A Catholic filmmaker has declared he was “taken aback” after the National Trust refused his request to shoot a documentary at St Cuthbert’s Cave in Northumberland.
St Cuthbert’s Cave was a crucial location for the film, as it’s traditionally believed to be where the saint’s body rested in 875 before he was moved to Durham, where it remains today.
Now, the heritage charity has been slapped with accusations of illegal religious discrimination for barring the filming from taking place.
The charity body justified its decision by citing the project’s religious affiliation, sparking accusations that the heritage charity has breached equality laws and is engaging in illegal religious discrimination.
Joining Jacob in the studio, Christian Holden explained how he had approached the National Trust to request permission to film at the historic site.
The first response he received, via email, was that they did not host any filming of a religious or political nature.
Once the disgruntled filmmaker called the employee and explained the full rationale of the film and the need to film at that specific location, he emphasised the historical and cultural value of the shoot.
But, to no avail, the final correspondence from the National Trust said that they would refuse the filming “on the basis of its religious affiliation”.
“I was bewildered to be refused to visit and film this site of such importance on the basis of essentially being a Christian filmmaker,” he told Jacob.
St Cuthbert’s Cave is on land owned by the National Trust
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GETTY
From previous interactions from churches and secular landowners, he added that the response had “always very positive”.
“I’ve had very few refusals over the many years I’ve been doing this work. I’ve operated, filmed in many locations, some of the great cathedrals of our nation, and many historic sites.
“So I was really taken aback to be refused permission at this cave.”
What further baffled Mr Holden was that the National Trust failed to supply him with an explanation for their verdict.
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Mr Holden lamented the National Trust’s refusal on GB News
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GB NEWS
Meanwhile, he reminisced on other “warm welcome” from Anglican sites, such as Durham Cathedral which was the end point of the film.
“They were very hospitable, very accommodating. In the past I’ve worked at Canterbury Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, Rochester, so many up and down the country,” he said.
“And the National Trust is now sort of slightly muddying the waters, isn’t it?” Jacob pressed.
A spokesman for the charity said: “The National Trust has said it has no mandate or policy about religious filming.
“Each request should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and we’re looking into how this was handled to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“We do host filming for religious programmes at National Trust places, for example, Songs of Praise at Fountains Abbey in 2022.
“We’re keen to work with Mr Holden to find a resolution to this issue.”
Now, with increased media attention on the matter, Jacob asked whether media attention had “slightly shamed them” into backtracking on their verdict on the matter.
“Since the media attention has shone a bit of a spotlight on this, that I think there’s a bit of a scramble there, damage control from the National Trust,” Mr Holden said.
“And they have, in fact reached out to me via email. They’ve tried to contact me to arrange a meeting of some some sort, but we haven’t been able to follow through with that just yet.”
However, Mr Holden’s film has been completed already by keeping in line with the regulations and keeping to the publicly accessible footpath.