Heritage Interpretation Consultant

The Chapter of Bradford Cathedral wishes to appoint a Heritage Interpretation Consultant for a fixed term of six months commencing in January 2018.

This document gives an introduction to the cathedral and some background to this consultancy as part of the recently awarded Heritage Lottery Fund World War One Memorial Bells project. This consultancy will support existing staff and two additional new heritage specific posts for this project: a Heritage Education Assistant with whom the consultant will work closely and a Volunteer Coordinator. The brief outlines the qualities and experience that we are seeking, and the opportunities. If there are any questions which you need to have answered before deciding whether or not to apply, please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Strategic Development and Operations, Amanda Anderson, whose contact details are at the end of this document.

Shortlisted tenders will be called to interview at the Cathedral on Tuesday 12th December. No interview can be stress-free, but we aim to run a programme which enables an effective discernment process on both sides and which is as caring, interesting and objective as possible.

Contents

Pages 1- 2 Context Pages 2- 3 The Cathedral and its Vision Pages 3-4 HLF Bells Project Summary Pages 4-5 Heritage Interpretation Consultant Brief Page 6 How to apply

Context 1 Bradford Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Our purpose is to serve Jesus Christ as a vibrant community of worship and mission enriching the City, the Diocese and further afield. We do this through our three key values; hospitality, faithfulness and wholeness.

Bradford is a place where people from many different religions, cultural and economic backgrounds mix and we aim to promote understanding and good practice in reconciliation, faith and culture. Bradford Cathedral is the only open church building in the centre of Bradford.

We offer regular Christian worship and host services for important civic events, such as an annual service for the Mayor of Bradford. We provide pastoral care for the vulnerable, homeless people and refugees. As ‘Artspace at Bradford Cathedral’, we put on high quality arts events, including film, drama, exhibitions, music and literary events.

Bradford Cathedral the oldest building in Bradford and as such is a tourist destination, open seven days a week. Our activities attract a wide range of people of every faith and of none. People of all ages, from toddlers and young children right through to older people and carers, and people from every part of the Bradford District and further afield are involved in Cathedral activities. We play a significant role in education for local schoolchildren.

The Cathedral and its Vision

The Cathedral Church of St Peter was created in 1919 from the parish church of St Peter and St Paul in the Calverley Deanery. The Dean is also Vicar of Bradford and the Cathedral is an important focus of Christian witness in the centre of the city. This is an inner city cathedral in one of the poorest cities in the UK. The parish is small with a population of 2,200 people. The Index for Multiple Deprivation shows that we are ranked 12,561 out of 12,660 Church of England parishes, where number1 is the least deprived parish.

The Cathedral Council, College of Canons and Chapter make up the ‘body corporate’ and the congregation is represented on each grouping and has its own Community Committee. We have worked hard at joining the ‘body’ together and the new Vision has provided us with a great tool in this regard. In November 2014, after extensive consultation, the Chapter agreed a new Vision, including the following Purpose:

‘To serve Jesus Christ as a vibrant community of worship and mission, enriching the City, the Diocese and further afield.’

The following three Key Values were identified: Hospitality, Faithfulness and Wholeness

In May last year the Chapter agreed the strategy to begin the work on this ten-year plan. Clergy, staff and volunteers are now looking to focus on the plan and it is producing both energy and creativity. Some of the key areas are:

2  Growing the Cathedral congregation in terms of numbers, all ages, depth of discipleship and lay ministry.

 Upgrading our visitor experience: we have a wide range of visitors, including school children, tourists, local organisations, the hungry and vulnerable and Christians from other parts of the world. Currently we are improving access and we are hoping to redevelop the Cathedral in the next few years.

 Promoting understanding and good practice in reconciliation, faith and culture: there has been a long history of working across the faiths in Bradford and we are now at the point where we are exploring partnership working and new initiatives.

 Stimulating public debate and action on creating a city where people flourish. The aim, working with others, is to open up a city debate on big picture questions such as, ‘What and who are cities for?’ and ‘What does a healthy city look like?’ This would involve people from different faith traditions as well as those with no faith allegiance.

 Becoming a focus of resource and encouragement to the local parishes.

 Continuing to build upon our reputation as a centre of choral excellence and developing varieties of high quality music.

 Maintaining our commitment to the centrality of prayer and developing our focus on persecuted Christians and other religious minorities.

 Being a great place to work and volunteer: our plan places a heavy emphasis on the partnership between clergy, lay staff and volunteers.

 Maintaining and developing our eco-cathedral status.

The current staffing of the Cathedral comprises a healthy mixture of those who have been here for many years as well as a number of new faces. We are a happy, hard- working team.

There are 200 people on the Cathedral’s electoral roll, which is a 12% growth in the last two years. A small but growing number of young families attend the Cathedral regularly for worship and whilst most of the congregation travels to the Cathedral from outside of the city, we are keen to reach out to those who live in the streets around us.

The HLF Bells Project - Summary

Bradford Cathedral is the oldest building in Bradford and an important part of the heritage of the City; however the bells are now rarely heard in the city. Our project will repair and restore the WWI memorial bells and improve access to the ringing chamber and belfry. 3 We will develop an exciting exhibition in a range of media with interactive experiences and a focus on story-telling to interpret the heritage of the WWI memorial bells using two main themes: - the WWI memorial and the stories of those who are remembered in the inscriptions on the bells, and - the cultural tradition of change ringing.

This will be underpinned by a varied programme of activities designed to engage more, and a wider range of, people with our heritage. We will have a particular focus on young people and families. Volunteers from our local community will be key to the success of our project; researching our heritage, welcoming visitors and delivering guided tours.

We will recruit and train new bell ringers so we once again have a full band. The bells will be heard across the city again, announcing our presence to all, and the tradition of change ringing in Bradford will be preserved.

Heritage Interpretation Consultant Brief

Context

Bradford Cathedral is the oldest building in the City of Bradford, and an important part of the heritage of the City. We aim to maintain that heritage and its traditions as part of the diverse culture of the City and District. Bradford is a city with many faiths and cultures, with which we have good relations. We announce ourselves to all as the Cathedral for ALL who live in Bradford not just those who are Christians.

Our presence in the city often goes un-noticed due to the hilly nature of the city and thus we are hidden from the view of many visitors. Our bells can announce us across the city, to shoppers, Bradford residents and to visitors from across the country and world-wide regardless of language.

Many local people visit us for the first time and are amazed by what they find: a peaceful, warm and hospitable place. Recent exhibitions about WWI, such as the WW1 Chaplains exhibition, have been popular and our visitor numbers for these events have increased. People come seeking knowledge of those who fought in the Great War; many have relatives they want to find out about.

Bradford Cathedral is developing a project to:  repair and restore the bells,  train volunteer bell ringers so that the bells can be rung regularly,  share the heritage craft of bell ringing amongst the wider community, and  research and share the stories of those whose names are inscribed on 4 the bells.

As part of our project we want to encourage more people from our wider community to visit the Cathedral to learn about the bells and the fact that they are a WWI memorial.

Heritage Interpretation Consultant brief

To assist Bradford Cathedral with developing the interpretation of its historic WWI bells as a short-term project:

 to lead the research of the heritage of the bells and their inscriptions, utilising local experts and volunteers in historical research  taking the Cathedrals history, it’s mission to the City of Bradford and spiritual focus as a background to the interpretation  to design and oversee the installation of the interpretation using multi-media  to work within the constraints of the allocated HLF budget  to work closely with the Education & Visitors Officer and the Heritage Education Assistant to produce the materials required for the WW1 bells exhibition

This may include (but the list is not exclusive):

 pull-up interpretation banners exploring: o the history of church bells generally, and these bells in particular as well as the heritage tradition of change ringing. This may include the ringing room plaques and memorabilia, and history within o the inscriptions on the bells and the stories relating to some of the people, to include ancestors if possible  a virtual tour showing the way up the bell tower, the bell ringers and the bells in action  live feed from webcams in the ringing chamber and belfry shown on a screen as you enter the Cathedral so visitors can see the change ringing in action  footage of the repair and restoration of the bells, the ringing of the bells and interviews with bell ringers past and present. This is to be shown on a screen as you enter the Cathedral and will go onto the website.  interpretive activities for all ages and interests (note that we have large numbers of children from local schools visiting with a high mix of ethnicity) which are likely to include: o sound tubes for children to explore sequences of different sounds o an animation projected into a space inside the Cathedral telling the story of the bells through to WWI, plus soundscapes to tell the audio story o a mobile app, such as Abelsim, to assist ringers to gain experience in change ringing whilst not having to worry about handling the bell at the 5 same time. The app would also be used as part of education visits and activity days.  the use of story-telling in various forms  booklets on the heritage of the bells and their WW1 connection for visitors and school groups to take away

Elements which are crucial to this work are:

 the Cathedral is a place of Christian worship primarily  an understanding of our mission and strategy for the forthcoming years  working with current volunteers to understand how visitors engage with the Cathedral  there will be a specific limited budget for this work as part of the HLF funding  it is important to note that all and any programme of interpretation is subject to the approval of Chapter and will be overseen by the Director of Strategic Development and Operations.

The Heritage Interpretation Consultant will be engaged from January to June 2018.

How to Apply

The Director of Strategic Development and Operations is content for interested parties to contact her to discuss the consultancy position. Her details are listed at the end of this document.

The position is advertised from Tuesday 7th November 2017 The deadline for applications is 9.00am on Tuesday 28th November 2017 Interviews on Tuesday 12th December at Bradford Cathedral

Candidates should apply by providing a CV and a brief outlining how they would approach the role, and include consultancy fee details for the six month period. They should be submitted electronically to the Director of Strategic Development and Operations, Amanda Anderson

Short-listing takes place on Tuesday 5th December 2017. All candidates, successful or not in being shortlisted will be contacted shortly thereafter. Interviews will be held on Tuesday 12th December 2017 and more information about the process will be sent to short-listed candidates. The interviewing panel will comprise of the Director of Strategic Development and Operations, Ms Amanda Anderson; Mrs Gillian Davis, Education and Visitor Officer; and Mrs Monica Slocombe Member of Chapter.

The process will include a formal interview and presentation as well as the opportunity for more informal conversations.

Point of contact:

Director of Strategic Development and Operations

6 Amanda Anderson Cathedral Office, 1 Stott Hill, Bradford BD1 4EH 01274 777720 [email protected]

The Cathedral takes the safety of everyone very seriously and expects that everyone will work within the Cathedral’s safeguarding policy. In particular, the Cathedral expects everyone who becomes aware of a safeguarding risk, of actual abuse or who has any other reason to feel concerned, to report it immediately - either to their line manager (the Director of Strategic Development and Operations) or to the safeguarding representative (Canon Mandy Coutts).

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