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Come and see the Minster Stoneyard
Published Tuesday 31st July 2007 by Alix Peacock
Take a trip up York Minster’s East Front! The Minster’s Stoneyard is holding its annual open day, including a chance to take the lift up the scaffolding covering the East Front. The open day will take place on Friday 10 August 2007, between 9.30am and 3.00pm.
Entrance to the Stoneyard, located on Deangate, will be free of charge, and everyone is welcome to come and look behind the scenes at one of the Minster’s most exciting areas. Donations to York Minster Fund are invited. All money raised from the Stoneyard Open Day will go towards the restoration of the East Front.
Visitors can explore the work of progress of stone through the Stoneyard, see the work of the stone sawing and shaping machinery, and meet the Masons, Carvers and Carpenters. There will also be guided tours of special areas of interest, including the drawing shop and the plaster cast museum. Visitors will also have the chance to view some of the work of the York Minster Broderers, a group of volunteers who create all the wonderful embroidery which can be seen in the Minster.
Members of the public will also be able to take the lift up the East Front scaffolding, and see the Minster’s greatest restoration project. People will be able to see for themselves the stonework and glass, and see how urgently it needs to be repaired.
As they go up in the lift, visitors will pass the Great East Window, which is the size of a tennis court, and the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. The East Front is over 600 years old, and visitors can see how the years have taken their toll on the stone and glass, with widespread erosion of the stonework, including the delicate tracery of the Great East Window.
Trips up the East Front scaffolding are available throughout the day; weather permitting, for a minimum donation of £5. Tickets for the East Front Tours will be available from the Stoneyard on the day on a first come, first served basis. Children of 16 years and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult, and no children under 10 years old will be admitted.