Catholic Film Refusal Sparks Discrimination Claims Against National Trust
The UK’s National Trust has faced criticism after refusing a Catholic filmmaker permission to film at a historic religious site, reportedly on the basis of the project’s “religious affiliation”. Christian filmmaker Christian Holden said he was “bewildered” by the decision, which raised concerns about potential discrimination against religious projects. The National Trust has since stated that it has no policy against religious filming and is reviewing how the request was handled.
In December 2025, Catholic documentary maker Christian Holden approached the UK’s National Trust seeking permission to film at St Cuthbert’s Cave in Northumberland as part of his documentary on the Way of St Cuthbert pilgrimage. The cave, traditionally regarded as where St Cuthbert’s body rested before its move to Durham, was central to the project’s historical narrative.
Holden recounted that the trust’s final communication explicitly refused the filming “on the basis of its religious affiliation.” Holden said he was “bewildered to be refused to visit and film this site of such importance on the basis of essentially being a Christian filmmaker.” He added that in many years of filming at cathedrals and historic locations he had received positive responses, making this refusal particularly surprising.
The National Trust spokesman told GB News that the organisation “has said it has no mandate or policy about religious filming” and that “each request should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis,” while also stating they were “looking into how this was handled to ensure it doesn’t happen again.” The spokesman noted the trust “do host filming for religious programmes at National Trust places,” giving Songs of Praise at Fountains Abbey in 2022 as an example, and said they were “keen to work with Mr Holden to find a resolution to this issue.”
Holden noted that media attention has prompted outreach from the trust, but that the documentary had been completed using publicly accessible footpaths instead of the cave site.
Sources: GB News, catholicvote.org
Image: Wikipedia
