Faith and finance

The queue for a graduation ceremony at the Abbey.

Bath’s historic Abbey is tops when it comes to tourism and its popularity as a visitor attraction has just been recognised by Tripadvisor who have given the Grade 1 listed church a Travelers’ Choice award based on reviews from visitors from around the globe.

Acknowledging the fact that this IS the parish church of the city, and an active place of worship, the recent Footprint Project resulted in the removal of the Victorian pews and has created a large and usable space which, it’s hoped, will enable additional musical and theatrical events to bring more local people into the building too.

Rebuilding its role as a centre for the local community – after all the hardship and disruption created by the Pandemic and the multi-million-pound restoration and enhancement work – is something Frank Mowat, Executive Director of Bath Abbey, is keen to do.

As yet another Bath University graduation ceremony was about to get underway, l had a chance to speak with him. Look out for the point when we are sort of musically ‘evicted’ to continue our chat elsewhere.