## **ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN**
**Registered Charity - 1207411**
1
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT**
**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
|**Contents**|**Page Number**|
|---|---|
|Annual report||
|Mission Statement|3|
|Constitution Objects|4|
|Strategic Review|4|
|Progress in the Year|5 -16|
|Financial Review|17-18|
|Principal Risks and Uncertainties|19-20|
|Structure, Governance and Management|20-23|
|Reference and Administrative Information|24-25|
|Independent Auditors Report|26-29|
|Statement of Financial Activities|30|
|Income & Expenditure Account|31|
|Consolidated Balance Sheet|32|
|Entity Only Balance Sheet|33|
|Consolidated Statement of Cash flows|34|
|Analysis of Changes in Net Debt|35|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|36-62|
2
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **MISSION STATEMENT**
The pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical aspects of mission of the Church of England all articulate the Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion.
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
As the diocese aims to be faithful, joyful and confident in this work, so we will support the bishop in mission as we seek joyfully to proclaim the love of God in worship, outreach, service and welcome to all and faithfully to exercise our role as custodians of a sacred heritage building.
3
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
The Trustees have pleasure in presenting their annual report and audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The report and financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s Constitution, the Charities Act 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their (consolidated) accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, published in October 2019.
The accounts presented here are the consolidated accounts of The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln (commonly known as Lincoln Cathedral) (Charity number 1207411) and of Lincoln Minster Shops Limited (Company Registration Number 01015279), the company wholly owned by the charity and Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund (Registered Charity Number 1033089) with the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln being the controlling party.
## **CONSTITUTION OBJECTS**
The constitution must specify the following as the only objects of the Chapter of a cathedral are:
- to advance the Christian religion in accordance with the faith and practice of the Church of England, in particular by furthering the mission of the Church of England
- to care for and conserve the fabric and structure of the Cathedral Church building
- to advance any other charitable purposes which are ancillary to the furtherance of the purposes referred to above
These objectives are achieved through our ministry, education and outreach work as well as our ongoing programme of maintenance and restoration works to the Cathedral building and our precinct. During 2024 we adopted the theme of ~~**"**~~ **Our World : God’s Creation,"** furthering our commitment to the fifth mark of mission ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth. Our theme in 2025 is **“Our Music: God’s Song,”** a celebration of music in all of its forms, and the peace, joy and inspiration it brings to human lives.
## **PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT**
The Trustees having considered section 4 of the Charities Act 2011, have satisfied themselves that they have compiled with the duty to have regard to the Public Benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. The trustees review its work each year and consider outcomes and plans. They have taken into account the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing its purpose and in considering how planned activities will meet that aim. We do this by ensuring that we serve the Cathedral community in providing them a place of worship and ensure that events we host have a benefit to the wider public community.
## **STRATEGIC REPORT**
## **VISION AND STRATEGY**
Following the installation of the new Dean, a significant piece of work has been undertaken to develop a vision and strategy for the Cathedral over the next five years. It has drawn on the work that led to the publication in 2022 of the strategic document, _Transform and Thrive_ , and been formed by dialogue with members of the cathedral community (including staff, volunteers and congregation) as well as stakeholders in the Diocese, city and county.
4
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
Transform and Thrive identified seven values that reflect the Christian identity of the cathedral community and its desire to embed a culture of mutual flourishing and respect in its culture and practices. The seven values are highlighted below:
- **Inclusive** – embracing diversity by welcoming all who visit, volunteer or work at the cathedral, regardless of gender, age, race, sexuality, class, disability, culture or belief
- **Trustworthy** – acting with honesty, transparency and integrity in all that we do, acknowledging our strengths and weaknesses, and inspiring others to accomplish more through trust and selfbelief
- **Kind** – being kind to one another, treating others as we would like to be treated ourselves, through patience, understanding and forgiveness
- **Collaborative** – working together as a team with loyalty and pride, building trust and partnerships that contribute to the common good
- **Flexible** – adapting to change and new ways of working quickly and easily, encouraging feedback and learning from our mistakes and successes
- **Accountable** – fostering an environment in which we are empowered to make decisions about our work, whilst taking responsibility for delivering results
- **Pro-Active to Change** – embracing change with open hearts and minds, pioneering new ways of working and creative solutions to problems
The 2030 vision is divided into six sections.
Building on our existing strengths, by 2030 Lincoln Cathedral will:
- be a visible sign of God’s presence, proclaiming the good news that, in Christ, God is with us;
- operate as one cathedral with one all-embracing mission, with the worship of God and the Christlike welcome of all at its heart;
- live out its seven values to enable a culture of mutual flourishing among all its members;
- be known as ‘our cathedral’ by increasing numbers of people in the city, county and diocese, engaging with a larger and more diverse group of people;
- conserve its built heritage in a sustainable way to hand it on to future generations;
- be ambitious in the planning and delivery of all activity, and take pride in striving for excellence in every aspect of the cathedral’s operation.
Having agreed the vision, the next stage of the work is for departments and teams to identify how they will contribute to achieving it.
## **PROGRESS IN THE YEAR**
## **RAISING FUNDS**
To enable us to maintain our wonderful Cathedral during the year we have put on events to help cover the costs of maintenance and ongoing repairs. These are essential to ensure that the building is open for those who wish to visit and worship with us on a daily basis. Below are details of the activities and fundraising events which we have held during the last financial year.
5
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **Events and Activities During the Year**
We continued to offer a range of events and visitor enhancements to encourage people to come to the Cathedral over the past year. A particular highlight was the Fenland Black Oak Project with Cathedral hosting the Table for the Nation. The table was the centre for a number of events this year, from an 80th birthday party, to an Agape after hours service event, with two notable events being a dinner hosted by the Woodland Trust at which the Princess Royal was present, and a fundraising dinner hosted under the Peter Walker Peace Doves installation that raised a substantial amount of money. The installation offered a great visitor experience enhancement and was also the focus of a number of events, from recitals to the dinner mentioned above, and as a central feature of the High Sheriff’s Harvest Supper. The table also hosted a number of community events, including an English Piecework session, lacemaking, Christmas Wreath making, a knitting for peace event and the Come and Eat exhibition. The table was supported with a range of merchandise that was sold by the Cathedral shop.
The Peace Doves installation in September was another highlight of the year, offering an opportunity to reach out to the community to create the messages on the doves, and to return to visit the exhibition. Over 8,000 doves were completed with messages of hope, peace and prayer and these were suspended in the crossing. The Remembrance service held in the Nave whilst the installation was present was a particularly poignant ending to the display. Additionally, the installation provided a focus for a number of other events, including lunchtime and evening recitals themed around peace. Late night doves also attracted several hundred visitors to view the cathedral in a different light.
As part of our continued support to community and city activities in May 2024, the Cathedral took part in the city Festival of History weekend hosting history lectures in the Chapter House and a range of family craft activities. The short timescale for the organisation of this city event meant we were previously committed to other events by the launch date.
The High Sheriff’s Harvest Supper in October 2024 was a smaller scale event than in the last few years, at the High Sheriff’s request. The profit from the event was split between both the Cathedral and the Lincolnshire Community Fund.
In December 2024, the Advent Procession marked the beginning of Advent and Christmas in our liturgical calendar. A number of events in the Nave were held for the Christmas period, beginning with the return to the Cathedral of G4 in November and followed in December by Christmas by Candlelight concert; Bublé Big Band Christmas; London Concertante Christmas at the Movies which attracted large numbers of attendees. We a hosted a local crafters and artists market in the Chapter House for the second year, and the Chapter House was also the location for the annual performances of Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, which supported the Music Fund.
We again supported the Lincoln Ice trail by hosting an ice sculpture as part of the series placed around the city for City Christmas Weekend. For December 2024's production of our annual performance of The Snowman with a Live Orchestra and chorister, we expanded the seating selling almost 3,750 tickets and additional sales with a pop-up shop providing merchandise for the performance. Our Cafe was also extremely busy across the weekend.
February 2025 saw us host Time by Luxmuralis, a light and sound display with projections of the wonders of science and the contributions of science to humanity which was projected on the Cathedral walls with over 6,576 people attending.
6
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **Visitor Numbers and Admissions**
At the core of our mission is a commitment to provide a warm and inclusive welcome to all who wish to visit the Cathedral. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, we were pleased to welcome 122,797 (2024: 118,500) paying visitors. This dedication was formally recognised in February 2024 when we received the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year award at the Destination Lincolnshire Tourism Excellence Awards.
An admission ticket includes a guided floor tour, led by one of our expert, volunteer guides. We have also offered other specialised tours including historic graffiti, stained glass, tower, roof, sacred and the strange, nature and architecture, and the secrets of Minster Yard. During the summer of 2024, we launched a new Katherine Swynford tour, which proved highly successful, with all available tickets sold out across the six sessions which we held. Due to its popularity, the tour has been reintroduced for the 2025 season, with an expanded schedule to accommodate increased demand.
In January 2025 we launched a package to offer accommodation providers the opportunity to prepurchase Cathedral tickets on behalf of their guests. It is hoped that this will encourage additional visitors to the Cathedral and in doing so we have established a valuable partnership network between the Cathedral and local accommodation providers.
## **Cathedral Shop and Café**
The Cathedral Shop and café has a regular clientele, some of whom visit independently of the Cathedral. This consistent custom is extremely beneficial and important to us particularly during quieter periods, providing stability and supporting the venue’s dual role as a welcoming space and an important income generator for the Cathedral.
We continued our partnership with Meadow Brown Restaurants who have continued to grow and increase their level of income and customers. We extended our agreement with them during the year and we look forward to a continued working relationship.
## **Fundraising**
During the reporting period, the cathedral did not engage any professional fundraisers to raise funds on its behalf, nor was any individual bound in such a capacity. No monitoring of fundraising activities were taken, and no complaints were received in relation to the cathedral’s fundraising efforts. In respect to fundraising activities, no-one receives any directly marketed fundraising information unless they have signed up to receive these. All emails have the ability for an individual to unsubscribe through a click at the foot of the email. We do not use post for DTC marketing. We always follow the best practice for fundraising as set out in the Fundraising Regulators code of practice.
Our fundraising supports three main funds: The Fabric Fund, which ensures the ongoing conservation and repair of the Cathedral and the heritage skills required; the Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund, which supports the Cathedral's music programme, including the Cathedral’s choir and organists; and the Library Fund, which maintains the Wren Library and the medieval library, ensuring the conservation and repair of historic books and manuscripts, as well as the library buildings.
As part of our fundraising efforts, a dedicated Member Experience Programme exclusive for members only included tours and presentations from volunteers and employees. These included ‘Chapter House Scaffold’ tours, ‘Cathedral Estate’ tours; ‘Cathedral After Hours’ tours; ‘Meet the Manuscripts’ sessions, as well as the annual Members Thank You evensong and event.
7
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
We have continued to offer a variety of adoption options including stone, glass, pipe, book, and manuscript pages. We also have successful membership schemes, opportunities to sponsor a stonemason, chorister and choral scholar; name carving into stones as part of the Chapter House conservation and repair, "Pay to Play" sessions on the Father Willis Organ, the Fabric Fund 200 Club, and options for one-off and regular donations, as well as legacy gifts.
**The Association of Friends of Lincoln Cathedral** , an independent charity, raised money to support the Cathedral through events like the annual Carols by Candlelight concert each December, as well as through its own member subscriptions, donations, and legacy gifts. We are grateful for their continued support of Cathedral music through their annual award of £7,350 in support of The Friends’ Chorister, and £7,333 in support of The Friends’ Choral Scholar and £10,666 in support of The Friends’ Organ Scholar.
In addition to support from the Association of Friends’, we are grateful for all the generous grants received from Trusts and organisations within the year, some of whom have asked to remain anonymous so are not listed. These include: **A H Worth Charitable Trust** , who gave £3,000 in support of chorister sponsorship; **Benefact Trust** for their annual award, this year being £18,813; **DCMS Listed Places of Worship Scheme** , from whom we received a total of £3,463; **Denby Transport** , who donated £6,000 without restriction; The Ancaster Trust, who donated £500 in support of building conservation and repair; **Chattertons Solicitors and Wealth Management** , who made a number of conditional donations throughout the year totalling £3,993; **The Baronial Order of the Magna Charta** , who gave $12,000 in support of the Wren Library repairs; **The Bergne-Coupland Trust** , who gave £2,000 in support of the Chapter House repairs; **The Cathedral Music Trust** , who awarded £20,000 in support of the Cathedral’s new Singing Partnership Lead; **The Choir Schools ‘ Association** , who gave £2,500 in support of music outreach; **The Church Commissioners’ Cathedral Sustainability Fund** , who pledged up to £148,000 in support of the new Director of Estates and Facilities role, as well as an additional award of up to £120,000 in support of the development of the Cathedral’s HR resource; **The Kochan Trust** , who gave £2,000 in support of Chorister Sponsorship; **The Masons Company Charitable Trust** , who gave £1,500 in support of stonemasonry outreach to young people; **The McCorquodale Charitable Trust** , who gave £2,000 without restriction; **The R M Jolly Charitable Trust** , who gave £40,000 in support of the Wren Library repairs; **The RAF Church Collections’ Trust** , who gave £2,000 in support of Chorister Sponsorship.
We are incredibly grateful for all those who have supported and continue to support the Cathedral.
## **MINISTRY**
Work has continued to deliver and develop liturgical and musical activities towards the Cathedral’s prime purpose of the ‘seat of the Bishop and a centre of worship and mission’.
The Liturgy and Music Delivery Plan and the Liturgy and Music Development Plan 2022-25 outlined the way that this vision is delivered. Progress against these plans is summarised below.
**PRIORITY 1** : **Regular routine of prayer and worship offered for and on behalf of the diocese** The pattern of prayer and worship has continued, with a settled pattern now in place. The established pattern was supplemented with a move to having an early communion service each day from Monday to Friday from Advent 2024 onwards, and the addition of prayers for Healing after Wednesday Evening Prayer once a month. The year has been a time of continued recovery following the pandemic (20202022). The monthly pattern of varied ‘After Hours’ services has continued to develop.
8
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
The chart below highlights this year’s data (Jan - Dec 2024) in comparison to 2019 (pre-COVID) and 2023:
|**General attendance**||**2019**|**2023**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|YTD Av. Attend. at SundayEucharist||167|145|156|
|YTD total attendance+||39,974|32,283|35,298|
|YTD attendance: Sunday+||16,814|13,195|14,012|
|YTD attendance: Weekday||23,160|19,088|21,286|
|YTD attendance: Evensong||20,595|18,614|20,537|
The following charts illustrates the trends relating to attendance at the festival of Easter and Christmas with some recovery in numbers since COVID in 2019.
|**Easter**|**2019**|**2023**|**2023**|**2024**|**2025**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Palm Sunday|180|213||176|185|
|MaundyThursday|174|108||113|152|
|Good Friday|169|132||152|161|
|Three Hours|116|
NR||120|111|
|Easter Vigil|395||**425**|274|284|
|Easter Eucharist|566|375||510|585|
|Easter Evensong|97|240||155|231|
|TOTAL: Easter attendance|1,131|1,118||990|1,124|
|TOTAL: Easter communicants|736|582||595|626|
|**CHRISTMAS ATTENDANCE**||**2019**|**2023**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Christmas Carols A||1,240|900|860|
|Christmas Carols B||2,293|1,950|2,000|
|FamilyCarols||285|-|880|
|Midnight Mass||700|780|850|
|Christmas Eucharist||500|380|650|
|Christmas Evensong||140|117|127|
|EpiphanyCarols(NB: following year)||167|122|168|
## **PRIORITY 2: Serving the diocese**
A key part of the cathedral’s work is delivering services that support the life of the diocese and the work and ministry of the Bishop of Lincoln. The following special services took place during the year:
- Launch Service for St Hild Lincoln and the College of St Hugh
- Racial Justice Sunday Service
- Commissioning of Headteachers
- Chrism Eucharist
- Episcopal Visitation (and swearing in of churchwardens)
- Ordination of Priests
- Ordination of Deacons
- Annual Lay Ministry Service
9
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
In addition to these regular services, the 14th September saw the cathedral welcome Dr Simon Jones to his new ministry as Dean of Lincoln. The following special services were also hosted by the cathedral on behalf of the diocese:
- Inaugural Eucharist at the beginning of the new triennium of the Diocesan Synod
- Eucharist to mark the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood
- The cost of services to support the diocese, that is met from cathedral funds, is equivalent to approximately £8,000. This is a direct contribution made by the cathedral to support the life and work of the diocese and of the Bishop of Lincoln .
## **PRIORITY 3: Serving the civic community**
Opportunities for wider community gathering to celebrate and/or commemorate has largely been achieved through partnerships with the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, other civic dignitaries (such as the Mayor of Lincoln or Chairman of the county council), or other organisations (such as Scouts and Guides).
Special services held during 2024-25 included:
- 21st April - St George’s Day Service for Lincoln District Scouts
- 6th June – Evensong attended by the Lord Lieutenant, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day
- 14th July – Evensong attended by guests from Australia attending the reburial of Matthew Flinders
- 8th September – Evensong attended by the Chairman of Lincolnshire County Council
- 15th September - Battle of Britain Service
- 3rd November - County Harvest Service
- 10th November - The County Remembrance Sunday service
- 19th December - NHS Carol Service
- 27th January – Commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day
- 25th February – Evensong attended by the High Sheriff and members of the legal profession
- 6th March – Service marking the inauguration of the new Greater Lincolnshire Combined Mayoral Authority
## **IMPLEMENTING THE LITURGY AND MUSIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN**
The Liturgy and Music Development Plan (2022 – 2025) outlined the following 8 areas for development:
**1. To continue pre-Covid recovery of the weekly schedule**
- This was completed during the year and the recovery plan was largely delivered and completed in the previous year.
10
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**_______________________________________________________________________________________________**
**2. Development of the Choral Foundation so that it is fully resourced in its work contributing to the daily pattern of prayer for the diocese through a weekly pattern of 8 choral services and supporting the liturgical ministry of the bishop and diocese through special services held in the cathedral and promoting opportunities for worship to wider groups within the county and diocese.**
Work on development of the choral foundation is ongoing, and possible only thanks to the work of the Cathedral Music Fund Council and its fundraising activities. The main area of work is focused on achieving full recruitment of choristers. January 2025 saw the launch of a new scheme funded by the Cathedral Music Trust to provide regular outreach activities in local schools. This is already bearing fruit in increase numbers of participants in ‘Ready, Steady Choir!’ and increased levels of attendance with ‘Be a Chorister for a Day events and subsequent auditions. The next stage of development in this area, again funded by the Cathedral Music Trust, is to develop activities for parents and young children – which was started in September 2025.
**3. Developing existing/additional opportunities for worship (such as Sacred Space) and exploring new possibilities (such as Messy Cathedral).**
As reported above, the pattern of worship has continued to be enhanced by the development of ‘After Hours’ as a monthly opportunity for worship in a range of styles.
**4. Intentionally engaging visitors in the spirituality of the building and the life of prayer and worship that it supports.**
This area of activity has been enhanced by the Canon Missioner with the following practical outworkings taking place over the past twelve months.
- Reopening of St Hugh’s Choir to daily visitor access
- Re-ordered the Morning Chapel to increase its accessibility and to provide a quiet prayer space by the candle lighting
- Reinstated the Magna Carta information boards by the Magna Carta replica display
- Provided prayer postcards for visitors to use and take for both the Peace Doves display (summer) and the Crib (Advent/Christmas)
- Arranged for the ‘Come Eat with Me’ exhibition to be displayed on the Table for the Nation during Lent to encourage visitors to engage with the Easter story
## **5. Exploring ways in which the cathedral can contribute to the training of organists and musicians – both to support the long-term future of the cathedral’s choral foundation and the liturgical life of parishes in the diocese.**
The key approach in this area has been the development of three pyramids: for (a) choristers; (b) young singer; and (c) young organists. This strategy framework has informed the development of provision for organ scholars and has been key to our bid for funding to support outreach in local schools. A number of choristers (and ex-choristers) are receiving organ lessons from members of the cathedral’s Music Department, with some attending national courses to encourage their development.
11
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**______________________________________________________________________________________________**
**6. Building on the existing work, to promote organ music and performance at the cathedral** . Work to develop this is still needed, although the cathedral established pattern of organ recitals is continuing.
**7. Contributing to the ongoing training and resourcing of musicians and clergy in support of the wider work of the diocese (especially in collaboration with the College of St Hugh).** The Precentor has been involved with teaching of courses in the College of St Hugh/Lincoln School of Theology. With the changed provision following the transfer of formal training to St Hild Lincoln this work now needs to be reviewed.
## **8. Increasing, through its worshipping and musical profile, the presence of the cathedral in the wider community.**
Following the six-day commemoration of the anniversary of the 400th death of William Byrd that took place at the beginning of July 2023, the main profile-raising activity was the recording and issuing of a CD of music sung by the Cathedral Choir.
## **CATHEDRAL AND PRECINCTS UPKEEP**
Lincoln Cathedral is among the largest cathedrals in the country – third by footprint behind Canterbury and York. The Cathedral is included in its entirety on the Heritage England at Risk Register and is the only Church of England Cathedral that has received a listing of this extent. In addition to the Cathedral building itself, the Chapter are responsible for an estate that encompasses 81 historic properties that are known as the Cathedral Close, as well as an off-site quarry being progressed as a housing development.
We have continued to make progress with the on-going maintenance programme on the estate including repairs and restoration to 17 James Street, 20 Minster Yard, 23 Minster Yard, and 2 Exchequer gate. A 30-year planned maintenance programme was compiled for the Close properties to develop a planned maintenance approach to our estate. 17 Minster Yard was marketed for office suites to generate additional income with one new letting secured in 2024.
Glazing work has been completed on two of the Medieval Lancet windows and works continues to conserve the many windows within the Cathedral.
Major Phase One works to the Chapter house were substantially completed and scaffolding work commenced to start Phase Two with planned completion in 2027.
Design work was undertaken to specify repairs to the Wren Library including a new ceiling to the library area, new air source heat pumps and new ceiling/lighting to the north cloister area. The project was tendered with a view to starting the project in the new financial year.
We are fortunate to have many talented crafts people, and we have looked to strengthen the team making resources available to recruit in the new financial year in particular building up the Glazing Team and providing training programmes for apprentices through funding from the Cathedral Workshop Fellowship (CWF), both as tutors and hosts.
12
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **EDUCATION AND OUTREACH**
## **School Visits**
This year we hosted 70 (2024: 91) Schools and 5,871 (2024: 4,795) pupils. We continue to receive feedback which is consistently excellent from both teachers and pupils, praising our staff and volunteers for their engagement. In 2025 we applied to renew our Sandford Award and we were successful in October.
We have received very positive feedback throughout the year and highlights from the feedback which have received is included below:
- The staff team and volunteers led by Sally were fantastic. Everyone loved the Cathedral tour and workshops which were all pitched perfectly to our pupil cohort. The tour was around the perfect time for to engage the children of this age group (approx. 1 hour) and the staff were very knowledgeable of the history of the site.
- A lovely session perfect for my reception group. Thank you for your flexibility with timings, and your organisation.
- The staff and volunteers were very knowledgeable and had a great rapport with the children, encouraging them with their drawings. The images that were available on the tables were great for those children who required a bit of inspiration.
- When we got back to school the children could remember so much. More than me! It perfectly matched the curriculum and allowed us to make direct links to our mosque visit.
- Fantastic as always - completely tailored to our needs; fascinating tour; the children came away full of wonder.
- Was a great finishing off activity to both our last two history topics and tied in with RE and geography topics too. Took the learning out of the classroom and into real life.
We also hosted a Competition for schools: Primary School Literacy Poetry competition ‘The Wonder of Trees’.
## **Family School Holiday Events and Activities**
Our family school holiday events and activities are becoming more and more popular, with a lot of repeat visits, as well as new families. Again, our themes link with the Church calendar, national events and partner events. Our Visitor Experience team members have informed us that some families come because of the children’s experience on a school trip which is wonderful. Apparently, a boy recently gave his family ‘a Guided Tour’!
In addition to events and activities during the school holidays, we also provided Family trails and competitions, which have also been very popular with visitors. The Family Backpacks are also very popular. With four new ones introduced this year.
Our new partnership event with Lincs Kids was very successful and we plan to repeat this year. Positive feedback was received from all of these events.
13
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
The chart below displays the number of visitors to the Learning Centre during the year.
## **Student Placements and Work Experience**
During the year in Education, we hosted four (2024: 1) Work Experience placements and three (2024: 8) University Students.
## **Lectures**
The range of annual lectures has been expanded, with the addition of lectures named after Robert Grosseteste (early October) and Edward King (early March). This means that the annual programme now includes: The Edward King Lecture on Pastoral Theology; The Robert Grosseteste Lecture on Faith, Science and Philosophy; and The St Hugh’s Day Lecture.
In 2024/5, these lectures were given by the following people;
- Robert Grossteste Lecture on Science and Theology: The Rev’d Canon Dr Mark Hocknull on ‘living faithfully in the world’.
- St Hugh’s Day Lecture: Sir Jonathan Phillips on a long-term view of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
- Edward King Lecture on Pastoral Theology: The Dean (The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones), on the topic of Daily Prayer in the Church of England.
The Grosseteste Lecture in October was in partnership with the College of St Hugh and explored the challenges presented by the development of AI in today’s world. This was delivered by Professor Mark Harris from the University of Oxford.
## **Exhibition Gallery, Collections and Library**
The Exhibition Gallery is well established as part of the visitor route. The focus has been on developing new and engaging interpretation and exhibitions within the Gallery. Volunteer researchers have been developing a new Cathedral Timeline which will become part of the new interpretation for 2025. The Gallery continues to host four exhibition per year, which have included modern art, as well as historical artefacts to widen the audience and reach.
14
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
In Summer 2024, the Discovery Centre hosted a costume exhibition in its first use as a temporary exhibition space, this proved very successful and future opportunities are being explored.
Work continues to update and maintain the Collections Catalogue (CALM and CALM-View) with the addition of the Works Archive and new images of a number of collections currently unavailable to the public. This has driven a greater number of enquiries from within and outside of the Cathedral organisation. This work will continue.
An application to the National Archives was made for a two-year cataloguing project for the Dean & Chapter Archive (approx. £50,000) unfortunately we were unsuccessful. We will be re-submitting an application in January 2026. This project would see the Cathedral’s most important archival collection finally catalogued in its entirety and accessible for further academic research and public access.
In the past year, we have hosted two placements: two Lincoln University Conservation Students and a Bishop Grosseteste University History Student. We will also be hosting three work experience placements.
The Treasury is currently closed, however we were able to open as part of the city wide Heritage Festival. The space is currently awaiting new interpretation to ‘repurpose’ the central case before the room can be re-opened.
The LARC (Library Archive Research Centre) Project, was well received by the National Lottery Fund and first steps have been made to develop the project through the Close Management Plan and Cathedral & Close Conservation Plan. The project would see a suitable space for collections storage and dramatically increase accessibility, raising the profile of the Cathedral's national and international important collections.
## **Library**
While the Wren Library has been closed for essential repair work, and the books have been in storage, we have concentrated our attention on the rest of the library collections in Exchequergate and in the two Reading Rooms. Arts Society volunteers have cleaned and checked all of the modern reference books in one of our Reading Rooms and the shelves in Exchequergate have been given protective linings. Our conservation program with Hull Bindery continues, with between 10 and 15 rare early printed books being conserved each year at a cost of approximately £6,000. A full condition survey of the manuscript collection has now been completed by Chris Woods, the Director of the National Conservation Service. Manuscripts requiring conservation have been highlighted.
Volunteers continued to create suitable packaging for fragile items, and both staff and volunteers are editing corrupted records in our library management system (CALM). We have also augmented the information in existing records as well as cataloguing uncatalogued sections of the library collection. Our Reading Rooms, opened throughout the week, and we have seen increased global demand from researchers.
Carefully selected items from the library have been displayed in the Exhibition Gallery. To further enhance the visitor experience, new library information boards and expanded visitor information has been produced ready for when the Wren and Medieval libraries re-open in 2026.
15
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **PEOPLE**
The Precentor, Canon Nick Brown, held the post of Interim Dean between 26 December 2023 and 13 September 2024. The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones was installed as Dean of Lincoln on 14 September 2024. During the course of the financial year, the following appointments were made to posts within Senior Leadership Team: Mel Tettey (Chief Operating Officer), Ann Treacy (Chief Financial Officer), Mark Wheater (Director of Estates and Facilities) and Ben Webb (Commercial Director).
Canon David Dadswell resigned as a non-stipendiary residentiary canon in December 2024, and Simon Parkes resigned from Chapter, and as chair of the Cathedral’s Finance Committee, in March 2025.
Following an extensive recruitment process, five new members of Chapter were appointed in January 2025 (Dr Hilary Hamnett, Martin Hickerton, Prof Amy Livingstone, Andrew Long, and Neil Rhodes), bringing with them experience and expertise in a number of different areas, thereby strengthening the governance of the cathedral. Andrew Long has been appointed as chair of the Finance Committee, and Neil Rhodes will serve as Chapter’s safeguarding lead.
In May 2025 we were delighted to learn that His Majesty The King would be Patron of the Cathedral’s Fabric Fund.
## **Volunteers**
The Cathedral is hugely dependent on the many people who volunteer to support the work and the opening of the cathedral on a daily basis. We greatly value the considerable time and expertise given by all the Cathedral committee members for which we are extremely grateful.
## **Sustainability**
The Cathedral have an environmental plan which outlines key actions/projects as we work towards Net Zero Carbon . Examples of projects which have been implemented are:-
- New Cutting Facility installation of Solar Panels using Church Commission quick wins funding. This involved a system with 42kw capacity and battery storage.
- Continued installation of LED lighting including replacement lighting in St Hughs Choir.
Sustainability considerations are embedded in all of our future projects to minimise our impact on the environment.
## **Media Coverage**
The media landscape in Lincoln has changed significantly during the last 12 months with both The Lincolnite (an online news service) and Siren FM (a community radio station) closing. BBC Lincolnshire reduced the number of programmes produced in Lincolnshire, and other local newspapers made significant cuts to their staff. This has meant that we have had to focus on other ways of reaching our local audience to promote services and events and to share news.
The announcement and subsequent installation of The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones as the new Dean of Lincoln provided us with excellent opportunity for very positive local and national coverage of the Cathedral.
16
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
In September, filming took place in the Cathedral for the Channel 5 programme ‘Britain’s Greatest Cathedrals’, hosted by the Revd Pat Allerton. Each of the episodes focussed on three Cathedral’s and Lincoln’s content focussed on the Romanesque Frieze, the Dean’s Eye Window and the historic graffiti. Following the broadcast of the programme, the welcome team reported that they had had several conversations with people who said that they visited because of seeing the Cathedral on the programme.
Our events programme continued to bring tens of thousands of new visitors to the Cathedral during the year, but also generated a great deal of positive news coverage across the region. In particular, this year the Peace Doves installation, the Table for the Nation, Luxmuralis, and The Snowman have all generated considerable press interest which has been supported by paid print and social media adverts.
We now also produced quarterly What’s On leaflets which are widely distributed and have proved a valuable asset in promoting services and events throughout the year.
In December 2024, BBC Look North brought comedian and actor Lloyd Griffiths to the Cathedral where the former Grimsby Minster chorister sang O Holy Night accompanied by Cathedral Organist Jeffrey Makinson. This was then broadcast at the end of their last programme before Christmas. There was excellent media coverage, not only on the Look North programme, but also on social media.
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
The Statement of Financial Activities (‘SoFA’) shows a net loss before gains on investments of £1.3m (2024: £0.36m gain).
The year has seen increased legacy receipts, but as a highly variable income stream year-on-year, such receipts are £36k higher in the current financial period than in the last. Other changes within our activities, noticeable within Notes 2,3 and 4 of these financial statements, include reduced fundraising income and expenditure for events but higher visitor income. This reflects a fundamental change in the events programme for the year which did not reprise a ‘theatre in the nave’ ticketed event or the Flower Festival and instead enhanced income through the visitor experience.
Fundraising efforts continued within our Music Fund with total income during the year amounting to £418,211 (2024: £219,184). With substantial legacies of £262,477 received in the year. £129,091 (2024: £60,869) was used to directly support Lincoln Cathedral’s annual choir and organist costs.
Income sources are now substantially less weighted towards voluntary income, being 26% (2024: 26%) of total income. In line with our strategic aims, other sources of income have been grown during the year with particular emphasis on our trading and visitor activities as well as maximising investments.
There continues to be an exceptional challenge in relation to the upkeep and repair of the Cathedral and our estate, which comprises predominately grade I and grade II listed buildings. Whilst these buildings are iconic the cost to maintain and renovate both the cathedral and the properties far out ways what we are able to generate in income.
17
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
To fund the on-going close properties external maintenance programme, as identified from the Cathedral’s 2019 quinquennial inspection, we are utilising finite restricted funds. We believe that such investment will achieve better financial sustainability for the future, maximising return on our investment properties while maintaining the historic character of our Cathedral Close.
Overall, there has been little market movement impacting the value of our investment properties. Chapter are of the opinion that commercial property valuations have remained static during the year. The high base rate of the Bank of England has put a constraint on house buying. The house price index has quoted an uplift of 2.5% on values and due to the unique nature of our portfolio any increases are likely to be extremely low or non-existent for the year. Based on this evidence and the full valuation which will be taking place on our investment properties at the end of 2025 it is felt appropriate to not increase the investment property values.
Investments have shown a gain in the period in relation to capital values, which increased slightly in the year by £140k. Investments were changed in year to spread the risk over two investment houses rather than one. This decision was taken to ensure that the Cathedral’s risk of exposure is reduced by having two investment portfolios. We are optimistic moving forward that the changes made will enable us to see both increases in income and capital growth.
The unrestricted fund shows net movement in funds for the year of (£272k), (2024:£113k) net movement of designated funds of £4k (2024: £3k). Restricted funds net movement of (£689k) (2024: £750k) and net movement of £224k, (2024: £2.5m) on the endowment fund.
We remain hugely grateful for the generous support we receive during from both grant funding and generous donations with this support we would be unable to maintain the glorious building we call Lincoln Cathedral.
## **RESERVES POLICY**
The Chapter consider that they should hold sufficient reserves in the unrestricted funds to fund working capital and potential liabilities identified from its review of major risks, and to cover shortfalls in unpredictable voluntary income. An acceptable range of free reserves is three to six months of fixed operational costs, less ‘reasonably certain’ income for Lincoln Cathedral. This currently equates to a range of £1m - £1.9m of unrestricted fund reserves.
The unrestricted fund, excluding designated funds and unrestricted funds of subsidiaries, stood at £1.6m at 31 March 2025 (2024: £1.9m). The unrestricted fund is considered broadly to equate to the free reserves of the charity with all but a small proportion of the investment assets held by the fund being realisable within a short timeframe, in the case of unforeseen circumstances.
A small number of designated funds are held, as described in note 21, representing specific projects and/or working capital requirements for specific ongoing activities. Designated funds are reviewed each year to ensure the funds are utilised as appropriate.
The level of reserves as at 31 March 2025 are considered to be in line with the requirements of the reserves policy, representing around six months of budgeted base operating costs not otherwise met by restricted fund reserves. The economic outlook remains challenging and the use of reserves is likely within the short-term which will reduce free reserve levels further.
18
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
Reserve levels will continue to be closely monitored to ensure an adequate level of capital is maintained to support the future work of the Cathedral.
## **INVESTMENT POLICY**
During 2024/2025 the investment policy of the Cathedral was updated to reflect the objectives in relation to investments and these are detailed below:-
Lincoln Cathedral seeks to fulfil the following investment objectives:
- Safeguard assets and manage risk within accepted risk appetite
- Manage cash balances to ensure that there is sufficient liquidity to meet working capital requirements
- Maximise returns on short term holdings
- Ensure compliance with the Church of England guidance for ethical investments
- Ensure that borrowings are at competitive market rates with due consideration to security
The investment objective for short term reserves is to preserve real capital value with minimal levels of risk, ensuring high liquidity of assets in order to meet short term cash flow needs.
During 2023/2024, it was agreed that the investment assets of the charity were to be divided between two fund managers to further diversify the portfolio and reduce counter-party risk. This was actioned during March 2024 and completed during the financial year. This took longer than anticipated due to some shares being held previously in the Charity Property Funds which are not liquid funds. All transfers have now been finalised.
## **PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINITIES**
Chapter and the Senior Leadership Team regularly review the major risks that the Cathedral faces and look at ways to either tolerate or treat the risks based on their severity. The top risks identified, and plans put in place are around:
|**Detail**|**Risk**|**Control & mitigation**|**Key management activities**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Failure to comply with
changing
legislation
and regulations e.g.
Charity commission,
Health
&
Safety,
Financial,
Safeguarding,
Employment Law.|Critical|Experienced team with
access to the correct
support mechanisms i.e.
Croner. A new contract
awarded to Avensure for
HR advise. Training in
place and attendance at
relevant conferences to
ensure that we keep up to
date.|Developing new employee handbook
and publish and implement policies
consistently.
Developing
further
Induction programme and continuous
development for staff/volunteers to
keep
update
with
legislation
requirements
Reviewing and refreshing all TORs for
executive groups, governance boards /
committees. Improving data record
keeping
e.g.
SharePoint
filing
restructure and physical records to
ensure easy access to dedicated
personnel
as
required,
facilities
compliance recording system|
19
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
|**Detail**|**Risk**|**Control & mitigation**|**Key management activities**|
|---|---|---|---|
|There is a risk the
Cathedral
fails
to
control
costs
and
meet income targets,
particularly
in
its
unrestricted
budget,
leading to a risk of
deficits
and,
potentially,
more
significant
intervention.|High|Regularly monitoring of
financial
performance
and position. Financial
forecasting and budgets
done for a five year
timeframe.
Financial
controls
in
place
to
approve
and
report
unbudgeted
or
unforeseen expenditure.|Management accounts produced on a
monthly basis and reviewed by the
Finance
committee
and Chapter.
Finance committee with appropriately
skilled membership and terms of
reference to provide oversight and
constructive challenge.|
|Inadequate
funding
and
resources
to
deliver
the
Cathedral’s
operational
commitments
or
capitalise on future
growth opportunities|Critical|New
Commercial
Director now in post and
new COO to drive the
financial activities of the
Cathedral
forward.
Stewardship Campaign
to be launched in 2025 to
increase regular giving.|
Fundraising plans drawn up annually
Focus on commercial income growth
and
opportunities
e.g.
property
income,
fundraising,
potential
to
reconfigure chapter house access
could
increase
more
revenue.
marketing of community rooms etc
Monitoring
contracts
for
sub
contractors for works to gain better
value
for
money
Close
tracking
of
financial
performance|
|Failure to adequately
maintain
The
Cathedral and Close
Properties
and
resource
required
repairs.|Critical|Repairs are being carried
out with the support of a
legacy.
Rents
have
increased
but
further
work
is
required
on
repairs to be able to
support|New QI of the Cathedral and estate
plan
for
the
close
properties
Driving
forward
planned
and
preventative maintenance, scoping of
capital
works
and
lifecycle
replacement works now taking place.|
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
Lincoln Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Lincoln and a centre of worship and mission for the city and diocese. The Cathedral is a place founded on daily prayer offered to God for and on behalf of the diocese, and:
- nurturing and sustaining a variety of worshipping congregations;
- • supporting diocesan life and episcopal ministry; and
- enabling civic and community celebration and commemoration
The Cathedral is an ecclesiastical corporation.
20
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES**
The Cathedral’s Measure 2021 has been adopted by the Cathedral. The Measure initiated substantial change to the governance of English Cathedrals and how they are regulated. In December 2023 the Cathedral achieved Certificate Date 1 as part of the Cathedral’s Measure process and on the 12[th] March 2024 became a charity regulated by both the Charity Commission and Church Commissioners, governed by a new Constitution and Statutes under the Cathedrals Measure 2021.
Historically part of the Cathedral’s governing corporation, the Cathedral Council was formally dissolved upon adoption of the Cathedrals Measure 2021 the College of Canons formal role within our body corporate ceased.
## **ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE**
## **Visitor**
The Bishop is the Visitor of the Cathedral. As such, Chapter must hold a special meeting at which it must consult the Bishop on the general direction and mission of the Cathedral, and the bishop may seek the advice of the Chapter on any particular matter. Before deciding who to invite to a special meeting (apart from the members of the Chapter and the Bishop), the Chapter must consult the Bishop.
## **Body Corporate**
Under the Cathedral’s Measure 1999 The Chapter, Cathedral Council and College of Canons together formed the legal entity of Lincoln Cathedral. Now, the members for the time being of the Chapter of the Cathedral are individually and collectively Charity Trustees and a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.
## **The Chapter**
The Chapter is the governing body of the Cathedral responsible for leadership, policy, strategy and vision. Chapter also directs and oversees the Cathedral’s administration. The Chapter consists of the Dean, our Residentiary Canons and at least four lay persons, one of whom must be the chair of the finance committee. The Dean is appointed by the Crown and acts as Chair of Chapter.
The Chapter meets regularly, with the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and a Minute Secretary in attendance.
To support the Chapter’s work, all cathedrals are required by the 2021 Cathedrals Measure to include in their organisational structure a **Finance Committee** , an **Audit & Risk Committee** , a **Nominations Committee** , and a “Senior Management Group”, at Lincoln Cathedral this is the **Senior Leadership Team** .
## **Appointment and Induction of new Chapter Members**
New Chapter members are carefully selected to provide a balance of skills to meet both anticipated challenges ahead and strategic direction and development. All Chapter members are given appropriate induction and opportunities for relevant training. Work continues to develop formal systems of induction to ensure consistency.
21
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **Committees**
The Chapter is supported in its work by several committees:
## **Finance Committee**
The Lincoln Cathedral Finance Committee is a non-executive advisory committee of the Chapter. In this role, Chapter delegates to the Committee the financial advice and strategic recommendations with regard to expenditure, income and fundraising and investments. The Committee takes the role as a critical friend, providing expert and supportive advice.
The Finance Committee is in turn supported by
- Investment Advisory Group, who advise and provide oversight on the Cathedral’s investment strategy, policies and performance.
## **Audit & Risk Committee**
The Audit & Risk Committee is a non-executive advisory committee of the Chapter who assist Chapter in its oversight of the integrity of decision-making, review the quality of external audit and to review internal controls, ensuring robust risk management.
## **Fabric Advisory Committee**
The Fabric Advisory Committee assist the Chapter in the care and conservation of the Cathedral as required by section 4 (1) of the Care of Cathedrals Measure 1990, as amended by the Care of Cathedrals (Amendment) Measure 2005, helping to formulate proposals for works. This includes any continuous programme of repairs, conservation of adornments, provision of safety precautions, conduct of surveys and assessing priority of works.
## **Remuneration Committee**
Principle purposes of the committee include considering and recommending to Chapter:
- Terms and conditions of employment, remuneration and succession planning of staff and the procedures, policies and benchmarks through which these are determined.
- Establishing and keeping under review a remuneration policy and its appropriateness, including pay structures and their annual review; and
- Changes in remuneration for members of the Senior Leadership Team as well as housing and benefits for residentiary clergy with due consideration of up-to-date information about remuneration in other institutions of comparable scale and complexity.
Further work has been undertaken throughout the year on defining governance structures and demarcation of board structures.
## **Senior Leadership Team**
The Senior Leadership Team (‘SLT’) is the senior management group of the Cathedral and is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the Cathedral under the oversight of the Chapter.
The SLT chaired by the Chief Operating Officer, normally meets fortnightly and is accountable to Chapter.
22
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
The Chief Operating Officer reports to the Dean and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Cathedral, ensuring that there is adequate resourcing for the Cathedral to achieve its mission and strategic priorities and to ensure legal, and financial compliance.
## **RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHAPTER**
## **Chapter Responsibilities Statement**
The Cathedral Chapter is responsible for preparing Chapter’s Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires Chapter to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, Chapter are required to:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
- Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS102)
- Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed
- Preparing the accounts on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
Chapter are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Constitution and Statutes. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## **Investment Powers**
Under the Cathedral’s Measure 2021 the Chapter may invest the Cathedral’s funds in any of the following:
- Land
- Funds administered for the Central Board of Finance of the Church of England CCLA Investment Management Ltd
- Investments in which trustees may invest under the general power of investment in the Trustees Act 2000
- The improvement or development of property belonging to the Cathedral, except that endowment funds may not be used to improve or develop the Cathedral itself and its ancillary buildings unless a total return approach under the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2014 has been adopted.
23
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION**
## **FULL NAME**
The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln (commonly known as Lincoln Cathedral) Charity number 1207411);
## **CATHEDRAL OFFICE**
Chapter Office, 4 Priorygate, Lincoln, LN2 1PL
## **VISITOR**
Bishop of Lincoln, The Rt Revd Stephen Conway
## **CATHEDRAL CHAPTER TRUSTEES**
The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones, Dean (Appointed 14 September 2024)
The Revd Canon Nicholas Brown, Precentor and Subdean (Interim Dean: 26 December 2023 – 13 September 2024)
The Revd Canon Rowena King, Canon Missioner The Revd Canon Carolyn Bailey (Appointed 9 July 2024) The Revd Canon David Dadswell (Resigned 31 December 2024) Canon Amanda (Harvey) Dowdy (Resigned 7 October 2025) Canon Simon Parkes (Resigned 11 February 2025) Canon Mark Suthern Canon Stuart Welch Professor Amy Livingstone (Appointed 13 March 2025) Dr Hilary Jane Hamnett (Appointed 13 March 2025) Martin Hickerton (Appointed 13 March 2025) Neil Rhodes (Appointed 13 March 2025) Andrew Long (Appointed 13 March 2025)
**Finance Committee** Canon Simon Parkes, Chairman (Resigned 11 February 2024) Andrew Long (Appointed 13 March 2025)
Peter Denby Caroline Killeavy (Resigned 17 September 2025) John Lockwood MBE DL Neil Rhodes Edward Strange
## **Fabric Advisory Committee** Professor Clifford Price, Chairman
Dr Mike Ashton
Judy Burg Professor John Chilton Dr Kate Giles Hannah Harte Professor David Stocker Simon Walters Dr Paul Williamson
24
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**Audit & Risk Committee** Neil Rhodes (Resigned 13 March 2025) Marc Jones (Appointed 3 June 2025) Martin Hickerton (Resigned 13 March 2025 Janis Daly (Appointed 3 June 2025) Richard Mazur (Appointed 3 June 2025) Tony Tomlinson **Other Professional advisors Auditor** BHP LLP Albert Works 71 Sidney Street Sheffield S1 4RG **Bankers** National Westminster Bank Plc 225 High Street Lincoln, LN2 1AZ Chattertons 1 Flavian Road Lincoln, LN2 4GR
Approved by order of Chapter and signed on their behalf by:
Signer ID: 9X2E5PMEP6... The Very Reverend Dr Simon Jones Dean of Lincoln 16 December 2025
25
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln (the ‘parent entity) and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated balance sheet, the entity balance sheet, the consolidated cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and parent entity’s affairs as at 31 March 2025, and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent entity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that Chapter’s use of the going concern basis in accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the entity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of Chapter with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the Chapter’s Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Chapter are responsible for the other information contained within Chapter’s Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the
26
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN**
financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- the information given in Chapters’ Annul Report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or
- sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **Responsibilities of Chapter**
As explained more fully in the Chapter’s responsibilities statement, Chapter are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as Chapter determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, Chapter are responsible for assessing the group’s and parent entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless Chapter either intend to liquidate the group or parent entity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
We have been appointed auditor under section 151 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with that Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
27
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN**
- the senior statutory auditor ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the group and parent entity through discussions with Chapter and other management, and from our knowledge and experience of the Cathedral sector;
- we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the group and parent entity, including the Accounting and Reporting Regulations for English Anglican Cathedrals (December 2018), the Cathedrals Measures 2021, safeguarding legislation, health and safety requirements including fire safety and data protection laws;
- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
- we ensured identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the group and parent entity’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and
- considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
- assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
- investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
- reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
28
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN**
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditors/audit-assurance/auditor-s-responsibilties-for-the-audit-of-thefi/description-of-the-auditor%£2%80%99s-resposiblities-for. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charity’s Trustees’, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Signer ID: MMITLPRPJQ...
Nicola O’Sullivan (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of BHP LLP One Waterside Place Basin Square Brimington Road Chesterfield S41 7FH
Date: 17/12/2025 GMT
BHP LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
29
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|||||||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted Funds**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
|||**General**|**Designated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**Note**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|**Income and**||||||||
|**endowments from**||||||||
|Donations & legacies|2|**268**|**-**|**824**|**-**|**1,092**|991|
|Grants|2|**321**|**-**|**14**|**-**|**335**|403|
|Charitable activities|3|**70**|**-**|**-**|**-**|**70**|83|
|Other trading activities|4|**2,024**|**14**|**29**|**-**|**2,067**|1,847|
|Investments|5|**1,116**|**-**|**396**|**40**|**1,552**|1,813|
|Other income|6|**211**|**-**|**7**|**-**|**218**|197|
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|Total income||**4,010**|**14**|**1,270**|**40**|**5,334**|5,334|
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|--------------------|
|**Expenditure on**||||||||
|Raising funds|7|**2,116**|**-**|**339**|**13**|**2,468**|1,978|
|Charitable activities:||||||||
|Ministry|8|**1,068**|**-**|**296**|**-**|**1,364**|762|
|Cathedral and||||||||
|precincts upkeep|8|**928**|**10**|**1,640**|**-**|**2,578**|2,054|
|Education and|8|**205**|**-**|**40**|**-**|**245**|179|
|outreach||||||||
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|--------------------|
|Total expenditure||**4,317**|**10**|**2,315**|**13**|**6,655**|4,973|
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|--------------------|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||||||||
|**before investment**||**(307)**|**4**|**(1,045)**|**27**|**(1,321)**|361|
|**gains/(losses)**||||||||
|Net gains/(losses) on||||||||
|investments|15a/b|**50**|**-**|**327**|**(237)**|**140**|2,990|
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||**(257)**|**4**|**(718)**|**(210)**|**(1,181)**|3,351|
|**Transfers between**|13|**(15)**|**-**|**29**|**(14)**|**-**|-|
|**funds**||||||||
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|-----------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|**Net movement in funds**||**(272)**|**4**|**(689)**|**(224)**|**(1,181)**|3,351|
|**Total funds brought**||||||||
|**forward**||**2,099**|**269**|**21,030**|**31,636**|**55,034**|51,683|
|||------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
|**Total funds carried**||||||||
|**forward**|20|**1,827**|**273**|**20,341**|**31,412**|**53,853**|55,034|
|||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
All activities derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 36 to 62 form part of the financial statements. Details of comparative figures by fund are included in note 29.
30
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|
|**Total income (excluding endowments)**|5,294|5,267|
|**Total expenditure (excluding endowments)**|(6,642)|(4,969)|
||-------------------|-------------------|
|**Surplus of income over expenditure in the year before transfers**|(1,348)|298|
|Net gains/(losses) on investments|377|562|
||-------------------|-------------------|
|**Net income/expenditure for the year**|(971)|860|
|**Other comprehensive income:**|||
|Transfer of fixed assets to restricted funds|-|-|
||-------------------|-------------------|
|**Total comprehensive income**|(971)|860|
||=========|=========|
The Income and Expenditure Account is derived from the Statement of Financial Activities with movements in endowment funds excluded. All income and expenditure is derived from continuing activities.
31
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2025**
|**Note**
**Fixed assets**
Investment assets:
Property
**15a**
Investments
**15b**
Non-investment assets:
Property
**16**
Equipment and plant
**17**
**Total fixed assets**
**Current assets**
Stock
Debtors
**18**
Cash at bank and in hand
**Total current assets**
**Liabilities due within one year**
Loans
Creditors
**19**
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current liabilities**
**Liabilities due after one year**
**Total net assets**
**The funds of the Cathedral**
**Endowment funds**
**20**
**Restricted funds:**
**20**
**Unrestricted funds**
**20**
General funds
Designated funds
**Total cathedral funds**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**Total Funds**
**2025**
**Total Funds**
**2024**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
-
-
22,807
**22,807**
23,995
1,646
18,170
5,865
**25,681**
23,118|
|---|---|
||1,646
18,170
28,672
**48,488**
47,113
-
1,364
2,728
**4,092**
2,904
24
201
-
**225**
421|
||24
1,565
2,728
**4,317**
3,325|
||**1,670**
**19,735**
**31,400**
**52,805**
50,438|
||114
-
-
**114**
121
398
347
-
**745**
682
325
892
27
**1,244**
4,343|
||**837**
**1,239**
**27**
**2,103**
5,146
-
-
-
**-**
(6)
(407)
(633)
(15)
**(1,055)**
(544)|
||**(407)**
**(633)**
**(15)**
**(1,055)**
(550)|
||**430**
**606**
**12**
**1,048**
4,596
2,100
20,341
31,412
**53,853**
55,034
-
-
-
**-**
-|
||**2,100**
**20,341**
**31,412**
**53,853**
55,034|
||-
-
31,412
**31,412**
31,636
-
20,341
-
**20,341**
21,030
1,827
-
-
**1,826**
2,099
273
-
-
**274**
269|
||**2,100**
**20,341**
**31,412**
**53,853**
55,034|
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Chapter on 16 December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Signer ID: 9X2E5PMEP6... Signer ID: SIYR28KJ0Y... The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones Mr Andrew Long Dean Chair, Finance Committee
32
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN ENTITY ONLY BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2025**
|**Note**
**Fixed assets**
Investment assets:
Property
**15a**
Investments
**15b**
Non-investment assets:
Property
**16**
Equipment and plant
**17**
**Total fixed assets**
**Current assets**
Stock
Debtors
**18**
Cash at bank and in hand
**Total current assets**
**Liabilities due within one year**
Loans
Creditors
**19**
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current**
**liabilities**
**Liabilities due after one year**
**Total net assets**
**The funds of the Cathedral**
**Endowment funds**
**20**
**Restricted funds:**
**20**
**Unrestricted funds**
**20**
General funds
Designated funds
**Total cathedral funds**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**Total Funds**
**2025**
**Total Funds**
**2024**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
-
-
22,807
**22,807**
23,995
1,646
15,123
5,865
**22,634**
20,109|
|---|---|
||1,646
15,123
28,672
**45,441**
44,104
-
1,364
2,728
**4,092**
2,904
14
201
-
**215**
412|
||14
1,565
2,728
**4,307**
3,316|
||**1,660**
**16,688**
**31,400**
**49,748**
47,419|
||37
-
-
**37**
70
302
341
-
**643**
684
175
646
27
**848**
4,032|
||**514**
**987**
**27**
**1,528**
4,786
-
-
-
**-**
(6)
(348)
(639)
(15)
**(1,002)**
(427)|
||**(348)**
**(639)**
**(15)**
**(1,002)**
(433)|
||**166**
**348**
**12**
**526**
4,353
1,826
17,036
31,412
**50,274**
51,773
-
-
-
**-**
-|
||**1,826**
**17,036**
**31,412**
**50,274**
51,773|
||-
-
31,412
**31,412**
31,636
-
17,036
-
**17,036**
17,972
1,553
-
-
**1,553**
1,896
273
-
-
**273**
269|
||**1,826**
**17,036**
**31,412**
**50,274**
51,773|
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Chapter on 16 December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones Mr Andrew Long Signer ID: 9X2E5PMEP6... Signer ID: SIYR28KJ0Y... Dean Chair, Finance Committee
33
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**£’000**||**£’000**|
|**Net cash inflow / (outflow) from operating activities (see below)**||**(1,142)**||243|
|**Cash flows from investing activities**|||||
|Rent received net of costs|**(92)**||131||
|Investment income net of costs|**532**||875||
|Purchase of plant and equipment|**(1)**||(1)||
|Proceeds from the sale of investments|**1,598**||12,307||
|Purchase of investments|**(4,021)**||(12,211)||
||**---------------**||---------------||
|**Net cash provided by / (used in) investing activities**||**(1,984)**||1,101|
|**Cash flows from financing activities**|||||
|Receipt of endowment|**27**||62||
||**---------------**||---------------||
|**Net cash provided by / (used in) financing activities**||**27**||62|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
|**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period**|||||
|||**(3,099)**||1,406|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April**||**4,343**||2,937|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March**||**1,244**||4,343|
|||**=======**||=======|
|**Reconciliation of net income/(expenditure) to net cash flow from**|**operating**||||
|**activities**|||||
|||**2025**||2024|
|||**£’000**||£’000|
|**Net income/(expenditure before investment gains for**|||||
|**reporting period**||**(1,321)**||361|
|**Adjustment for:**|||||
|Depreciation charges||**197**||200|
|Income added to endowment capital||**(40)**||(67)|
|Income from property and investments||**(1,512)**||(1,747)|
|Investment property costs & management fees||**1,093**||784|
|(Increase)/decrease in stock||**(7)**||(5)|
|Decrease / (Increase) in debtors||**(63)**||793|
|(Decrease)/Increase in creditors||**511**||(76)|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
|**Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities**||**(1,142)**||243|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
|**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**|||||
|||**2025**||2024|
|||**£’000**||£’000|
|Cash in hand||**483**||892|
|Notice deposits (less than 3 months)||**761**||3,451|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
|||**1,244**||4,343|
|||**---------------**||---------------|
34
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT**
||**1 April**|**Cash**|**Other**|**31 March**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|**Flows**|**Changes**|**2025**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Cash and cash equivalents**|||||
|Cash|892|(409)|-|483|
|Deposit accounts|3,451|(2,690)|-|761|
||---------------------|------------------|------------------------|---------------------|
|**Borrowings**|4,343|(3,099)|-|1,244|
|Debt due within one year|(6)|-|6|-|
||--------------------|------------------|---------------------|--------------------|
||(6)|-|6|-|
||--------------------|--------------------|---------------------|--------------------|
|**Total**|4,337|(3,099)|6|1,244|
||**===========**|**=========**|**===========**|**===========**|
35
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**______________________________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements and estimation techniques are as follows.
## **a) Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments and investment property, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.
The Cathedral meets the definition of a Public Benefit Entity under FRS102.
The accounts are presented in sterling, which is the functional currency of the cathedral, and rounded to the nearest £000.
## **Consolidation**
The accounts consolidate the results of the Cathedral and its subsidiaries. Further details are provided in Note 26. The results of the subsidiaries are consolidated on a line by line basis.
In addition, the Cathedral is connected with various entities that do not meet the criteria for consolidation. Further details are provided Note 27.
## **b) Income**
All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) when the Cathedral is legally entitled to receive it as income or capital respectively, ultimate receipt is probable and the amount to be recognised can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
- **i) Legacies** – Entitlement is taken as an when notification has made by the Executor(s) that a distribution will be made, when a distribution is received from the estate or when probate has been granted depending on which is earlier. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and cathedral has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified but cannot be reliably measured the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material. Where a legacy is subject to the interest of a life tenant the legacy would not be recognised as income until the death of the life tenant.
- ii) **Events & Services** – Income received in advance of events or services is deferred until the criteria for income recognition.
- iii) **Rent and investment income –** Income received is recognised as income when receivable. iv) **Interest and dividends** - Income received is recognised as income when receivable. v) **Grants –** Grants received which are subject to pre-conditions specified by the donor which have not been met at the year-end are included in creditors and carried forward to the following year.
- vi) **Donations** other than grants are recognised when receivable.
- vii) **Donated Goods and services** – Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when control exists over the item, any conditions associated with the
36
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) For the year ended 31 March 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
donated items have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from use by the cathedral of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably.
- viii) **Gains on disposal of fixed assets** for the Cathedral’s own use (i.e. non-investment assets) are accounted for as other income. Losses on disposal of such assets are accounted for as other expenditure.
- ix) **Third Party receipts and payments** – Where funding is provided by third parties (e.g. the funding by the Church Commissioners of stipends and associated payroll costs of the Dean, the Commissioners’ canons or other clerical or lay staff) these are shown as both income and expenditure.
## **c) Expenditure**
Expenditure is recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure on repairs, restoration and maintenance of the Cathedral is charged as incurred. Expenditure on Investment property is charged against revenue unless the work results directly in an increase in the value of the property.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs relating to the category. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
**Costs of raising funds.** These are the costs of trading activities, investment property costs, visitor facilities and fundraising events.
**Resourcing ministry and mission** includes costs associated with the Cathedral clergy as well as services and music costs.
**Cathedral and precincts upkeep** consists of major projects and restoration of the Cathedral’s fabric as well as the Cathedral’s maintenance and upkeep.
**Education and outreach** includes relevant costs as well as running costs of the Wren Library.
**Irrecoverable VAT** is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure is incurred.
**Education and outreach** includes relevant costs as well as running costs of the Wren Library.
**Support costs** are those functions that assist the work of the Cathedral but do not directly undertake either charitable or fundraising activities. Indirect support cost allocation is based on an approximate split of staff time estimated as follows:
37
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
Raising funds 35% Ministry 30% Cathedral & precincts upkeep 30% Education & Outreach 5%
## **d) Cathedral and Inventory**
Heritage assets include the Cathedral and ancillary buildings and the items in the inventory prepared under section 24(1) of the Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011. No value has been attributed to these assets acquired before 31 December 2018, because information on their historic cost is not available.
Items donated to the inventory since 1 January 2019 are valued in the year of acquisition and shown as a heritage asset unless there is sufficient information available to reliably estimate the value of the asset.
The Heritage Assets are deemed to have indeterminate lives and the Chapter do not therefore consider it appropriate to charge deprecation on acquisitions. Expenditure which is required to preserve or prevent deterioration of the Heritage Assets is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when it is incurred.
## **e) Tangible fixed assets**
## **Property**
The endowment property, which excludes the Cathedral itself, includes both investment and noninvestment property. Investment property is included at fair value as at 31 March 2025. Chapter considers that appropriate professional guidance has been sought to recommend reasonable estimates of fair value.
Non-investment property is carried at cost.
The Quarry is stated at the cost to acquire access which was obtained in 2008. The access is the land known as 51 Riseholme Road. In the opinion of the Cathedral’s administrative body the residual value of the land is such that no write down is deemed necessary.
Depreciation is not charged on the basis of immateriality. The Cathedral has a policy of regular maintenance to maintain properties at their existing value and, given the locale of the Cathedral Close, high residual values are expected.
## **Tools and Equipment**
Purchases of tools and equipment (including office equipment) of less than £10,000 are written off in the year of purchase within the fund to which they relate.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful economic lives on the following basis:
Equipment & plant 18 – 50% straight line Freehold buildings 0%
38
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
Lincoln Minister Shops Limited assets are an exception to this, with all assets recognised and depreciated in line with their treatment for tax purposes.
- **f) Investments**
All other investments are stated at fair value. Realised gains or losses are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities when investments are sold. Unrealised gains and losses are accounted for on revaluation of investments at the year end.
## **g) Financial instruments**
- Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at amortised cost with the exception of investments which are held at fair value. Financial assets held at amortised cost comprise cash at bank and in hand, together with trade and other debtors. A specific provision is made for debts for which recoverability is in doubt. Cash at bank and in hand is defined as all cash held in instant access bank accounts and used as working capital. Financial liabilities held at amortised cost comprise all creditors except social security and other taxes and provisions.
- **h) Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty**
- In the application of the accounting policies, trustees are required to make judgement, estimates, and assumptions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Chapter make estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates and assumptions will, by definition, seldom equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions will have significant risk of causing material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year and are around property valuations.
Property values are subject to judgement on their state of repair, future rental yield and estimated costs to sell.
- **i) Debtors -** Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.
- **j) Stock** – stock is stated at the lower of cost or net realisable value after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
- **k) Cash at bank and in hand –** Cash at bank and in hand includes the cash and short-term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
39
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
## **l) Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the Cathedral has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## **m) Employment benefits**
When employees have rendered service to the Cathedral, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.
The entity contributes to a defined benefit plan (CEFPS) for the benefit of some of its employees. A liability for the entity’s obligations under the plan is recognised net of plan assets. The net change in the net defined benefit liability is recognised as the cost of the defined benefit plan during the period.
Contributions under defined contribution plans are expensed as they become payable.
## **n) Corporation tax**
The Cathedral is considered to pass the tests set out in Sch.6, para.1 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable entity for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the Cathedral is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Pt.11, Ch.3 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or s.256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
## **o) Operating Leases**
The Cathedral has entered only into operating lease arrangements for the use of certain assets, the rental for which is charged in full as expenditure in the year to which it relates. Where rent free periods are given as part of an operating lease, the impact of this rent-free period is reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities over the shorter of the overall lease term or first break clause whichever is shorter in time.
## **p) Funds**
Unrestricted funds or general funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the Cathedral.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds that Chapter have decided, at their discretion, to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Such designations may be set aside from time to time according to policy decisions.
40
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES (continued)**
Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for areas of the Cathedral’s work or specific projects. This would include monies raised for a specific campaign.
Endowment funds are restricted in that there is now power to convert the capital into income. They must be held permanently (unless they become expendable by petition or prior design) and cannot be disposed of, although the constituent assets may change over time.
## **q) Reserves Policy**
The target free reserves (net of fixed assets and investments) is currently set at an amount equivalent to three months’ gross expenditure from unrestricted funds estimated at £1.5m.
## **r) Going Concern**
Having reviewed the funding facilities available to the charity together with future projected cash flows, the trustees have an expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue its activities for the foreseeable future. Trustees are aware of the longer term sustainability of the Cathedral and are putting in place measures to ensure that there is a long term financial and operational strategy in place to support the organisation in the future. They do consider that there were no material uncertainties over the charity’s financial viability at the date of signing the accounts. Accordingly, they also continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
41
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
___________________________________________________________________________________________
## **2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES**
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|**Donations & legacies**||||||
|Congregational giving|72|-|-|72|78|
|Donations|136|206|-|342|288|
|Tax recoverable|14|-|-|14|30|
|Income from Friends|31|24|-|55|22|
|Legacies|15|594|-|609|573|
||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|------------------|
||268|824|-|1,092|991|
||========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 £276k was attributable to the unrestricted fund, and £715k was attributable to the restricted funds.
## **Grants**
|**Grants**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Church Commissioners’|236|-|-|236|151|
|Other revenue and capital grants|85|14|-|99|252|
||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|------------------|
||321|14|-|335|403|
||========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 £183k was attributable to the unrestricted fund and £220k was attributable to the restricted fund.
## **3. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Facilities and other fees|40|-|-|40|54|
|Magna Carta|30|-|-|30|29|
||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|------------------|
||70|-|-|70|83|
||========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 all income was attributable to the unrestricted fund.
42
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **4. OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES**
||||||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Charges to visitors|845|10|-|855|837|
|Gift Aid on entrance charges|126|-|-|126|123|
|Income from fundraising events|233|19|-|252|289|
|Gross income cathedral shop,||||||
|restaurant and conferencing||||||
|centre|820|-|-|820|574|
|Cathedral publications|14|-|-|14|17|
|Close property maintenance|-|-|-|-|7|
||-------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
||2,038|29|-|2,067|1,847|
||========|========|========|========|========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 £1,808k was attributable to the unrestricted fund and £39k was attributable to restricted funds.
## **5. INVESTMENT INCOME**
|**NVESTMENT INCOME**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Fund**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Dividends receivable|230|371|40|641|886|
|Interest receivable|9|25|-|34|50|
|Rents receivable|877|-|-|877|877|
||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|------------------|
||1,116|396|40|1,552|1,813|
||========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 investment income of £1,071k was attributable to the unrestricted fund, £675k attributable to the restricted fund and £67k attributable to the endowment fund.
## **6. OTHER INCOME**
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Other items|211|7|-|218|197|
||__________|__________|_________|________|________|
||211|7|-|218|197|
||=========|=========|=========|==========|==========|
In the year ended 31 March 2024 £197k was attributable to the unrestricted fund.
43
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|**7.**|**RAISING FUNDS**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**(2025)**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|
|||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
||Cost of facilities for visitors|295|-|-|295|
||General marketing costs|100|-|-|100|
||Investment property costs|852|119|-|971|
||Investment management costs|47|75|13|135|
||Cost of fundraising|271|-|-|271|
||Gross costs of Cathedral shop, café and|||||
||conferencing centre|490|-|-|490|
||Cathedral Publications|-|-|-|-|
||Outside contracts – Close property|||||
||maintenance|7|-|-|7|
||Allocated support costs (note 10)|54|145|-|199|
|||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||2,116|339|13|2,468|
|||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||**RAISING FUNDS**|||||
||**(2024)**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024**|
|||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
||Cost of facilities for visitors|261|-|-|261|
||General marketing costs|91|-|-|91|
||Investment property costs|619|128|-|747|
||Investment management costs|7|27|4|38|
||Cost of fundraising|232|11|-|243|
||Gross costs of Cathedral shop, café and|||||
||conferencing centre|449|-|-|449|
||Cathedral Publications|11|-|-|11|
||Outside contracts – Close property|||||
||maintenance|7|-|-|7|
||Allocated support costs (note 10)|36|95|-|131|
|||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||1,713|261|4|1,978|
|||-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
44
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**____________________________________________________________________________________________**
|**8.**|**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**(2025)**|**Unrestricted Funds**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|||**General**|**Designated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|
|||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
||**Ministry**||||||
||Clergy Stipends and expenses|153|-|2|-|155|
||Clergy housing and support|131|-|-|-|131|
||Services and music|730|-|179|-|909|
||Support costs|54|-|115|-|169|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||1,068|-|296|-|1,364|
||**Cathedral and precincts upkeep**||||||
||Major repairs and restoration|-|-|1,347|-|1,347|
||Maintenance and interior upkeep|769|10|36|-|815|
||Cathedral insurance|99|-|147|-|246|
||Support costs|60|-|110|-|170|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||928|10|1,640|-|2,578|
||**Education and outreach**||||||
||Library and archives|46|-|19|-|65|
||Educational activities|151|-|-|-|151|
||Charitable giving|-|-|1|-|1|
||Support costs|8|-|20|-|28|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||205|-|40|-|245|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||**Total charitable activities**|2,201|10|1,976|-|4,187|
|||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
45
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|**8.**|**CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**(2024)**|**Unrestricted Funds**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|||**General**|**Designated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024**|
|||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
||**Ministry**||||||
||Clergy Stipends and expenses|131|-|-|-|131|
||Clergy housing and support|50|-|2|-|52|
||Services and music|333|-|129|-|462|
||Support costs|38||79|-|117|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||552|-|210|-|762|
||**Cathedral and precincts**||||||
||**upkeep**||||||
||Major repairs and restoration|12|-|695|-|707|
||Maintenance and interior|920|20|154|-|1,094|
||Cathedral insurance|131|-|-|-|131|
||Support costs|43|-|79|-|122|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||1,106|20|928|-|2,054|
||**Education and outreach**||||||
||Library and archives|62|-|16||78|
||Educational activities|63|-|-|-|63|
||Charitable giving|-|-|20|-|20|
||Support costs|5|-|13|-|18|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|||130|-|49|-|179|
|||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||**Total charitable activities**|1,788|20|1,187|-|2,995|
|||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
46
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **9. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE INCLUDING ALLOCATION OF SUPPORT COSTS (2025)**
||**Activities**|**Grant**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Undertaken**|**Funding of**|**Support**|**Total Costs**|
||**Directly**|**Activities**|**Costs**|**2025**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Raisings funds|2,269|-|199|2,468|
|Charitable activities:|||||
|Ministry|1,195|-|169|1,364|
|Cathedral and precincts upkeep|2,408|-|170|2,578|
|Education and outreach|217|-|28|245|
||------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||6,089|-|566|6,655|
||=========|=========|=========|==========|
## **ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE INCLUDING ALLOCATION OF SUPPORT COSTS (2024)**
||**Activities**|**Grant**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Undertaken**|**Funding of**|**Support**|**Total Costs**|
||**Directly**|**Activities**|**Costs**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Raisings funds|1,847|-|131|1,978|
|Charitable activities:|||||
|Ministry|645|-|117|762|
|Cathedral and precincts upkeep|1,932|-|122|2,054|
|Education and outreach|161|-|18|179|
||------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||4,585|-|388|4,973|
||=========|=========|=========|==========|
## **10. ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS (2025)**
||||**Cathedral &**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Raising**||**precincts**|**Education**|**Total**|
||**funds**|**Ministry**|**upkeep**|**& outreach**|**2025**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Human Resources|20|16|16|2|54|
|Office costs|78|67|67|11|223|
|Finance|62|53|53|9|177|
|Governance|39|33|34|6|112|
||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||199|169|170|28|566|
||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
## **ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS (2024)**
|**ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT**|**COSTS (2024)**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**Cathedral &**|||
||**Raising**||**Precincts**|**Education**|**Total**|
||**funds**|**Ministry**|**Upkeep**|**& outreach**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Human Resources|68|58|58|10|194|
|Office Costs|43|38|38|6|125|
|Finance|2|2|2|-|6|
|Governance|18|19|24|2|63|
||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
||131|117|122|18|388|
||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
47
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **11. STAFF COSTS**
||||
|---|---|---|
|**STAFF COSTS**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Office Holders & Employee costs during the year were as follows:|||
|Salaries and stipends|2,039|1,837|
|National insurance contributions|177|150|
|Pension costs|123|104|
|Termination payments|7|27|
||-----------------|-----------------|
||2,346|2,118|
||=========|=========|
|The average number of fte’s employed by the charity during the year|||
|were:|**2025**|**2024**|
||**Number**|**Number**|
|Residentiary Canons|2.0|2.5|
|Chapter Office|9.9|11.1|
|Raising Funds|2.0|2.0|
|Trading|3.3|3.0|
|Visitor services|5.7|5.7|
|Vergers & Interior Upkeep|4.8|4.5|
|Music & Services|9.0|8.7|
|Library & Education|3.3|3.5|
|Works Department|21.7|19.6|
||-----------------|-----------------|
||61.7|60.6|
||=========|=========|
During the year to 31 March 2025 the average number of staff was 93 (fte 61.7) (2024: 86 (fte. 60.6).
The number of unpaid volunteers during the year was approximately 635 (2024: 575). A reliable estimate of the monetary value of their work cannot be made.
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
||**Number**|**Number**|
|The numbers of staff whose emoluments (including benefits in kind but excluding|||
|Pension contributions) amounted to more than £60,000 were as follows:|||
|£70,001 - £80,000|1|1|
||========|======|
Pension payments of £4,229 were made in 2025 in respect of the above individual (2023: £4,753).
## **Remuneration of key management personnel**
Key management personnel are deemed to be those having authority and responsibility, delegated to them by the trustees, for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Cathedral. During 2025 they were the members of the Senior Leadership Team. During the year significant change took place within the Senior Leadership Team with the overall numbers ranging from three to the final number of five employees.
Remuneration, pensions and expenses for the number of employees amounted to £334,818 (2024 : £461,315).
48
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **11. STAFF COSTS (Continued)**
**Trustees’ emoluments**
Trustees received travelling and out of pocket expenses, totalling £13,558 (2024– £15,646) in respect of duties as Dean, Precentor and Missioner with travelling expenses of £104 being paid to one (2024: 2) other Trustee.
The following table gives details of the Trustees who were in receipt of housing provided by the Cathedral during the year and who were in receipt of a stipend and pension paid by the Church Commissioners. These are paid in accordance with scales laid down annually by the Church Commissioners, Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England Pensions Board.
||**Stipend**|**Pension**|
|---|---|---|
|The Very Revd Dr Simon Jones|£28,688|£4,573|
|The Rt Revd Nicholas Brown|£41,380|£6,699|
|The Revd Rowena King|£36,757|£7,135|
In line with Section 26 of the Cathedral Measure 2021, the Dean, Precentor and Canon Missioner are allocated and occupy a cathedral owned house. The office holder reimburses for their private use of light and heating costs only. During the year, clergy housing costs amounted to £84,205 (2024: £16,824) and £2,887 (2024: £2,779) was reimbursed. Of this, £361 (2024: £2,097) was owed by one office holder as at 31 March 2025 (2024: 4). No amounts have been written off during the period (2024 : Nil).
In respect of the year ended 31 March 2025 the following aggregate expenses were incurred by the Cathedral in respect of 5 (2024: 2) members of Chapter:
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
|---|---|---|
|Clergyhousingexpenses reimbursed|4,017|2,858|
|Relocation expenses reimbursed|1,473|9,639|
|Travel,hospitalityand conference costs|4,890|2,882|
|Books,equipment and sundryservice costs|3,178|267|
|**Total**|**13,558**|**15,646**|
These expenses include those reimbursed to members of the Chapter as well as similar payments made direct to third parties.
## **12. PENSIONS**
## **Salaried Staff**
**Church Workers Pension Fund (CWPF) – Pension Builder 2014**
Lincoln Cathedral participates in the Pension Builder Scheme section of the CWPF for salaried/lay staff. CWPF is administered by the Church of England Pensions Board, which holds the CWPF assets separately from those of the Employer and other participating employers. The Church of England Defined Benefit Scheme has been closed to new members since 31 March 2002. Lincoln Cathedral now has no members of this scheme.
CWPF has two sections:
- 1.the Defined Benefits Scheme
- 2.the Pension Builder Scheme, which has two subsections;
- a. a deferred annuity section known as Pension Builder Classic, and,
- b. a cash balance section known as Pension Builder 2014.
## **Pension Builder Scheme**
Both sections of the Pension Builder Scheme are classed as defined benefit schemes.
_**Pension Builder Classic**_ provides a pension, accumulated from contributions paid and converted into a deferred
49
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **12. PENSIONS (Continued)**
annuity during employment based on terms set and reviewed by the Church of England Pensions Board from time to time. Discretionary increases may also be added, depending on investment returns and other factors.
_**Pension Builder 2014**_ is a cash balance scheme that provides a lump sum which members use to provide benefits at retirement. Pension contributions are recorded in an account for each member. Discretionary bonuses may be added before retirement, depending on investment returns and other factors. The account, plus any bonuses declared is payable, unreduced, from age 65.
There is no sub-division of assets between employers in each section of the Pension Builder Scheme.
The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in Section 28 of FRS 102. This is because it is not possible to attribute the Pension Builder Scheme’s assets and liabilities to specific employers and means that contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged to the SoFA in the year are the contributions payable of £108,600, (2024: £88,704).
A valuation of the Pension Builder Scheme is carried out once every three years. The most recent valuation was carried out as at 31 December 2022.
For the Pension Builder Classic section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £34.8m on the ongoing assumptions used. At the most recent annual review effective 1 January 2025, the Board chose to grant a discretionary bonus of 6.7% to both pensions not yet in payment and pensions in payment in respect of service prior to April 1997; and a bonus on pensions in payment in respect of post April 2006 service so that the pension increase was 2.7% (where usually it would be calculated based on inflation up to 2.5%). This followed improvements in the funding position over 2024. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.
The next valuation is due as at 31 December 2025.
For the Pension Builder 2014 section, the valuation revealed a surplus of £8.5m on the ongoing assumptions used. There is no requirement for deficit payments at the current time.
The legal structure of the scheme is such that if another employer fails, Lincoln Cathedral could become responsible for paying a share of the failed employer’s pension liabilities.
## **13. ANALYSIS OF TRANSFERS BETWEEN FUNDS**
||**Unrestricted Funds**|**Unrestricted Funds**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**General**|**Designated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|From Unrestricted Fund to Restricted|(29)|-|29|-|
|From Endowment to Unrestricted Fund|14|-|-|(14)|
||_____|______|______|_______|
||15|-|29|(14)|
||=======|=======|=======|=======|
During the year transfers relating to money owed from the previous year were transferred during 2024/2025. These payments relate to profit from the subsidiaries in the previous year and has no impact on the profit for the financial year. Please see Note 20.
## **14. HERITAGE ASSETS**
As stated in the accounting policies, no value has been placed on the Cathedral and ancillary buildings and the items in the inventory prepared under section 24 (1) of the Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011. Cathedral buildings are the Cathedral, chapter house, cloisters and libraries.
50
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**_______________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **14. HERITAGE ASSETS (continued)**
The Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011 requires cathedrals to keep an inventory of all items considered to be of architectural, archaeological, artistic or historic interest in the possession of the Cathedral church. There have been no additions in the year,
## **15. TOTAL INVESTMENT ASSETS - GROUP**
|**15. TOTAL INVESTMENT ASSETS - GROUP**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Investment properties – 15a|22,807|23,995|
|Investments – 15b|25,681|23,118|
||-----------------|-----------------|
|Total investment assets|48,488|47,113|
||=========|========|
## **15a. INVESTMENT PROPERTIES**
|**15a. INVESTMENT PROPERTIES**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Market value at 1 April 2024|23,995|21,956|
|Disposal proceeds|-|(694)|
|Transfers from non-investment property|-|530|
|Transfers to non-investment property|(1,188)|-|
|(Loss)/Gain on revaluation|-|2,203|
||-----------------|-----------------|
|Market value as at 31 March 2025|22,807|23,995|
||=========|=========|
The investment properties were revalued by Savills a RICs registered valuer as at 31 March 2021. The valuations were undertaken in line with the definition of Market Value as defined in the RICS Red Book, as detailed below:
Market Value (MV) is defined in IVS 104 paragraph 30.1 as:
“The estimated amount for which an asset or liability should exchange on the valuation date between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction, after proper marketing and where the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.”
For the 2024/2025 valuations Chapter have deemed that a revaluation would be inappropriate. Chapter have considered the market conditions by reviewing the RICS UK Commercial Property Monitor Q1 2025 headline which reads “Market conditions remain generally subdued although faint signs of improvement are visible in some areas”, therefore Chapter has deemed it appropriate not to revalue the investment properties. Chapter have instructed Savills a RICs registered valuer to carry out a full re-valuation of the properties as at the 31 December 2025 and it was felt that as the house price index is quoting a 2.5% uplift in prices it is considered that it was more appropriate to wait for the full revaluation at the end of the 2025 and then review the values of the properties.
51
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**_______________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **15b. FIXED ASSETS INVESTMENTS**
|**Consolidated**
**Unrestricted funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investors in People
Investment cash
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
Charities Property Fund
**Restricted Funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investment cash
Charities Property Fund
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
**Endowment funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investment cash
Charity Property Fund
Investors in People
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
**Consolidated total**|**At 1 April**
**2024**
**Additions**
**Disposals**
**Transfers**
**Change**
**in**
**Market**
**Value**
**At 31**
**March**
**2025**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
856
97
-
266
50
1,269
-
-
-
14
-
14
27
-
-
-
-
27
-
-
-
336
-
336
28
-
(28)
-
-
-|
|---|---|
||**911**
**97**
**(28)**
**616**
**50**
**1,646**
7,714
-
-
(197)
164
7,681
424
2,395
-
478
-
3,297
1,172
-
(1,172)
-
-
-
7,310
-
-
(281)
163
7,192|
||**16,620**
**2,395**
**(1,172)**
**-**
**327**
**18,170**
1,667
788
-
(266)
(153)
2,036
25
67
-
-
-
92
401
-
(398)
(3)
-
14
-
-
(14)
-
-
3,480
674
-
(336)
(81)
3,737|
||**5,587**
**1,529**
**(398)**
**(669)**
**(237)**
**5,865**|
||**23,118**
**4,021**
**(1,598)**
**-**
**140**
**25,681**|
52
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**_______________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **15b. FIXED ASSETS INVESTMENTS (continued)**
|**Entity**
**Unrestricted funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investors in People
Investment Cash
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
Charities Property Fund
**Restricted Funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investment cash
Charities Property Fund
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
**Endowment funds**
Rothschild New Court Fund
Investment cash
Charities Property Fund
Investors in People
Cazenove Charity Sustainable Fund
Entity total|**At 1 April**
**2024**
**Additions**
**Disposals**
**Transfers**
**Change**
**in**
**Market**
**Value**
**At 31**
**March**
**2025**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
**£'000**
856
97
-
266
50
1,269
-
-
-
14
-
14
27
-
-
-
-
27
-
-
-
336
-
336
28
-
(28)
-
-
-|
|---|---|
||**911**
**97**
**(28)**
**616**
**50**
**1,646**
6,615
-
-
(197)
164
6,582
337
2,357
-
478
-
3,172
981
-
(1,172)
-
-
(191)
5,678
-
-
(281)
163
5,560|
||**13,611**
**2,357**
**(1,172)**
**-**
**327**
**15,123**
1,667
788
-
(266)
(153)
2,036
25
67
-
-
-
92
401
-
(398)
-
(3)
-
14
-
-
(14)
-
-
3,480
674
-
(336)
(81)
3,737|
||**5,587**
**1,529**
**(398)**
**(669)**
**(237)**
**5,865**|
||**20,109**
**3,983**
**(1,598)**
**-**
**140**
**22,634**|
## **16. NON-INVESTMENT PROPERTY**
|||||**Total**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Funds**|**Funds**|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|**2024**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Balance sheet value at 1 April|-|1,364|1,540|2,904|3,434|
|Acquisitions|-|-|-|-|-|
|Disposals|-|-|-|-|-|
|Transfers|-|-|1,188|1,188|(530)|
||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
|Balance Sheet value at 31 March|-|1,364|2,728|4,092|2,904|
||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
All non investment properties are held on a freehold basis and are used as follows:
||**Quarry**|**Cathedral Use**|**Trading**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Balance sheet value at 1 April|170|2,377|357|2,904|
|Transferred from investment property|-|1,188|-|1,188|
|Transferred to investment property|-|-|-|-|
||-------------------|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|
|Valuation as at 31 March|170|3,565|357|4,092|
53
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
========= ========
=========
=========
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**_______________________________________________________________________________________________**
## **17. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS - EQUIPMENT AND PLANT**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Consolidated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Cost at 1 April|170|880|-|1,050|
|Additions|1|-|-|1|
|Disposals|-|-|-|-|
|Cost at 31 March|171|880|-|1,051|
|Depreciation at 1 April|120|509|-|629|
|Depreciation for the year|27|170|-|197|
|On disposals|-|-|-|-|
|Depreciation at 31 March|147|679|-|826|
|**Net book value at 31 March 2025**|**24**|**201**|**-**|**225**|
|**Net book value at 31 March 2024**|**50**|**371**|**-**|**421**|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**Total Funds**|
|**Entity Only**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2025**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Cost at 1 April|124|880|-|1,004|
|Additions|-|-|-|-|
|Disposals|-|-|-|-|
|Cost at 31 March|124|880|-|1,004|
|Depreciation at 1 April|83|510|-|593|
|Depreciation for the year|27|169|-|196|
|On disposals|-|-|-|-|
|Depreciation at 31 March|110|679|-|789|
|**Net book value at 31 March 2025**|**14**|**201**|**-**|**215**|
|**Net book value at 31 March 2024**|**41**|**371**|**-**|**412**|
54
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **18. DEBTORS**
|**Debtors due within one year**|**2025**||**2024**||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Group**|**Entity**|**Group**|**Entity**|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Trade debtors|122|59|189|165|
|Amounts due from group undertakings|-|39|-|44|
|Tax recoverable|80|80|32|41|
|Legacy debtors|67|67|217|217|
|Prepayments and accrued income|476|398|244|217|
|**Total debtors**|**745**|**643**|**682**|**684**|
## **19. CREDITORS**
|**Creditors due within one year**
Trade creditors
Amounts owed to group undertakings
Accruals and deferred income
Taxation and social security
Other creditors
Loans
**Total creditors**|**2025**
**Group**
**Entity**
**£’000**
**£’000**
593
478
-
185
390
277
51
41
21
21
-
-
**1,055**
**1,002**|**2024**
**Group**
**Entity**
**£’000**
**£’000**
208
191
-
-
250
153
52
50
34
33
6
6|
|---|---|---|
|||**550**
**433**|
55
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
## **20. SUMMARY OF FUNDS (2025)**
|**Unrestricted funds**
General fund
Lincoln Minster Shops Ltd
Lincoln Cathedral CIO
**Designated funds**
The Dean Christine Wilson
Fund
Theological Society
Lincoln Cathedral Publications
Organists Recital Fund
Charities Fund
Other designated funds
**Restricted**
Fabric Fund
Library
Library Manuscript
Lincoln Cathedral Choir
Association
Lincoln Cathedral Community
Association
Seamen's Chapel
Airmen's Chapel
St John the Baptist Chapel
St. Anne's Chapel
Cathedral Choir Visits Fund
Soldiers' Chapel
George Skelton Memorial Fund
Fleming Day Trust Fund
Harries Legacy
Silverware and Chalices Fund
Alfred Griffin Legacy Fund
Lincoln Cathedral Connected
Culture Recovery Fund
**Entity only subtotal**
Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund
**Endowment funds**
Endowment Fund
HLF Catalyst Endowment Fund
Music Endowment
**Consolidated total**
**Entity only total**|**Brought**
**forward**
**1 April**
**2024**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Gains &**
**(losses)**
**Transfers**
**Carried**
**forward**
**31 March**
**2025**
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
1,896
3,091
(3,642)
50
158
1,553
155
686
(491)
-
(124)
226
48
233
(184)
-
(49)
48|
|---|---|
||**2,099**
**4,010**
**(4,317)**
**50**
**(15)**
**1,827**
148
-
(10)
-
-
138
3
-
-
-
-
3
110
14
-
-
-
124
3
-
-
-
-
3
3
-
-
-
-
3
2
-
-
-
-
2|
||**269**
**14**
**(10)**
**-**
**-**
**273**
13,839
734
(1,678)
151
29
13,075
448
106
(133)
76
-
497
3
-
-
-
-
3
14
-
-
-
-
14
23
-
-
-
-
23
9
-
-
2
-
11
80
-
-
15
-
95
19
-
-
7
-
26
19
-
-
4
-
23
6
-
-
-
-
6
32
-
-
5
-
37
40
-
-
5
-
45
29
-
(1)
5
-
33
130
-
(1)
18
-
147
2
-
-
-
-
2
1,637
10
(117)
-
-
1,530
1,627
-
(158)
-
-
1,469
15
-
(15)
-
-
-|
||**17,972**
**850**
**(2,103)**
**288**
**29**
**17,036**
3,058
420
(212)
39
-
3,305|
||**21,030**
**1,270**
**(2,315)**
**327**
**29**
**20,341**
29,510
40
(13)
(237)
(14)
29,286
2,022
-
-
-
-
2,022
104
-
-
-
-
104|
||**31,636**
**40**
**(13)**
**(237)**
**(14)**
**31,412**|
||**55,034**
**5,334**
**(6,655)**
**140**
**-**
**53,853**|
||**51,773**
**3,995**
**(5,768)**
**101**
**173**
**50,274**|
56
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
## **THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
## **20. SUMMARY OF FUND MOVEMENTS (2024)**
|**Unrestricted funds**
Unrestricted fund
Lincoln Minster Shops Ltd
Lincoln Cathedral CIO
**Designated funds**
The Dean Christine Wilson
Fund
Theological Society
Lincoln Cathedral Publications
Organists Recital Fund
Charities Fund
Other designated funds
**Restricted**
Fabric Fund
Library
Library Manuscript
Lincoln Cathedral Choir
Association
Lincoln Cathedral Community
Association
Seamen's Chapel
Airmen's Chapel
St John the Baptist Chapel
St. Anne's Chapel
Cathedral Choir Visits Fund
Soldiers' Chapel
George Skelton Memorial Fund
Fleming Day Trust Fund
Harries Legacy
Silverware and Chalices Fund
Alfred Griffin Legacy Fund
Lincoln Cathedral Connected
Culture Recovery Fund
**Entity only subtotal**
Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund
Lincoln Cathedral Quarry Ltd
**Endowment funds**
Endowment Fund
HLF Catalyst Endowment Fund
Music Endowment
**Consolidated total**
**Entity only total**|**Brought**
**forward**
**1 April**
**2023**
**Income**
**Expenditure**
**Gains &**
**(losses)**
**Transfers**
**Carried**
**forward**
**31 March**
**2024**
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
£’000
1,602
2,767
(2,892)
25
394
1,896
170
574
(450)
-
(139)
155
214
261
(159)
-
(268)
48|
|---|---|
||**1,986**
**3,602**
**(3,501)**
**25**
**(13)**
**2,099**
157
-
(9)
-
-
148
3
-
-
-
-
3
104
17
(11)
-
-
110
3
-
-
-
-
3
3
-
-
-
-
3
2
-
-
-
-
2|
||**272**
**17**
**(20)**
**-**
**-**
**269**
13,031
1,280
(880)
386
22
13,839
511
36
(119)
20
-
448
3
-
-
-
-
3
14
-
-
-
-
14
25
20
(22)
-
-
23
9
-
-
-
-
9
78
5
-
(3)
-
80
19
2
-
(2)
-
19
19
1
-
(1)
-
19
6
-
-
-
-
6
31
2
-
(1)
-
32
37
1
-
2
-
40
28
2
-
(1)
-
29
122
3
(1)
6
-
130
2
-
-
-
-
2
1,654
77
(131)
37
-
1,637
1,766
-
(139)
-
-
1,627
31
-
(16)
-
15|
||**17,386**
**1,429**
**(1,308)**
**443**
**22**
**17,972**
2,885
219
(140)
94
-
3,058
10
-
-
-
(10)
-|
||**20,281**
**1,648**
**(1,448)**
**537**
**12**
**21,030**
27,172
-
(1)
2,339
-
29,510
1,869
67
(3)
89
-
2,022
104
-
-
-
-
104|
||**29,145**
**67**
**(4)**
**2,428**
**-**
**31,636**|
||**51,684**
**5,334**
**(4,973)**
**2,990**
**-**
**55,034**|
||**48,405**
**4,280**
**(4,224)**
**2,896**
**416**
**51,773**|
57
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **21. DESCRIPTION OF FUNDS**
|**General Fund**|the unrestricted fund is the Cathedral’s general fund available for any|
|---|---|
||of the cathedral’s purposes without restriction after allowing for|
||designated funds.|
|Lincoln Minster Shops Ltd|the shareholder funds held within the trading subsidiary.|
|Lincoln Cathedral CIO
|the funds held within the charitable organisation.|
|**Designated Funds**|The designated fund are those funds which have been set aside out of|
||unrestricted funds by Chapter or the Donor for a specific purpose over|
||whose use and purpose Chapter has discretion.|
|The Dean Christine Wilson Fund|to support the welfare and training and professional development of|
||cathedral staff to include the support of work-related mediation,|
||counselling and other work specific therapies.|
|Theological Society|to support education lectures.|
|Lincoln Cathedral Publications|a working capital account designated for publication projects and the|
||production of choir recordings.|
|Organists Recital Fund|a working capital account for organ recital events.|
|Charities Fund|to support third party charity works.|
|Other Designated Funds|immaterial amounts set aside for specific purposes in the future.|
|**Restricted Funds**|These are funds subject to specific conditions or trusts, imposed by the|
||donor or the terms of a specific appeal or legacy which can only be used|
||for that purpose.|
|Fabric Fund|for the purpose of maintaining and preserving the fabric of Lincoln|
||Cathedral.|
|Library Fund|for the purpose of running and maintaining and preserving the fabric of|
||the Lincoln Cathedral Wren Library.|
|Library Manuscript
|restricted income for use in respect of specific manuscripts.|
|Lincoln Cathedral Choir|monies received in support of the Lincoln Cathedral Choir.|
|Association||
|Lincoln Cathedral Community||
|Association|formed under Section 9 (3) of the Cathedrals Measure 1999 the|
||association supports the mission of the Cathedral as well as giving|
||c25% of its income to the diocese and other charities.|
|Lincoln Cathedral Consort Choir|funds raised to support the voluntary choir’s costs.|
|Seamen’s Chapel|for use against costs incurred in respect of the Seamen’s Chapel.|
|Airmen’s Chapel|for use against costs incurred in respect of the Airmen’s Chapel.|
|St. John the Baptist Chapel|for use against costs incurred in respect of the St. John the Baptist|
||Chapel and specifically for the Retro Choir Recording project.|
|St. Anne’s Chapel|for use against costs incurred in respect of the St. Anne’s Chapel.|
|Cathedral Choir Visits Fund|monies raised to support Cathedral Choir visits and tours.|
|Soldiers’ Chapel|for use against costs incurred in respect of the Soldiers’ Chapel.|
|George Skelton Memorial Fund|for use against music department costs in respect of choir school fees.|
|Fleming Day Trust Fund|for use against costs incurred in respect of the Fleming Day Chapel.|
|Harries Legacy|is for the benefit of clergy widows and orphans of the Diocese.|
|Silverware and Chalices Fund|the provision of silverware in the sanctuary.|
|Alfred Griffin Legacy Fund|for the preservation of Lincoln Cathedral buildings.|
|Lincoln Cathedral Connected|a project to improve the Cathedral’s setting and visitor experience|
||match funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF).|
|Culture Recovery Fund|funding to support cultural organisations through impact of the covid-|
||19 pandemic; balances now represent fixed assets in use which have|
||now been fully depreciated in 2025.|
|Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund|funds held to create a permanent foundation to support Lincoln|
||Cathedral’s choir, organist and organ.|
58
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **21. DESCRIPTION OF FUNDS (continued)**
## **Other Restricted Funds**
During the year a full review of the funds held has taken place with small balances transferred and used for their specific purposes where it was identified that the previous expenditure had been funded by the unrestricted fund.
**Endowment Funds**
the income from the endowment fund is applied to support the unrestricted fund.
**HLF Catalyst Endowment Fund** for the purpose of repair work necessary for the conservation of the Western and Central Towers as planned for 2037 when the fund will become expendable.
**Music Endowment**
the income from this endowment fund may be applied in support of music at Lincoln Cathedral.
## **22. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS**
At 31 March 2025 the Cathedral had capital expenditure commitments authorised but not contracted for of £NIL (2024 - £NIL), and no expenditure contracted for but not yet due in 2025 (2024 - £NIL).
## **23. POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS**
There were no post balance sheet events
## **24. CONTINGENT LIABILITY**
There are no contingent liabilities known to the Trustees at the date of signing the accounts.
## **25. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) are considered to be the key management team of the cathedral who are supported by various other members of the Cathedral staff.
There is one member of key management who has children within the Cathedral choir, along with his deputy. As part of the arm’s length agreement with all choristers, instrument lessons are reimbursed, and choristers receive a ‘pocket money’ for their services. During the year £320 (2024: £1,031) expenses were paid in respect of 2 (2024: 2) children and £17 (2024: £1,496) of chorister pocket money.
In addition to housed clergy members (note 11) Cathedral owned properties which were occupied by one member of SLT and two members of Cathedral staff. The arrangements for these two members of staff were at open market value and dealt with at arm’s length totalling £28,671 (2024: £25,200) for the period.
In addition to the above administrative services were provided by the spouse of the Revd Canon Nicholas Brown, a Chapter member, such services were provided on the equivalent rate to the previously employed post holder of £2,114 (2024: £2,332) during the period.
59
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **26. CONSOLIDATED ENTITIES**
The following entities have been consolidated within these financial statements:
|**Control**|**Entity**|**Purpose**|
|---|---|---|
|100%|Lincoln Minister Shops Ltd|To operate the trading activities of Lincoln Cathedral and|
|||contribute surpluses in support of its objectives|
|100%|Lincoln Music Fund|To support the provision of Music at Lincoln Cathedral|
|100%|Lincoln Cathedral Learning|To support the mission and wider charitable purposes of Lincoln|
||Arts Culture an Events|Cathedral|
||(Lincoln Cathedral CIO)||
The Cathedral provides administration services to and receives donations to its trading subsidiaries.
During the year, an administrative fee of £133,531 (2024: £133,531) was charged to Lincoln Minister Shops Limited. The Cathedral received the following gift aid donations from its trading activities:
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Lincoln Minster Shops Limited|124,132|138,848|
|Lincoln Cathedral CIO|48,501|266,453|
|Lincoln Cathedral Quarry Limited|-|10,274|
Lincoln Cathedral Music Fund contributed £160,666 (2024: £129,090) towards the cost of the Cathedral’s music provision. Of this £50,255 (2024: £43,789) specifically relates to the funding of choral scholars.
Lincoln Cathedral CIO contributed £49,667 (2024 :£254,903) towards the Cathedral’s mission and £4,238 (2024: £11,550) towards the costs of the Cathedral’s fabric restoration.
Amounts due from these entities as at 31 March 2025 were £39,000 (2024: £43,860), amounts due to these entities totalled £185,170 (2024: £337) and represent short term balances from usual operating activity.
Lincoln Cathedral Quarry Limited was dormant and dissolved on 31 October 2023.
## **27. NON-CONTROLLED ENTITIES**
The following entity is not controlled by the Cathedral but is principally for its financial benefit and has been summarised below for information.
## **The Association of Friends of Lincoln Cathedral**
The Association of Friends of Lincoln Cathedral makes grants as funds permit to the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral towards the worship, maintenance, preservation, improvement or repairs of the fittings, ornaments, furniture and monuments in Lincoln Cathedral, and the furthering of schemes to set forward its beauty, safety or utility.
60
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **27. NON-CONTROLLED ENTITIES (continued)**
||**31 December 2024**|**31 December 2023**|
|---|---|---|
||**£’000**|**£’000**|
|Gross Income|80|61|
|Expenditure:|||
|Fundraising events|5|6|
|Contribution to Lincoln Cathedral|-|-|
|Other grants|27|16|
|Administrative and miscellaneous expenditure|8|10|
||**40**|**32**|
|Net (expenditure)/income
|40|30|
|Total funds
|396|356|
The above is an extract from independently examined accounts for the years ended 31 December.
## **28. AUDITOR’S REMUNERATION**
The financial statements include the following amounts in relation to auditor’s remuneration.
|
Audit services
Other assurance services
Other financial services
Accounts Preparation
Corporation Tax computation
Funded by:
Restricted Funds
Unrestricted & designated funds|**2025**
**£’000**
34
-
10
1
**45**
10
35|**2024**
**£’000**
36
6
2
-|
|---|---|---|
|||**44**
16
28|
61
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8
**THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF BLESSED VIRGIN OF MARY OF LINCOLN NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **29. PRIOR YEAR COMPARATIVE STATEMENT**
|||||||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted funds**||**Restricted**|**Endowment**|**funds**|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Designated**|**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024**|
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Income and endowments**|||||||
|**from**|||||||
|Donations|||||||
|Donations & Legacies|2|276|-|715|-|991|
|Grants||183|-|220|-|403|
|Charitable activities|3|83|-|-|-|83|
|Other trading activities|4|1,791|17|39|-|1,847|
|Investments|5|1,071|-|675|67|1,813|
|Other income|6|197|-|-|-|197|
|||--------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|
|Total income||3,601|17|1,649|67|5,334|
|||--------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|
|**Expenditure on**|||||||
|Raising funds|7|1,713|-|261|4|1,978|
|Charitable activities:|8||||||
|Ministry||552|-|210|-|762|
|Cathedral and precincts|||||||
|upkeep||1,106|20|928|-|2,054|
|Education and outreach||130|-|49|-|179|
|||------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|
|Total expenditure||3,501|20|1,448|4|4,973|
|||-------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**|||||||
|**before investment**|||||||
|**gains/(losses)**||100|(3)|201|63|361|
|Net gains/(losses) on|||||||
|investments|15|25|-|537|2,428|2,990|
|||-------------------|------------------|----------------|---------------|-------------------|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||125|(3)|738|2,491|3,351|
|**Transfers between funds**|13|(12)|-|12|-|-|
|||--------------------|------------------|----------------|-----------------|-------------------|
|**Net movement in funds**||113|(3)|750|2,491|3,351|
|||--------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
|**Total funds brought forward**||1,986|272|20,280|29,145|51,683|
|||--------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
|**Total funds carried forward**|19|2,099|269|21,030|31,636|55,034|
|||=========|========|=========|=========|==========|
62
Document ID: 475f854a7323db0377d2f29e1d747af584a2f10dd01ae9d8fa2bee3dab5c0ed8