5.3.10 Interpretation

CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

5.3.10 INTERPRETATION

See also:

5.3.9 Visitor facilities and access

5.3.13 Research and understanding

HERITAGE CONSIDERATIONS

The interpretation of Coventry Cathedral is vital to ensuring all audiences can understand and engage with the place on a deeper level. The Cathedral has many stories to tell, with diverse and overlapping narratives. The interpretation plan73 identified four strands of interpretation:

• The Cathedral as a special place and an everyday space.

• The Cathedral as one cohesive place of community and worship.

• The Cathedral as a place of active reconciliation.

• The Cathedral as a platform for cultural creativity.

As the audiences are, to an extent, unknowable, an overarching principle of the plan should be to have multi-layered and selfdirecting interpretation, allowing users to choose their own path at a level they feel comfortable with, but which encourages and challenges them to explore a variety of themes and areas.74

73 Coventry Cathedral Interpretation Plan, August 2019 74 Ibid Interpretation will equally be required to address those site-specific values that make the place special:

• Active place of worship – this will rely on the translation of the Cathedral’s mission and ministry statement in ways that makes sense to visitors. Both the Christian use of the building and the interpretation of iconography and liturgical spaces will be necessary. Concepts such as the Spence route can be included here.

• Peace and Reconciliation – attributes unique to Coventry

Cathedral should be interpreted, as well as how these manifest in the building itself.

• Post-War art and design – interpretation should be specific to Coventry Cathedral but could also engage audiences in the appreciation and understanding of 20th century architecture and its conservation.

• Community and civic pride – interpretation that appeals to local people and draws an understanding of the Cathedral back into its context of Coventry as a city. VULNERABILITIES AND CONFLICTS

Currently there is no unified interpretation scheme offering key stories to visitors at the Cathedral. The Cathedral does not exploit the local, regional, national and international audiences that could visit the site.

There is also a lack of volunteers to support a more varied interpretation plan and greater visitor numbers. Management of volunteers requires an investment in time and finances, which is currently restricted by staff workloads.

The main challenge and conflict relates to perceptions of the new cathedral and the ruined cathedral – which are viewed by visitors as two separate entities. Secular and ecclesiastical visitors are often split by which specific building they visit. These two audience types are often at odds with one another and it is the Cathedral’s role to reconcile these as far as possible.

The narrative of reconciliation is not currently engaging wider audiences and there is a need to communicate better the Cathedral’s position as a place of active reconciliation and what that means, or can mean, for individuals and communities today.75

75 Ibid

CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

The cost of a substantial interpretation strategy is also a consideration, as is any physical impact this might have on the fabric of the Cathedral or the sense of place. A scheme that is sustainable in the long-term would be most cost-effective, for example it should responds to changing visitor needs by being easily updateable.

POTENTIAL FOR CHANGE

There is an opportunity to create a unified scheme of interpretation that runs across the ruined and new cathedral, and the Precinct. This will welcome, engage and enlighten all visitors. Opportunities centre on:

• Multi-layered and self-directing interpretation.

• Ability to encourage visitors to explore wider themes beyond their understanding.

• Information that is open, simple and aimed at the widest possible audience.

Presenting the Cathedral as both ‘special’ and ‘everyday’ would invite and encourage multiple visits. A scheme focused on this would place the Cathedral within its context of Coventry, particularly in relation to City of Culture in 2021. The ruined cathedral is central to this narrative. There are opportunities to capture visitors who enter the building for one reason by engaging them in another area of interest. For example, those visiting for the 20th-century architecture may also be encouraged to engage on a spiritual level. Another theme with potential is that of a single, cohesive Cathedral, not two buildings. This is vital to understanding of the place and the indoor and outdoor spaces. Interpretation on this will strengthen meaning and lead people through both structures as originally envisaged. The porch will be vital to this.

The opportunity to engage new audiences in the appreciation of 20th-century buildings is great and should focus around education and training. There is potential to publish research or investigations that have been carried out to further our understanding of the building. Any repair works should be seen as a potential learning tool for visitors. On a more informal level, visitors engage with the building through ‘experiences’ and social media such as Instagram. The Cathedral is eminently photogenic and engagement on this level should be encouraged as a way into potentially capture new visitor groups.

Interpretation should be dynamic and designed to appeal to a wider audience. Physical interpretation should offer visual cues rather than lengthy explanations, which can be supplemented by the guidebook and the website as narrative tools.76 The reconciliation narrative holds international significance and relates also to 20th-century history and Second World War. The Cathedral ruins and the artwork within their walls are a key space for the articulation of this story. This narrative could also enable some of the smaller and more private spaces of the Cathedral to be repurposed.77

The Cathedral is a platform for cultural creativity and there is an opportunity to build on this existing interest through a number of different activities, initiatives and changes:

• Create a visitor wayfinding trail.

• Interpretive ideas include reflective surfaces, a prayer wall, donation points and enhancements of the baptistery as a key space.

• Each chapel has a specific character or theme, which could be clearly interpreted.

• The outdoor space could be used to greater advantage.

• An arts strategy and exhibition programme could be developed that reaches out to a wider audience and encourages repeat visits.

• More could be made of the Cathedral’s archive and collections, including a potential digitisation project or celebration of the Spence competition designs.

76 Ibid 77 Ibid

CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

MANAGEMENT POLICIES

POLICY 33: Implement an interpretation strategy that increases understanding and dwell time for visitors. Recommendations in the Interpretation Plan (August 2019) should be enacted where feasible. Review this strategy at regular intervals; at least every five years.

POLICY 34: Present and publish research on the building in relation to PostWar conservation and repair, making it accessible to a variety of audiences and in a variety of formats. PRIORITY ACTIONS

Action Priority level Owner

Trial a wayfinding visitor trail A Cathedral Administrator

Start to implement the interpretation programme (Interpretation plan, August 2019) A Cathedral Administrator

Develop a focused events and exhibition strategy for the Cathedral, programming up to three years in advance wherever possible B Cathedral Administrator

Priority levels: A – within 6 months, B – within 1 year, C – within 2 years