York Minster Stoneyard is the

stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

dedicated to the upkeep of the stonework of

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, England. Established in the 11th century, around 400 years before the current cathedral was completed, it has been located in

Minster Yard Minster Yard is a street in the city centre of York, England. It runs along the southern, eastern and northeastern sides of York Minster, for which it is named. History The street may have originated as the courtyard of the headquarters buildi ...

, adjacent to the minster's southeastern corner, since 1913. It formerly stood on the site of today's

Purey-Cust Lodge Purey-Cust Lodge is a historic building in the English city of York, North Yorkshire. Now Grade II listed, it dates to 1845. Prior to this date, it was the site of York Minster Stoneyard. The building is named for Arthur Purey-Cust, who ser ...

, adjacent to

Dean's Park Dean's Park is an urban park in York, England. It was created in the 19th century. Formerly the site of the Archbishop's Palace, during the latter part of the Middle Ages, it is located adjacent to York Minster on its northern side. Other s ...

, on the minster's northwestern side. York Minster is one of nine cathedrals in England to possess a permanent masons' workshop. A team of around sixteen stonemasons works at the stoneyard today, ranging from first-year apprentices to the Master Mason. Lead stonemason Lee Godfrey has worked at the minster since 1990. In addition to York Minster, the masons maintain other buildings under the control of the Dean and Chapter of York.

History

A permanent stoneyard was recommended in the late 18th century by architect John Carr, who had found various parts of the minster in need of repair. A fire broke out at the stoneyard in 2010, caused by faulty electrical wiring. Four

grotesques Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

dating to the 1700s were removed from the minster in 2019, to be replaced by new carvings. A statue of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

was commissioned at the stoneyard. It was designed using

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

and

CNC Computer numerical control (CNC) or CNC machining is the automated control of machine tools by a computer. It is an evolution of numerical control (NC), where machine tools are directly managed by data storage media such as punched cards or ...

machines.

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and the

Queen Consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

unveiled the statue in November 2022. In 2023, the development of a Centre of Excellent for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management was announced, including a new masons' workshop. Estimated to cost around £8.5 million, it will be overlooked by York's city walls.

References

English stonemasons York Minster

External links

* {{Commonscat-inlink, Masons' Lodge, York Minster 19th-century establishments in England 11th century in York 12th century in York 13th century in York 14th century in York 15th century in York 16th century in York 17th century in York 18th century in York 19th century in York 20th century in York 21st century in York