Bristol Cathedral has received a one-off grant of almost half a million pounds – from a trust fund set up after the death of one of Britain’s richest women.
The Julia Rausing Trust has announced awards totalling £16.7 million to heritage projects across the UK, as part of a pledge to give away £100 million every year following Julia’s death earlier this year from cancer.
The money heading to Bristol Cathedral will be a total of £475,000 with the instruction that it is spent on improving access to medieval parts of the cathedral, and will include the installation of a new platform lift inside the ancient building, and work to raise the floor of the cloister to its original level back in the Victorian times.
That will create a new level access for people in wheelchairs or experiencing mobility issues, so people can go from the nave of the cathedral down to the ground floor level of the south part of the building, without the challenge of steps or level changes.
The money is the first major set of donations from the Julia Rausing Trust, which was set up following her death in April this year from cancer at the age of just 63. Julia had married Hans Rausing in June 2014, and they had set up a joint trust which gives away around £50 million a year. Hans Rausing is the heir to the fortune of the family that invented Tetra Pak, but has led a troubled life with a lifelong addiction problem.
In July 2012, he was arrested in London on suspicion of possessing class A drugs, and police searching his Belgravia home found the body of his first wife Eva wrapped in bin bags and bedlinen. He was prosecuted for delaying the burial of her body for two months, pleaded guilty and was given a suspended prison sentence.
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Two years later he married Julia Delves Broughton, an art expert, and together they set up the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, which looked to give away tens of millions to good causes, including the Trussell Trust and FareShare – and in 2019, the couple paid for the new bridge to Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, as well as making the single biggest donation to NHS Charities during the Covid pandemic.
A new trust has been set up in Julia’s name alone since her death, and it is this that has donated the money to Bristol Cathedral.
The Dean of Bristol, the Very Revd Dr Mandy Ford, said the project was badly needed because at the moment, wheelchair users often have to go outside the building and around the car park to reach the toilets, cafe and Chapter House.
“Bristol Cathedral is committed to improve its accessibility to ensure that anyone who visits can experience a warm welcome and can take part in Cathedral life in a way that works for them,” she said. “We have made some progress to improve accessibility in the Cathedral this year, including levelling the floor to the Cathedral café, re-laying an uneven floor in the Seafarers’ Chapel and installing a new sound system with a hearing loop system but there is still a long way to go to make the Cathedral accessible for everyone.
“We are so very grateful to The Julia Rausing Trust for this generous grant which will allow us to build on this important work and enable us to address one of the building’s biggest accessibility challenges,” she added.
The total amount needed for the cathedral’s Access for All project is around £750,000, and the cathedral will be fundraising from other trusts and foundations for the project.
“Improving access is not only essential but will also enhance the Cathedral’s ability to host and welcome people to a variety of events and activities, from exhibitions, community events and education workshops,” explained Frances Rosewell, the cathedral’s visitor experience director. “It will increase participation in heritage and support the Cathedral’s long-term sustainability for future generations,” she added.
Along with Bristol Cathedral, other major religious buildings and heritage sites will be getting hundreds of thousands of pounds, including York Minster and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
“From the splendour of a medieval cathedral to the innovation of a Victorian, via a fascinating and inspiring array of museums dotted across the country, the UK boasts exceptional heritage,” said Simon Fourmy, the director of the Julia Rausing Trust. “Supporting heritage for the benefit of all was an important part of Julia Rausing’s giving and so it is fitting to continue her legacy through these new heritage-themed grants,” he added.
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