Conserving the Great East Window

York Minster’s Great East Window is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country, a masterpiece in glass and stone depicting the beginning and end of all things.

For the last 12 years, the 600-year-old window has been the subject of a major restoration and conservation project – one of the largest of its kind in Europe. In May, for the first time in a decade, the restored window will be finally complete.

Craftsmanship

All 311 stained glass panels were removed from the 15th-century window, which is the size of a tennis court, in 2008 so York Glaziers Trust could begin the mammoth task of restoring the fragile masterpiece.

The project, which also involved the conservation or replacement of nearly 2,500 stones by York Minster’s stonemasons, was part of the cathedral’s £15m York Minster Revealed project, which ran from 2011 to 2016.

The project has involved the installation of state-of-the-art UV resistant protective glazing, which was the first time the material had been used in the UK and the largest worldwide use to date.

Fundraising

Although the Great East Window project is now complete, our work to protect our irreplaceable medieval glass is far from finished. The cathedral has launched an £11m, 20-year project with York Glaziers Trust to add environmental protective glazing to more than 70 of its unprotected windows, buying time for much needed conservative work.

The project is supported by an innovative fundraising campaign organised by the York Minster Fund (YMF) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). This involves a National Lottery grant of up to £1m from the HLF to match every pound raised by the public and YMF, which will be used to establish an endowment fund to help pay for the £11m project.

This means that for as little as £1, you can help us to protect our medieval masterpieces for future generations. If you’d like to support the campaign, you can donate online.

Caring for the South Quire Aisle

The South Quire Aisle will be one of the cathedral’s main conservation and restoration projects for the next decade.

The scheme involves work to repair and replace stone and glass in 15 window bays, which will take around 11 years and cost £11m.

Six centuries of exposure to the elements

The South Quire Aisle dates from 1361 and its construction took around 60 years to complete.

It bears dramatic evidence of six centuries of exposure to the elements, with issues including extensive cracking and erosion to the stone work and serious damage to the medieval glass, which has buckled and cracked in places allowing water in.

Damage caused by a 19th century arsonist

The area suffered serious damage during the 1829 fire, started deliberately by local resident Jonathan Martin in the Quire.

The graffiti marks of the 19th century glaziers – and even those of their sweethearts – who repaired the windows following the fire can still be seen.

21st century craftsmanship

The project began in 2016 and work to date has included the carving of new grotesques and the restoration of pinnacles and buttresses.

How you can help

York Minster relies on your generous support to help fund our conservation and restoration work. If you’d like to help, you can donate to YMF online, or see our Get Involved section for other ways you can support our work.