Space, sanctity and service; the English Cathedral as heterotopia

Abstract The 43 Anglican Diocesan cathedrals in England attract in excess of 30 million tourist visitors per year, but also function as museums, centres for pilgrimage and foci for the performing arts. This paper examines the complex nature of the experience offered by cathedrals to their visitors, which often generates difficulties associated with sites that may be viewed as interfaces between the sacred and the profane. It also identifies the problems presented by the requirement to earn revenue from visitors (especially by charging admission) when still offering facilities for worship, prayer or meditation. The model adopted is Foucault's concept of sacred space as heterotopia (a ritual space that exists out of time). It is argued that difficulties over admissions charges are not simply straightforward reluctance to pay up, but intrinsically related to the nature of the spiritual experience expected and received by visitors to cathedrals, whether consciously or not. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.