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Filed under Holidays, York 2011

The Stone Masons Yard

It was fascinating to see the Stone Masons working at their craft. They were working on larger pieces than were displayed in the minster last time I visited.

The Minster is currently part way through the five-year ‘York Minster Revealed’ project.  The Heritage Lottery Fund has issued a grant to enable expansion of training in the specialist skills of stone-masonry and stained glass conservation.  These skills are being used to repair and restore the stonework and stained glass on the east front of the Minster.

Masons Lodge

At Work

Attention to Detail

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24 Comments CherryPie on Dec 9th 2011

24 Responses to “The Stone Masons Yard”

  1. Marcie says:
    December 9, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    They are like stone ‘artists’. I’m with you. I love seeing them at work!

  2. missing moments says:
    December 9, 2011 at 2:05 pm

    Fascinating seeing them at work.

  3. JD says:
    December 9, 2011 at 3:18 pm

    have you been to Durham, Cherie?
    …close inspection reveals the masons’ setting out marks for the carvings on the columns, 1000 years ago!

    http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/UK/Britain_Yorkshire_and_North/Durham_Cathedral/Durham.htm

    • CherryPie says:
      December 9, 2011 at 6:21 pm

      No I haven’t been to Durham, but it looks magnificent from the link you provided.

      In the under-croft at York there are some of the earlier pillars on display with the stone masons marks.

  4. jameshigham says:
    December 9, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    Is that Hiram Abif in the lower pic?

  5. jams o donnell says:
    December 9, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    I can imagine that maintaining the Minster is a bit like painting the Forth bridge

  6. Claude says:
    December 9, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    Your whole set of York Minster is so interesting, and great to visit. Thank you!

    • CherryPie says:
      December 9, 2011 at 11:43 pm

      I am glad you are enjoying them, I have a few more mostly of the interior and then I move on to Christmas and finishing my 100 photos which extended into two years…

  7. Andrew says:
    December 10, 2011 at 1:04 am

    I worked briefly with masons while working mostly with brickies as a brickie’s labourer, and I so admired them, the masons. They could sculpt stone like butter. The masons held the brickies in contempt of course, while the brickies held me in contempt.

    • CherryPie says:
      December 10, 2011 at 1:13 am

      Well of course everyone has unique skills, that contribute and no-one should be held in contempt.

      Except maybe those folks who don’t try to contribute to anything and just sponge…

      • Andrew says:
        December 11, 2011 at 12:20 am

        Ah yes, those minor Royals…

        • Andrew says:
          December 11, 2011 at 12:24 am

          And indeed, “no one should be held in contempt” (or mostly no one) and yet mostly, moving both up and down the chains of life, I feel people are held in significant contempt in both directions. The world “as it should be”… now that would be an fine place (provided it wasn’t “as it should be” as defined by all those I so rightly hold in contempt :)

          • Andrew says:
            December 11, 2011 at 12:28 am

            ..and in the world as it should be I would have defined that world as “a” fine place, not “an”, and I would have closed my brackets, nay parenthesis. Thank goodness that blooming bore Don QuiScottie is busy with other things :)

            • CherryPie says:
              December 11, 2011 at 1:26 am

              Those slight variations leave things open for interpretation…

              But I think we are in agreement that ‘mostly’ people shouldn’g be held in contempt ;-)

  8. London Caller says:
    December 10, 2011 at 3:06 pm

    This 5-year renovation project is actually quite short.

    They took 15 years to repair London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.
    They just finished the work this summer.
    Have you seen the “new” St Paul’s?

    • CherryPie says:
      December 10, 2011 at 10:10 pm

      It 5 years for just a small part of the minster. I am not sure if they have anything else planned later.

      No I haven’t seen the ‘new’ St Paul’s there were too many protesters when I visited London so I kept away ;-)

  9. jane says:
    December 11, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    Thanks for sharing that, I too find that so interesting and glad to see the craft continues.

  10. J_on_tour says:
    December 12, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    It’s always good PR to see what’s going on if it’s a long term project rather than unsightly wooden hoardings.