A message from the Dean of Norwich, February
2006
Inspiration for the Future
The Hostry: Norwich Cathedral's new Visitor
and Education Centre
St Benedict's Rule of
Life
In 1996 Norwich Cathedral celebrated its 900th anniversary. Life in
those early days, centuries ago, was very different to today. About
250 monks lived in the monastic community, in buildings grouped around
the cloisters (then the largest in England). They lived under the strict
Rule of St Benedict with its three priorities of Worship, Learning and
Hospitality. The worship was the on-going cycle of daily prayer, night
and day, offered by the monks in the eastern arm of the Cathedral and
witnessed by the people who stood in the western nave. The monks were
required to study and to be men of letters, partly for their own stimulation
and partly to be of service to the wider community as teachers and interpreters.
Hospitality was always a priority as the poor who came to the Cathedral
and its monastic community in large numbers for alms (gifts of food
or money), for advice, for medical treatment, for education or simply
for rest overnight. But the monks were also successful business-men.
They worked hard to support themselves and contribute to a thriving
local economy, which in turn caused Norwich to be the second city in
the land after London.
A Modern Rule of Life
All this came to an abrupt end in the sixteenth century when King Henry
VIII stripped the monasteries of their wealth and power. The monks were
given pensions, many of the monastic buildings were destroyed, the Prior
became the Dean, and Canons were appointed to run the Cathedral.
Yet despite that major upheaval, the three Benedictine themes of Worship,
Learning and Hospitality have continued to sustain the life of the Cathedral
community right up to the present day.
- Worship remains the overall priority. There are at least three services
per day and often more. On Sundays, on major festivals and for special
services the Cathedral is full. But individuals are continually entering
the Cathedral to say their prayers, often lighting candles and leaving
a note in the form of a prayer request.
- People continue to come to Norwich Cathedral seeking help, and they
are keen to learn something from the Cathedral's atmosphere of history,
peace and holiness. Today, learning is a major part of Cathedral life
in the form of sermons and lectures; specially trained volunteer guides
show the building to visitors and pilgrims; exhibitions come regularly
to the Cathedral; there is a vigorous programme of concerts; an ancient
library has now been complemented by a modern theological library; and
some 15,000 school children visit the cathedral each year on planned
school visits.
- Hospitality is based on the principle that everyone, whether or not
they are people of Christian faith or any other religious faith, is
welcome and of equal importance. We constantly seek to improve the quality
of that welcome by making the building available to visitors and pilgrims
and seeking ways of enhancing the enjoyment of a visit.
How can the past be a springboard for
the future?
The Cathedral Chapter has given a great deal of thought about the future
role of the Cathedral. The question has been, how can we continue to
develop the Benedictine theme of the Cathedral in a rapidly changing
world? What should the Cathedral be doing for our restless, increasingly
secular world? How can we resource the work that lies ahead for future
generations?
A hugely ambitious development programme has been embarked upon to
put back two of the buildings destroyed in the sixteenth century. First,
a new Refectory has been built along the south arm of the cloister on
the exact footprint of the mediaeval refectory. Instead of feeding monks
it is a first class self-service restaurant for visitors and pilgrims
by day, and a venue for corporate entertaining by night (thereby providing
a valuable source of income). To be granted permission to build on such
an important archaeological site required a design and a build of the
highest quality. Sir Michael Hopkins' design, with R G Carter Ltd as
the main contractor, has produced an award-winning building, to national
and international acclaim. Already the new facility has transformed
the experience of a visit to Norwich Cathedral.
The task now is to build the second building, the Hostry, on the site
of the mediaeval footprint, this time along the western arm of the cloister.
The new Hostry will have a similar role, in the modern context, to the
original one. It will be the Cathedral's centre for Education and Learning
through which most of our visitors and pilgrims will pass to gain access
to the Cathedral.
What will the Hostry contain?
The new Hostry will be a sister building to the Refectory, built of
the same materials, including the oak 'trees' to support the roof from
inside. It will consist of five areas.
- On entering the new building through the original Hostry arch (which
is incorporated in the new structure), the visitor/pilgrim will be standing
in a large atrium reaching the full two storey height of the roof. To
the right will be the new facilities for the Education Unit where school
children will be based for their visit to the Cathedral. Whereas children
used to come from school on a two-hour cathedral visit, today schools
want the children to spend longer with us, covering a number of modules
that are on offer including science, history (they can dress up as monks
and follow a day in the life of the monastic community), mathematics,
etc as well as religion.
- On the first floor and to the right will be the Song School which,
for the first time ever will have adequate facilities for the boy and
girl choristers, and the adults. A rehearsal room, music library, leisure
facilities etc are not only desirable but also essential if we are to
comply with current legislation on work with children, and if we are
to maintain the highest of musical standards.
- On the first floor to the left will be the Community Room. This will
serve as a meeting room, or a small concert hall and it will double
as a fully equipped conference facility. We know from our research that,
together with the other rooms and the Refectory, this will be an attractive
venue for medium sized business events. The room will seat about 200
people, and will be a wonderful and much-needed resource for the Cathedral.
- As the visitors turn left on the ground floor, they will enter a large
exhibition and gallery space. Here there will be a rolling programme
of visiting displays which will explore through art themes of education,
community development, science etc. The Cathedral is already much in
demand for exhibition space (the recent Quaker Tapestry Exhibition has
attracted several thousand visitors to the Cathedral) - what we currently
lack is high quality display space and facilities.
- Moving through the gallery area (which will also be available for
a variety of uses), access is gained to the Locutory (where the cathedral
shop is currently located). Here there will be an exhibition which explains
What is the Cathedral for? What is its work? What is its place in an
increasingly secular and restless society? How can its traditions make
a difference in our modern communities? What do Christians believe?
There will also be displays describing something that the Cathedral
is working on at the moment, or a liturgical season such as Lent or
Advent. We want our visitors to think hard about themselves and their
lives, perhaps even taking an important personal decision about something,
all as a result of their visit.
A Cathedral that looks beyond its walls
All five areas together represent a significant and diverse investment
in learning both for adults and children. We're thinking about how this
building can take the Cathedral out to the diocese. Building on the
success of a three year outreach project (funded by the HLF), a Community
Learning Officer (funded from local trusts) has recently been appointed
to head up our outreach to schools. This person will help schools prepare
in advance a visit to the Cathedral by designing a package of activities
which fits directly with the needs of a particular class and meets the
requirements of the National Curriculum. This, together with an interactive
and visitor-centred approach, web site etc. will allow us to develop
something of a 'virtual cathedral' which can move out past the mediaeval
gates into the wider community and parishes. By this means we want to
take the heritage and core values of the Cathedral to make a difference
to where people are, and to encourage them to experience for themselves
the real thing by coming to the Cathedral.
CAMPAIGN CELEBRATIONS
Last month we were delighted to be able to announce publicly that the
Norwich Cathedral Inspiration for the Future Campaign had finally reached
its target of £10 million. This has enabled the Chapter to proceed
with the preparatory work for the new Hostry building and we hope to
place the contract for its construction later this year. Like the Refectory,
which opened in 2005, the Hostry has been designed by Sir Michael Hopkins
and it will complete the final stage of the Cathedral's vision for the
new millennium. We are immensely grateful to the many people who have
worked so hard for nearly 10 years to achieve this wonderful result
and to all the supporters - businesses, benefactors and the community,
both in East Anglia and further afield - who have generously given their
time, money and enthusiasm to the Campaign. It is an extraordinary achievement
and we thank you all. Now we look forward to the day when the Cathedral
can once more welcome its visitors through the ancient Hostry Arch into
our new building.
Graham Smith - Dean of Norwich
The
Hostry site 
Plan
drawing of the Hostry