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The Friends are the Cathedral's fan club, a group of like-minded people who admire the building, its history and the community which surrounds it.
We work together to preserve it, and, with the great generosity of our membership, contribute financially to many vital projects.
Why join?
Over the years The Friends have given the equivalent of more than £18 million towards various projects to enhance and preserve Canterbury Cathedral. Becoming a Friend is not only about restoring a beautiful old building; it’s about being a part of a community and forming lasting relationships, one which enjoys many activities and ‘behind the scenes’ events.
Membership Benefits
- Free entry to the Cathedral and its Precincts
- Full annual programme of Friends' events
- New member celebration (which includes a private guided tour)
- 10% discount at the Cathedral Shop and Cathedral Lodge (some exclusions apply)
- Exclusive Friends’ Day each summer
- Monthly Friendly Friday e-newsletters
- Annual Cathedral magazine - view a sample of The Chronicle
- Twice-yearly paper mailings
- Membership badge
- Exclusive Friends’ Day each summer
For more information download The Friends leaflet.
Membership Options
Gift a Friends' Membership
Membership of The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral – the Cathedral’s fan club – is the gift that lasts all year.
We work together to preserve the Cathedral, and, with the great generosity of our membership, contribute financially to many vital projects.
Becoming a Friend is not only about restoring a beautiful old building; it’s about being a part of a community and forming lasting relationships.
So, when you gift a membership, you also give the gift of being part of our FRIENDly community!
Friends also benefit from free entry to the Cathedral and its Precincts, access to exclusive trips and events, e-newsletters, a 10% discount in the Cathedral Shop and Cathedral Lodge (some exclusions apply), an annual Friends’ Day, Friends’ Carol Service, and a special welcome event in the summer.
Membership starts at just £35 and includes a welcome pack with a Friends’ card and badge.
The Friends can even dispatch the gift on your behalf!
Friends' Day 2024
Thank you to everyone who attended this year's Friends’ Day and helped to make it such a success.
Watch our Annual General Meeting recording, access our Annual Report and Financial Statements (31 March 2024), and watch individual films about the Cathedral Lodge Dry Garden, Sacred Space group, and an update on the Deanery Development – all projects which have been generously supported by a grant from The Friends.
History of The Friends
The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral was founded in 1927 by the then Dean of Canterbury, George Bell. The organization was the first of its kind in the world.
In 1928 Miss Margaret Babington joined Dean Bell as Steward. A redoubtable woman of enormous energy and tremendous vision, she made a huge contribution to the success of the Friends. She staged plays and concerts and enticed illustrious people such as John Masefield, Sir Adrian Boult, Gustav Holst, Dorothy L. Sayers and Dame Myra Hess to the Cathedral. Rudyard Kipling and George Bernard Shaw became enthusiastic members.
Margaret Babington, the energy behind the Friends when it started, handed over her baton to many other stewards and executive secretaries, all of whom have put their own stamp on the efforts of the Friends, and made it the successful charity and membership organisation it is today.
Over the years The Friends have given the equivalent of more than £15 million towards various projects to enhance and preserve Canterbury Cathedral.
Our President is The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Prior to her death, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was our First Friend on the Roll, and the former Prince of Wales was our Patron.
Upcoming Friends events
Friday 20 September, 18:30 in the Campanile Garden
Summer Serenade
Join us after Evensong for a late-summer evening of cocktails and canapés whilst we are entertained by some of our talented Cathedral musicians, led by David Wilcock.
Enjoy a mixed medley of classical and folk music in the stunning garden of The Cathedral Lodge which overlooks our Cathedral.
£20 Friends, £25 non-members.
Tuesday 8 October, 10:30 in the Kentish Barn
TALK: Pre-Raphaelite Women: Mistresses, Models and Wives
*FULLY BOOKED* Email to be added to the waiting list.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) is well known. But what is the story of the women behind them and on their canvasses?
There were many: Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Annie Miller, Fanny Waugh, Jane Morris, May Morris, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Maria Zambaco, Christina Rossetti, and Effie Gray to name just some. Many were talented artists in their own right.
Brenda Tate-Lovery, former Open University lecturer and Friend, will reveal to Friends some of the stories behind the names.
£10 Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, £15 non-members. Includes tea and coffee.
Thursday 17 October, 10:30-11:30 - Clagett Auditorium
TALK: The Archbishop’s Walking Stick: A Canterbury Journey
Canon Roger Symon will look back on his experiences in The Precincts and give an insight into the heavy responsibilities which weigh on the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his role as senior bishop of the whole Anglican Communion, at home and overseas.
£10 Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, £15 non-members. Includes tea and coffee.
This event is supported by The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral (Registered Charity No 256575).
Tues 19 November, 10:30-11:30 in the Clagett Auditorium
TALK: More Than a Nail Man: Modern art installations in Canterbury Cathedral
Canon Christopher Irvine, former Canon Librarian at Canterbury and now Honorary Teaching Fellow at St Augustine’s College of Theology, will look at three extraordinary pieces of contemporary sculpture in our Cathedral: Stephen Cox’s altar and water stoup in St Anselm’s Chapel and the Nave, and Anthony Gormley’s ‘Transport’ in the Crypt.
Learn how and why they were commissioned, wonder at their materiality and design, and see how they connect with some of the key figures in the story of our Cathedral.
£10 Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, £15 non-members. Includes tea and coffee.
Tuesday 26 November, 10:30-11:30 in the Clagett Auditorium
TALK: Canterbury in the Time of Daniel Defoe and Jane Austen
Popular speaker Doreen Rosman returns to continue her series of talks on the history of life in Canterbury.
This talk will depict life in the Georgian city and explore how it had changed by the time Jane Austen visited, three-quarters of a century after Defoe.
£10 Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, £15 non-members. Includes tea and coffee.
This event is supported by The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral (Registered Charity No 256575).
Thursday 5 December, 11:00-12:00 in the Clagett Auditorium
TALK: The Discovery of Richard III
In this talk, Dean David will tell the story of the discovery of the remains of King Richard III in a Leicester car park and his reburial, with dignity and honour, in Leicester Cathedral.
£10 Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, £15 non-members. Includes tea and coffee.
This event is supported by The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral (Registered Charity No 256575).
Giving to The Friends
Please consider making a donation to The Friends to ensure we can continue our work in preserving the Cathedral for generations to come.
- Make a donation online via JustGiving
- Call +44 (0)1227 865292 to donate over the telephone by credit or debit card.
- Send a gift by post to: The Friends’ Office, Cathedral House, 11 The Precincts, Canterbury CT1 2EH. Please make cheques payable to ‘The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral’.
- Make a regular gift by standing order by downloading and completing our standing order form and returning it to the Friends’ Office.
Why not give a gift in memory of someone special?
Please let us have the person’s name when you send us your donation and we will record this gift in our annual publication, The Chronicle.
Leave a gift in your will
You can make a real difference to our work and provide valuable support for future generations to come by leaving a gift to The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in your will. Nearly all legacies to charities are free from inheritance tax.
A possible form of words for such bequests is:
I bequeath to The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, Cathedral House, 11 The Precincts, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2EH, registered charity number 256575, the sum of … (for a specific sum) or the residue (or a … share of the residue) of my estate.
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