St Martins' Sleepout at Norwich Cathedral Cloister 

On the night of January 26, 70 people bedded down in the Norwich Cathedral Cloister to take part in a Sleep Out in aid of Norwich-based homelessness charity St. Martins.

Mark Sims reports

The Cathedral’s connection to St Martins goes back to the charity’s origin in 1972, when Dean Alan Webster founded the Norwich Night Shelter in his own garage. The initiative became St. Martins upon relocation to St. Martins at Oak, in 1976. The charity has, for over 50 years, provided people experiencing homelessness with accommodation and support to rebuild their lives.

I was initially unsure of participating in the Sleep Out. Whilst not intended to recreate rough sleeping, was it a parody of it?  In my previous Support Worker role at St. Martins, I’d developed a better understanding of rough sleeping through interacting with hostel residents. The reasons why people end up on the streets are complex but we’ve all seen people sleeping rough with their sleeping bags or cardboard shelters in shop doorways, exposed to the elements, as well as abuse, or simply indifference, from passers-by. Raising awareness of these issues was part of the event but people’s lack of awareness is less of an issue than absence of care. Could the Sleep Out change that?

Nevertheless, I kept thinking about taking part and, following an encouraging conversation with a former St. Martins colleague, I finally decided to sign up! I’d done the 2015 Cloister Sleep Out, which I’d found to be a worthwhile challenge and an interesting experience, albeit, this felt separate from why we were doing it. It was really ‘champing’, i.e. church camping, for charity. Still, the 2023 Sleep Out was for a different cause and it had been 9 years, so why not do it again?

I entered the Cloister through the Dark Entry, which is actually quite well lit, despite its name. I received a warm welcome from Cathedral Canon Andy Bryant, as well as St. Martins CEO, Jan Sheldon, who joined in with the sleepout, herself. There was a pile of cardboard, for extra bedding. 

Walking into the Cloister, I saw that several participants had already arrived and set up their beds for the night. There was an overall positive atmosphere. We had all chosen to be here to achieve a common goal.

I deliberately positioned my sleeping bag for a comforting view of the spire and as many stars as possible. However,  the arched windows prevented this, so I had to settle for two thirds of a spire and a couple of stars, which was some consolation. On the stone wall above my spot was a recently erected statue of Queen Elizabeth II, watching over me.

There was a soup and roll supper, courtesy of volunteers from the Cathedral and cakes donated by Harford Bridge Tesco. The supermarket’s Community Champion also participated in the Sleep Out. Andy began the event with a speech, in which he enthused about what a blessing it was for us to have this experience in such beautiful surroundings. He also mentioned the Cathedral’s origin as a monastery, with the Cloisters connecting its different areas. However, once the Dark Entry gate was shut for the night, the only area left open to us would be The Hostry visitors’ area, in order to use the upstairs toilets through the Weston Room. 

Andy led a few of us in a candlelit Compline, a monastic bedtime prayer, including a warning to be vigilant against the Devil, prowling about as a ‘roaring lion…seeking whom he may devour…’ I saw no roaring Lion but there was a roaming cat, Budge, who mostly stayed in the cozy Weston Room, occasionally wandering further afield. People sleeping rough often keep dogs for company and protection and, whilst there were no dogs allowed at this event, at least we had the Cathedral cat. At one point, I saw him watching over me as I lay in my sleeping bag but he didn’t try to devour me.

Soon after most people had retired to their sleeping bags, a sort of ‘roaring’ could be heard reverberating around the Cloister. It was hard to tell which end of people’s bodies the noise was coming from but the low rumble, the chatter of others unable to sleep, as well as the winter chill, did little to help me nod off.

Throughout the event, I learned about other participants’ reasons for doing the sleepout. One lady, a hairdresser, told me about her sister, whose alcohol addiction led to her becoming homeless but St. Martins supported her in finding accommodation and looking for work. The hairdresser wanted to help St. Martins in return by fundraising.

Another fundraiser described the event as ‘Magical, beautiful and special.’ Speaking to me the following morning, he was thankful that the experience had afforded him the opportunity to reflect on his own experiences of mental illness. During the night, he had heard sirens in the distance and was glad of the comfortable surroundings of the Cloister as he imagined how much worse it must be for an actual rough sleeper, when it’s ‘right on top of their heads’ and they can’t escape it. He also donated a spare sleeping bag and a mat. 

One participant said that he was on ‘the edge of warm’ throughout the night. I think we all knew how that felt. For me, one night of cold and noise was enough. I have seen tents pitched in churchyards, which is not unlike kipping in Cloister but these, naturally, aren’t designed to be slept in, except by those buried there, which thankfully, none of us ended up like. I don’t think I could stand more nights of choosing to be this uncomfortable, along with the constant threat of being attacked or moved on, along with the physical or psychological trauma that actual rough sleepers endure, indefinitely. 

The Sleep Out’s grand fundraising total is £20,857, which will go towards the new Netherwood Green project, accommodation made up of 12 single-bed units. This is in partnership with Flagship Housing, who aim to solve the housing crisis by ‘providing homes and creating sustainable communities’. The project is expected to be complete by the end of the year. So, the event was a success, in terms of raising money for St. Martins, as I hope it will be in combating indifference towards the people it supports.

Pictured: some of the St Martins sleepout group at the Compline service in the Cloister