The Archbishop of York’s Palace, HLF Round 2 application

Client: Southwell Minster

Dates: 2011-2018

Budget: £1.9 million

Project: The Archbishop of York’s Palace, Southwell, HLF Round 2 application

The Archbishop of York’s Palace at Southwell is a secular heritage, music and horticultural project to restore, reinterpret and open up The Archbishop of York’s Palace in Southwell. I developed and wrote the Activity and Business Plans working in close partnership with the in-house, part time staff, to secure £1.3 million from the HLF. There were four major challenges, balancing the use of a listed building by the public with income generation, meeting the needs of internal and external stakeholders and building new audiences and volunteers at a site that is difficult to reach by public transport with a very small team.

The Business Plan included income generation from themed and music events, community room hire, weddings, film opportunities, and festivals. The 5 year Activity Plan built on past successes extending their learning and outreach work both on-site in the Great Hall and the new Education Garden and through outreach. This included a new outdoor theatre programme, family fun day during August, trails for families, arts and crafts activities at calendar events and extending the school offer. The project also enabled the Cathedral to provide assisted travel to children’s centres and schools who would not normally be able to visit.