Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship Celebrates Long-Delayed Graduation

Picture by Andrew Higgins/Thousand Word Media http://www.thousandwordmedia.com

The Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship – a partnership of English cathedrals facilitating training programmes for the next generation of craftspeople, which is supported by funding from the Hamish Ogston Foundation – recently celebrated the graduation of its 2021 cohort in an awards ceremony at Worcester Cathedral.

The twelve students of the ‘COVID Cohort’ suffered numerous delays over the course of their studies, most significantly so when teachers and students were furloughed for up to six months as teaching was suspended amid cathedral closures in the first lockdown of 2020.

In January 2021, a COVID Emergency Grant of £535,000 from the Hamish Ogston Foundation helped conveners adapt courses for delivery online and continue students’ education remotely. And, as restrictions were slowly eased, the Foundation committed further funds towards the scheme, enabling students to return to cathedrals to practise and develop the practical skills of their crafts. The students completed their studies in December 2021 and graduated in March 2022.

The current cohort, the ‘Class of 2022’, have been supported by a £700,000 grant made by the Foundation last year, which marked the second phase in a five-year partnership between the Hamish Ogston Foundation and the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship. In total, the Foundation is providing £3.5m to the CWF’s Craft Training Programme, which will make a significant contribution to maintaining the flow of skilled craftspeople required to preserve and maintain the UK’s historic cathedrals.

Read more about the recent Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship graduation in a recent article published by Keep the Faith Magazine here.

Visit https://www.hamishogstonfoundation.org/heritage/building-heritage-skills for more information on our heritage apprenticeship initiatives.