Canterbury Cathedral bosses have been accused by locals of ‘privileging’ private students after restricting access to the grounds in a ‘protection measure’.
For decades, residents of Canterbury, Kent, have entered the grounds of the 11th-century cathedral through an 1800-year-old Roman arch, Queningate, which was carved into the city wall as a shortcut to the city.
But use of the gate is almost entirely restricted to pupils at the £41,000-per-year King’s School – Britain’s oldest school – which has several buildings within the cathedral grounds.
Sean Sayers, 79, who lives a four-minute walk away, said the decision has “caused an enormous amount of anger in the city,” as he claimed there is an effective public right through the gate – something the cathedral disputes.
“I’ve lived here for 50 years and ever since then I’ve been using the entrance to Queningate to enter the city,” Sayers says.
“Other people I know whose parents and grandparents grew up here said it has been used by residents since time immemorial. I think that creates a public right of way.’
Residents living near Canterbury Cathedral were outraged after blocking access to the 1,800-year-old Queningate Arch as a shortcut to the city
Canterbury Cathedral (pictured) has insisted that the site is privately owned and can therefore be managed accordingly
He added: ‘We like to walk through the site because it is safe and traffic free. It’s not that it’s a shortcut, it’s just a scenic route and such a lovely place to walk along.
“It has a long tradition of use and has been a resource for the entire community.
“But lately cathedral bosses have started to become much more restrictive. Without any explanation or warning, they have closed all but one entrance to the site.
“We didn’t get a message — people just got to those gates and found we couldn’t get through anymore.”
According to Sean – a retired philosophy professor at the University of Kent – the cathedral grounds were freely accessible when he first moved to the city.
In later years, Canterbury Cathedral, known as the focus of Thomas Becket’s 1170 Pilgrimage, began asking non-residents for entry.
But the locals were given passes, giving them unrestricted access to the site.
Queningate, thought to have been built around AD 270, is the last remaining entrance to the five original gates to the Roman city.
It is currently undergoing restoration work but once this is complete its use will be restricted almost exclusively to pupils and staff of The King’s School.
The independent boarding school, which charges £13,655 per semester for its 13- to 18-year-old pupils, has a number of classrooms in the cathedral precinct.
Queningate (pictured), believed to have been built around AD 270, is the last remaining entrance to the five original gates to the Roman city
Sean Sayers believes that local residents have a right to the Queningate. to use
Both the principals of the school and the cathedral have expressed concern that unsupervised access to the site could pose a risk to the children.
But grandfather-of-three Sean described the justification for closing the gate to locals as “outrageous” as The King’s School has city-wide property – forcing the students to leave the premises to switch classrooms.
He said: ‘I think the main outrage here is that The King’s School, an exclusive private school, seems to be given privileges that are denied to local residents.
“It has buildings all over the city. In fact there is a whole street of them in one area, but they can’t close the street to the public, so why could they close the lot?
“They have to walk from one building to another, there is no difference.
‘Why shouldn’t the public be allowed to use the site on that basis?
“It’s perfectly legitimate for them to say that the public is not allowed to enter the school buildings on the property, but we never managed to do that.
“They treat the neighborhood as their own private property.”
Use of the gate is almost entirely restricted to pupils at the private King’s School (pictured) – Britain’s oldest school – which has several buildings within the cathedral grounds
Sean said he has already consulted a lawyer about the possibility of establishing a public passage through the gate.
The married father of two added: ‘It’s probably private property, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to cross it – like the right of way over people’s fields and private lands.
‘We’ll have to find out if there’s a legal loophole, but it’s always been a public facility.
“I don’t understand why they can’t have a system of passes like they have now.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone who isn’t against it yet, so this won’t be the last they’ll hear from us.”
But Canterbury Cathedral has maintained that the grounds are privately owned and can therefore be managed accordingly.
They stressed that the changes were made in the interest of the safety of The King’s School students and that the school will oversee an electronic pass system that gives its students access.
In June, MailOnline revealed that King’s School… accepted a ‘large donation’ from a close ally of Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned by the UK because of the war.
An investigation by MailOnline found that the school had taken money from a company founded and run by Dmitry Mazepin, 64.
It is unclear exactly how much money Russian fertilizer producer Uralchem JSC gave to the school, but it was listed as a “great benefactor” between 2011 and 2018.
Uralchem manufactures a number of chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, and is headquartered in Moscow.
Belarus-born Mr Mazepin is accused of being in “close circle of Vladimir Putin” by the EU, which imposed sanctions on him after the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The UK soon followed suit with their own limitations.
A spokesperson said the cathedral cannot share data about the city’s residents with the school, nor can the school share its students’ data with them due to GDPR restrictions, so a shared pass system is not an option.
The King’s School (pictured) said: ‘The protection and protection of our children is our highest priority’
He added: ‘The Cathedral Precincts are a beautiful space that we want as many local residents as possible to enjoy.
This is why free entry is available to Precinct Pass holders, local university students and refugees living in the city, and why free evening entry to the general public has recently been reintroduced.
‘There is always free access to worship services and everyone is welcome.
“To securely manage access to this important religious and heritage site, we ask that everyone enter and exit the Christ Church Gate in the Buttermarket.
This is the historic main entrance to The Precincts and Cathedral which has been used for hundreds of years by worshipers, pilgrims and visitors and, since the Queen’s death, the many hundreds who have come to lay flowers and sign condolence books.
“While there are additional entrances to The Precincts, they are not suitable for public use. The Postern Gate is for vehicle access to the Cathedral and is not suitable for pedestrians.
‘The other two entrances – Mint Yard and Quingate – provide access to King’s School and in the interest of security and safety are for use only by the students and school staff.
‘This is not unusual or unreasonable – no school in the UK allows unattended public access to their site.
“We have received complaints from a local resident who believes he has the right to use Quingate and The Precincts as a shortcut from his home to the city center. We spoke to him to explain that this is not true.
“There is no, and never has been, a public right of way or right of access to the cathedral grounds – or a right to use specific gates – and, as a place of burial, it is legally impossible to have one.” create or derive.
“We want to reassure all our Precinct Pass holders that they can enjoy the cathedral’s public areas as often as they like during opening hours. They just need to enter and exit through the main gate of the Christ Church.
“Anyone with mobility issues attending a worship service is allowed access through Mint Yard Gate or Postern Gate where it is impractical for them to enter the grounds through Christ Church Gate.”
A spokesman for The King’s School added: ‘The protection and protection of our children is our highest priority.
“We work very closely with the Dean and the Chapter, who are ultimately responsible for all aspects of access (and security) to the cathedral grounds.”