THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, BLESSED MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST CUTHBERT OF DURHAM

Registered charity 1205971 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as DURHAM CATHEDRAL

Durham Cathedral is the Anglican Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Durham. It is the Shrine of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede, the Seat of the Bishop of Durham and a focus of pilgrimage and spirituality in North East England. Inspired by our saints, Cuthbert and Bede, the mission of Durham Cathedral is to offer everyone the opportunity to encounter God and know God's love in Jesus Christ.

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Latest income
£5.9m
Latest spending
£7.8m
Registered
2023
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the Cathedral reported a net loss of £826k for the year, driven by a significant reduction in investment gains compared to the prior year. However, the trustees confirm the entity is a going concern, citing strong liquidity with over £33m in liquid assets and a substantial unapplied total return of £34.4m to cover future commitments.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Armstrong Watson Audit Limited. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Property (HM Land Registry)

4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income
£5.9m
Total spending
£7.8m
Cost of raising funds
£2.4m
Reserves (reported)
£2.3m
Employees
118

Reported reserves equal ~3.6 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Investments (34% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 40.6% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Durham

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£5.9m£7.8m

Common questions

Is THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, BLESSED MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST CUTHBERT OF DURHAM financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the Cathedral reported a net loss of £826k for the year, driven by a significant reduction in investment gains compared to the prior year. However, the trustees confirm the entity is a going concern, citing strong liquidity with over £33m in liquid assets and a substantial unapplied total return of £34.4m to cover future commitments. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Armstrong Watson Audit Limited.

Who funds THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, BLESSED MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST CUTHBERT OF DURHAM?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, BLESSED MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST CUTHBERT OF DURHAM as a grant recipient include Genesis Foundation, GENESIS AMERICA (UK) LIMITED, Point North Community Foundation, FRIENDS OF DURHAM CATHEDRAL, THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
Genesis FoundationFY2023£100kArts projects
GENESIS AMERICA (UK) LIMITEDFY2022£38k
Point North Community FoundationFY2022£37kNHS Charities Together / Health Improvement
FRIENDS OF DURHAM CATHEDRALFY2022£31k
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£25k
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£25k
THE THOMAS RAWCLIFFE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£25k
CATHEDRAL MUSIC TRUSTFY2021£20k
THE HEADLEY TRUSTFY2024£20kTowards the external stone repairs to St Helen's Chapel.
FRIENDS OF DURHAM CATHEDRALFY2025£8k
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£5k
THE MCCORQUODALE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£5k

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund20/07/2020£213k"COVID19: Durham Cathedral"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund20/03/2017£1.1m"2020 Fabric Endowment Campaign: Safeguarding Our Heritage for the Future"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund26/05/2016£10k"Bringing together the heritage of the Butte Crosses and the First World War"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund15/11/2011£3.9m"Durham Cathedral: Open Treasure - Phase 1"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund04/09/2009£338k"Heritage Woodlands and Riverbanks of Durham Cathedral"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund17/03/2008£50k"Heritage Woodlands and Riverbanks of Durham Cathedral"

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, BLESSED MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST CUTHBERT OF DURHAM£5.9m——unclear—no doubt
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN FY2025£4.4m——unclear—no doubt
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY AND OF SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL AND OF SAINT SWITHUN OF WINCHESTER FY2025£6.4m——below—no doubt
ST CUTHBERT'S HOSPICE, DURHAM FY2024£4.8m——unclear—no doubt
ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL FY2024£25.8m£120,001 - £130,000—unclear—no doubt
ST CUTHBERT'S SOCIETY JUNIOR COMMON ROOM FY2025£230k—0unclear—no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.