Following a flurry of prestigious awards, York Minster’s Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management(COE) continues to attract attention, this time with a visit from The Duke of Gloucester.

Representatives from the Minster welcomed His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester on site to tour the COE, a project The Duke has followed as Royal Patron of both The Royal Fine Art Commission Trust and The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The Trust recently awarded the COE the Building Beauty Award, while RIBA similarly recognised it in both regional and national categories.

As part of a tour through the space and the wider Minster site, His Royal Highness experienced the Centre’s form and function, met the craftspeople that utilise it, and learned more about its vital role in supporting both the future of the Minster and the wider heritage sector.

York Minster has claimed 15 awards to date for the Centre, which was designed by Tonkin Liu, helping to cement the York Minster Precinct as a world-class campus facility for research, education, and training in traditional craft skills and the latest digital technologies now employed in conserving the nation’s most cherished buildings.

The Centre of Excellence has created capacity to allow the Minster’s renowned stonemasons to undertake commissions for other ecclesiastical institutions and heritage estates, utilising state-of-the-art cutting technology, as well as training the next generation of craftspeople. International training partnerships with other cathedrals, heritage estates, and conservation charities such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission are facilitating skill-sharing across the globe.

Alex McCallion, Director of Works and Precinct, said of the visit:
“It was a great honour to welcome His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester to York Minster and to share the work taking place within our award-winning Centre of Excellence. The visit provided an opportunity to showcase not only the state-of-the-art technology and facilities that support our conservation efforts, but also the extraordinary skill and dedication of our stonemasons, whose craftsmanship is recognised around the world.”