Hereford Cathedral is recruiting volunteers for an exciting new range of volunteer roles, as part of the Eastern Cloisters Project.

Eastern Cloisters Project

The Eastern Cloisters Project is a new National Lottery Heritage Fund project, which aims to renovate the Eastern range of the Cloisters, and host a series of related events and activities. Inspired and informed by the history of the Cloisters, and by the special atmosphere that the Cloisters have, three main themes have been identified: music, learning, and community.

As part of the project, we have created a variety of new volunteer roles:

• Research Volunteers
• Oral History Volunteers
• Youth Board members

These roles are open to anyone – you don’t have to have loads of experience or existing skills in that area. There is no requirement for anyone volunteering on the Eastern Cloisters Project to be a churchgoer either; volunteers of any faith or none are all equally welcomed.

 

Accessibility

Hereford Cathedral is committed to being a fully accessible visitor attraction, workplace and place of worship. All are welcome to work and volunteer here, regardless of impairment, and we will always facilitate adjustments to make a role accessible for you. We also offer Supported Volunteering as an option for anyone who may find that helpful.

If you’d prefer to discuss your concerns in person or need more details, please contact Sarah. Sarah is one of the Access Ambassadors at Hereford Cathedral and a Dementia Friends Champion. If you already know what adjustments you might need, please include those on your Expressions of Interest form.

Full travel expenses will be reimbursed. (Please note: we only reimburse for journeys within the county)

Want to get involved?

There isn’t a formal application process, just a short Expression of Interest form. If you’re interested in getting involved, email [email protected] for more information.

 

More details about each role are given below:

Research Volunteers

Research Volunteers for the Eastern Cloisters Project will be based in our wonderful Archive. The main task of the Research Volunteers is to conduct research into the Cloisters and the Vicars Choral. This will involve using our Archive records, but may also include resources from HARC or sources online. Each Research Volunteer will be given a residence or resident of the Cloisters to research; this may also be done in pairs, if that is preferred. The Cloisters have a broad and fascinating history, and Research Volunteers may end up researching suffrage in Hereford, homelessness during the Civil War, or perception of disability across the centuries – and those are just the themes that we know about! There is even more to be discovered. Some research may also include investigating the family histories of the residents, particularly for significant families such as the Davis family.

This research will then be used to inform our activities and resources – things like our Cloisters Doll House or Story Nook. The research will also be shared via lectures and events at the cathedral, and there is the potential for Research Volunteers to speak at these, if they would like to.

There is no expectation that Research Volunteers will have vast amounts of experience using archives; those that do are welcomed, but those who have never used an archive before will be given assistance from the Research Intern. The only requirement is a desire to learn more about the Cloisters and our archives.

 

Oral History Volunteers

As part of the Eastern Cloisters Project we are conducting oral history interviews with past residents of the Cloisters. This is an amazing opportunity to hear peoples’ stories first hand and learn more about the history of Hereford and its cathedral.

Oral History Volunteers may volunteer as Transcribers, Interviewers, or both; the choice of role depends on the interests of the volunteer and which role they feel most comfortable in. Whichever role is chosen, the tasks of the Oral History Volunteers include:

• Attending training on general oral history protocol and ethics
• Being trained in the skills for your chosen role; either transcribing and summarising practices or interview techniques and recording protocols
• Assisting with at least one oral history interview, whether interviewing or transcribing
• Being keen to learn more about oral history uses, and potentially assisting with engagement activities with the community; e.g. Heritage Open Day
• Coordinating with other Oral History Volunteers; e.g. providing follow up information for the transcriber
• Adhering to the Hereford Cathedral Archive protocols and oral history ethics, as explained in the training

There may be additional opportunities for the Oral History Volunteers to get involved with, such as helping with events or activities where the recordings are shared with the public.

 

Youth Board

The Youth Board role involves a variety of tasks, and there is a lot of flexibility and freedom to get involved with the elements of the project that interest you. The Youth Board will have the chance to be involved with virtually any area of the project – from marketing to archaeology, event management to accessibility audits – there is plenty of scope to gain experience in the area you are interested in. The only compulsory task is attending meetings each month; everything else is optional.

Opportunities that the Youth Board have been offered in the past include:

• Hosting an exchange visit from the Youth Council
• Meeting with key members of Hereford Cathedral staff, e.g. our Bid Writer
• Being team mentors at the Hackathon for sixth forms
• Planning their own pilot event
• Going to a local escape room, to assess its suitability for Hereford
• Acting in the It’s a Vicar’s Life costumed tour
• Participating in a cathedral-wide meeting about branding choices
• Representing Hereford Cathedral at events
• Creating social media content for the Eastern Cloisters Project

These are some of the things that the Youth Board have done in the past, to give you a better idea, but we are always open to suggestions – if you have an idea, we’ll do our best to make it happen!