the first time.  Additionally a 3 year programme of outreach and audience development, interwoven with new unprecedented access to the collection was planned, centering around the ancient and priceless Textus Roffensis, the jewel in the crown of the Rochester Cathedral archive.

BACKGROUND

In 2008,  Annie Lucas was appointed as Interpretation Manager at Rochester Cathedral, following the HLF grant of £937,000 for the project entitled Ancient Stones, Untold Stories.  For the next two years she oversaw all visits, audience development, marketing and volunteer related work and was responsible for a number of creative solutions to the problems pertaining to engaging new audiences in a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

As a completely new, innovative and creative re-interpretation of this significant historical site, Ancient Stones Untold Stories (ASUS) was a key project in the life time of the cathedral.  Never before had the building’s stories been communicated in a creative and up to date way across a very wide range of media, activity and events.  These included:

  • New audio guides - in three tours, translated into 6 different languages, covering all aspects of the life of Rochester Cathedral: Family Guide, General Visit, and Spiritual Tour.
  • Audio visual - Installations in 3 sites, projected directly on the fabric of the building, syncing with the audio-guides.
  • New guide book -  translated into 5 languages
  • New leaflet trails - translated into 10 languages
Following consultation and research, a comprehensive Marketing and Audience Development Plan was authored by Annie during the first year and rolled out over the project’s 3 year duration.  Key and long lasting partnerships were formed with local stakeholders including the Medway Council Heritage Manager and Officer, the BBC, and the University for the Creative Arts in Kent, and the Kent Association for the Blind.  Working on combined projects and partnering the funding for these projects provided an opportunity to reach further out in the local area.  Annie conceived events such as Totally Monked ( 1500 visitors ) and Eyes Wide Open ( a ground breaking site specific exhibition created in partnership with a blind and partially sighted group of residents, and local artist Wendy Daws ) which started to put the cathedral on the map as a place of fun and innovation, and not solely a place of worship.  This last project was the beginning of a long lasting and sustainable relationship and was the foundation of many more successful collaborations with the cathedral and the KAB continuing up to the present day.

In 2010, following relocation to Cornwall with her husband, Annie was re-engaged as a consultant and continued to support the cathedral, initially through the research, development and delivery of an accredited (Institute of Tourist Guiding) guide training programme, something which had only been achieved in one other cathedral prior to this work.  
Upon completion of that project she took the creative lead on the research and development of the Interpretation and Exhibition Plan which formed a significant part of the second HLF grant application entitled Hidden Treasures, Fresh Expressions (HTFE).  
 Key strands of this second project included:

CAPITAL WORKS
  • Library - New roof, new interior plan, additional strong-room space
  • Kent Steps - Relocation of exiting chair lift and new chair lift going down to the crypt (plans for this have altered since the grant award)
  • Crypt - Installation of Chair lift, reconfiguration of choir robing rooms, change in floor level for improved access, construction of a new Treasury space.
  • Garth - reconfiguring of the South Door entrance with new level access and better pathway from South Door to Tea Room.
INTERPRETATION / ACTIVITY
  • Exhibition - Annual exhibition running for 3 years, revealing the ‘hidden treasures’ of the cathedral archive including the semi-permanent display of Textus Roffensis, the first written code of law in England and the earliest written record of Anglo Saxon which is a precursor to modern English.
  • Archive - digitisation of Textus Roffensis.
  • Audience Engagement - a strategic plan to engage new audiences, specifically those with disabilities and young families.

STRATEGIC MILESTONES

DATA COLLECTION / MARKET RESEARCH 

For both projects, consultation and market research were critical to develop a sustainable strategy which would be the foundation of a positive legacy for future generations. 

The specific nature of this varied project to project, dependant on the anticipated outcomes, but included the following components:

  • Consultation - key stakeholders (staff, congregation, City of Rochester Society, Friends of Rochester Cathedral, visitors, potential local partners such as UCCA, children’s centres, and other heritage sites in the vicinity, disabled and elderly groups)
  • Site visits - extensive discussions with project leads or site managers in other venues with similar projects, to discuss their experiences, plans, troubles, successes, and to ascertain the success of their work since inception. 
  • Archive research -  study of the large collection of paper (housed in medway Council Archive) and artefacts (housed within the strong-room, Guildhall Museum, and cathedral building) to tease out and thread together potential story lines for the forthcoming exhibition. 
From this, ‘Making your Mark’ became the overall theme, and a draft exhibition plan was pulled together for the round 2 bid ( this has subsequently altered a little ) which included a fully scoped and costed exhibition space, object list and sample interpretation including an interactive and a handling table.  The first exhibition aimed to tell the story of the cathedral through marks made in the collection, accidentally or intentionally.  Masons marks, marginalia, water marks (the Texts Roffensis has been dropped in the Medway on more than one occasion) were all part of this story.


DELIVERY

Once all research avenues had been exhausted,  specific project strands were drafted for two purposes -

  • on track implementation and reference
  • visibility and tracking of strands for all other project team members
Strategic project plans were created for:

  • Marketing
  • Audience Development
  • Volunteer Management
  • Exhibition and Interpretation
  • Monitoring/Evaluation
These we all presented and reviewed by Chapter (Board of Director equivalent).

 Many of these involved working closely with other consultants in the development stages, including but not limited to:

  • Cathedral Architect
  • Quantity Surveyor
  • Project Manager
  • Activity Planning Consultants (HTFE only)
  • Access Consultant
  • Project Steering Group headed up by Canon Philip Hesketh (now Dean).  
Working alongside the steering group team, Annie took part in focus groups for brainstorming and developed creative and communicative briefs for all the appointed consultants from furniture designers, graphic designers and writers to the developers responsible for creating the audio guides and audio visual installations. 

Communication with the cathedral community and visitors was of utmost priority during the delivery phase, especially due to the great changes being made in an historic site and the sometimes very personal relationships these groups had with the space. Everyone was kept abreast of the changes being made and why through -

  • regular updates in the newsletter 
  • community meetings
  • a display board in the cathedral itself. 
She worked very closely with the overall project manager to ensure that timetables were adhered to, budgets met, and that the project could be launched at an appropriate time.

EVALUATION

Each project strand had built into it a strategy for evaluation built into it.  Annie was responsible for on going monitoring and evaluation of all visit related activity during ASUS which involved :

  • collection and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data
  • submission of written reports to Chapter and the HLF

CHALLENGES

PEOPLE 

The cathedral is a building which holds a strong place in the hearts and minds of those who worship and work there as well as those who have visited.  People have fixed ideas and perceptions about what a cathedral is for, what it should be doing, and whether or not it is of interest to them.  Change is often a scary thing and this had to be handled with care and sensitivity in order to allow people to adjust to the changes without derailing the project timeline or losing sight of overall project objectives.

Solution Extensive consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders was required throughout both projects, but specifically the volunteers who were most unsettled and affected by the changes in ASUS. Change management was absolutely key and communication sat at the heart of that.  Clear channels in which to voice concerns and complaints were given, and opportunities to directly influence the project were made wherever possible which increased the buy-in and help build alliances within groups who felt unsettled. By the time HTFE took place all volunteers were on board having seen the benefits of ASUS two years perviously.

FABRIC

Working in a Scheduled Ancient Monument that is also part of the Church of England is not without its challenges!  There are lengthy permissions processes to go through, which impact hugely on project timeline.  Not only were we bound by our own Fabric Advisory Committee (FAC) as a cathedral we were also bound by the Cathedral Fabric Commission for England ( CFCE ) who only meet 10 times per year, and through whom all fabric interventions needed to be signed off.

Solution Any interventions to stone needed to be passed through the FAC and CFCE who wanted specific plans on location and nature of intervention.  In some cases we circumnavigated this by drilling into mortar ( which is easily filled and replaced and therefore causes no permanent damage ) in installing some of the hardware for the AV installations and audio guides.  For everything else keeping to the timetable was key and therefore clear deadlines were set to all consultants with regular progress checks made and fed back to the steering group.

ACCESS 

There were a number of barriers to access in Rochester Cathedral, physical, economical and intellectual.  Primarily when buildings in the 11th century were began, no one really considered wheelchairs, buggies, sight, hearing or learning difficulties.

Solution In ASUS the decision was taken to move the main entrance to the building from the impressive West Door to the smaller North door, which provided the only level access into the building.  This was not a popular choice, but it was true to Rochester Cathedral’s commitment of ‘Welcome to All’ which harks back to its Benedictine foundations.  In this way disabled visitors were not shuffled in through a side door, and all visitors received an equal welcome.  Glass porches were installed to enable visitors to see in during the colder months ( closed doors are not very friendly ) and this was all part of a wider strategy to encourage people to come in, investigate and explore.  Additionally a sight-impaired ‘touch tour’ was devised, and all new exhibitions had large print interpretation.  A tactile bronze plate interpreting the Baptismal Fresco was also commissioned.


SUSTAINABILITY 

Grants are not bottomless pits of money and all the project work needed to be able to sustain itself into the future.  This is hard in a building which is committed to free entry (increasingly rare among cathedrals) and proved a challenge.

Solution All of the new interventions in both projects needed to pay for themselves long term.  It was decided to charge for the audio guides but have a strategy for selling from our volunteer welcomers.  Additionally new donations boxes were made and better positioned, and each event that was mounted which was unfunded had to at least cover costs. Longer term such signifiant changes to the building and the associated strategy such as opening up the library for research and education purposes, and the treasury exhibition, were made with a view to drawing in more visitors with a wider variety of interesting and engaging activity. In so doing knock on effect would be improvement in general donations and add on sales, which are an important part of how the cathedral receives its income.


RESULTS

Ancient Stones, Untold Stories officially launched 12 months after the grant was awarded, though much of the outreach had been begun before that date with a ‘soft’ launch 8 months after starting.  This provided an opportunity to iron out operational issues and gave volunteers an opportunity to get used to the new hardware, entrance and welcome desks well in advance of an influx of visitors.  The project lasted 3 years and came in on time and on budget.  With a strategic approach to volunteer recruitment the Welcomer and Guide numbers doubled and on going training and development opportunities allowed them to feel valued and invested in, within the community.  A number of key exhibitions broke some of the barriers to access by challenging what was expected within a cathedral building, most notably a collaboration with local artist Wendy Daws and the Kent Association for the Blind entitled ‘Eyes Wide Open’.  Finally an annual audience development event, partnering with Medway Council Heritage Team (and the BBC on one occasion) allowed for joint marketing of Rochester as  destination venue and provided free, funded activities for local families and visitors alike.

In summary, Ancient Stones, Untold Stories achieved the following:

  • Putting the cathedral into the forefront of people’s minds for innovative events, creative use of technology, and a centre for excellence in the cathedral world regarding visitor experience and interpretation.
  • Improved PR and reputation of the cathedral as a place for more than solely Christian worship and witness.
  • increased visitor figures to Rochester Cathedral
And ultimately, Hidden Treasures, Fresh Expressions was awarded on the back of the success of this project.

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CONTACT

ANNIE LUCAS

07979 20 55 74
 annie@annielucas.com
Cornwall, South West and Nationwide
Copyright Annie Lucas : 
Freelance Museums Heritage Consultant 
Freelance Audience Development Consultant