Monastery continues to pull in events
THE trust that has overseen the revamp of Gorton Monastery saw revenue from events and corporate hospitality rise by 8.5% last year despite the tough economic climate.
The historic Pugin-designed Franciscan friary in east Manchester held 78 events in the year to January 2010, up from 63 and hosted 118 meetings, compared with 93 last time. The number of guided tours rose by 7% to 7,500.
Some nine weddings took place in 2009 and a further 33 were expected in 2010. Bookings have already been made for the coming years.
According to recently filed accounts the trust’s trading arm – essential to the ongoing maintenance and restoration of the building – pulled in £674,000. But the trust spent around £940,000 during the year and saw liabilities widen from £44,065 to £515,611.
In his report trust chairman Paul Griffiths said: “Notwithstanding these deficits the group’s financial performance continues to be broadly on budget and the group has adequate financial resources to continue trading.”
Supporters of the monastery won charitable status in 1997 and have since campaigned successfully to raise £6.5m to restore the listed building. Various public bodies, including English Heritage and the Northwest Development Agency, provided the funds required to salvage the site which was abandoned by the friars in 1989.
