Staff at Canterbury Cathedral, mother church of the Anglican
Communion, have vowed that the historic building will remain open to the
public despite two-thirds of it being in urgent need of repair.The BBC reported on Sunday that Canterbury Cathedral would soon close to visitors after it was turned down for a £10.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund for structural repairs.
That report was dismissed on Monday as "greatly exaggerated" by cathedral spokesman Christopher Robinson.
"The Germans didn't force us to close Canterbury Cathedral during the Second World War," he said in an interview. "So there's no chance it will be closed to visitors because we need to carry out some urgent repairs."
The dean, Robert Willis, said staff at the formerly Benedictine cathedral, now a World Heritage Site, would need to examine why their bid failed before deciding whether to submit another request in November.
Katie Owen of the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "Of course it's disappointing. We've funded many cathedrals over the years - including Durham and Exeter - but unfortunately we simply do not have enough money."