We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Summary This film is concerned with York Minster’s restoration efforts after the 1984 fire destroyed a significant section of roof, stonework, and stained glass. The majority of the programme showcases the painstaking restoration work taking place inside the structure. This film was made as part of the 1980s Yorkshire Television series ‘Calendar Magazine’.
Description
This film is concerned with York Minster’s restoration efforts after the 1984 fire destroyed a significant section of roof, stonework, and stained glass. The majority of the programme showcases the painstaking restoration work taking place inside the structure. This film was made as part of the 1980s Yorkshire Television series ‘Calendar Magazine’.
The film opens with a number of shots that show restoration work taking place on York Minster after the fire devastated a section of the...
This film is concerned with York Minster’s restoration efforts after the 1984 fire destroyed a significant section of roof, stonework, and stained glass. The majority of the programme showcases the painstaking restoration work taking place inside the structure. This film was made as part of the 1980s Yorkshire Television series ‘Calendar Magazine’.
The film opens with a number of shots that show restoration work taking place on York Minster after the fire devastated a section of the structure. A narrator describes the many struggles that the workers have encountered on their mission to restore the building to its former glory.
This is followed by the scaffolding around the exterior of the building being removed, visually signalling the final stages of work on the structure.
The film then goes back in time to a wide shot of York Minster burning in the night sky after the fire had started.
Bob Littlewood, the man in charge of the restoration, is then interviewed. Littlewood describes the various stages of the restoration in detail and sets out his approximate timeline for completion.
Context The film opens with building work being undertaken inside York Minster. The final stages of the lengthy restoration are signalled by the removal of scaffolding from the exterior of the building. We are sporadically transported back to the disastrous fire of 1984 which makes the present-day shots of the iconic building all the more startling.
The fire that engulfed York Minster in 1984 destroyed the South Transept roof and caused costly damage to stonework and stained-glass windows. The fire is thought to have been caused by a lightning strike.
