The Friends of Exeter Cathedral

Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales President: The Bishop of Exeter Chairman: Conrad Donaldson Honorary Secretary: R. E. Hughes FCA Honorary Treasurer: J. A. Dunsford Registered Charity No. 207096

Established in 1929, the Friends' mission is to work with the Dean and Chapter to preserve and improve aspects of Cathedral life so that the long tradition of worship and praise in this wonderful building is maintained for years to come.

The Friends' raise money so that each year we can help to meet the pressing needs of the Dean and Chapter for funds, whether for the fabric, furnishings, music or archives.

Because the Cathedral now has a separate Music Foundation, the emphasis of The Friends' work in recent years has been on the fabric.

Since its foundation, The Friends' have provided the Cathedral with grants, which in today's money are equivalent to some £4 million.  One reason for this financial strength is the decision taken by its Council in the 1930s that all larger donations and legacies should be invested so as to provide a regular income for the Cathedral year in year out.  Currently The Friends' make available annually over £100,000 to the Cathedral in grants for a wide range of projects - see Friends' Project News.

There are currently nearly 3,000 Friends from all over the world.  Each Friend receives an Annual Report in May, which in addition to reporting on the Friends' activities also contains a number of interesting articles on the Cathedral.  A newsletter is sent out in November giving a progress report on the year and more interesting articles.

The Friends also organise social activities including:

The Friends' Festival

A full day's festival is held on the 29 June, St Peters' Day, being the patronal festival of the Cathedral.  If St Peter's Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the Friends' Festival is held on the Monday following.

The Friends' Autumn Lunch

This is held in the Chapter House with a guest speaker. Details are given in the Annual Report.

Talks

From time to time we hold talks on subjects linked to the Cathedral.

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