An 87 year old man has constructed a magnificent matchstick model of York Minster.
Clive Holmes spent years perfecting the piece, made up of 80,000 matchsticks and 195 tubes of glue, at his home in Durham.
Now it’s complete, the former fireman is looking to give the 6ft model a new home in York.
Sue Todner, Clive’s daughter, shared the images of the matchstick Minster on the ‘York: What’s going on?’ Facebook page.
The post read: “My Dad (87) has spent the last few years making York Minster out of matchsticks. The detail and hours invested is amazing. My Mum on the other hand is not quite so impressed that this is taking up space in the house.
“It would be fantastic if the model were able to go to an appreciative cause in York. We live in Durham so don’t have any connections in the area. If anyone has any suggestions as to who to contact, I would be really grateful. Size is 6’ x 4’. Happy to deliver for the cost of van hire.”
The post was met with over 1.9k reactions and 390 comments, with many suggesting that it should be displayed in York Minster.
One comment read: “Wow!!!!!!!! That is amazing work, and I’d not want to part with it. I hope it goes where many people can see and enjoy it.”
Upon one of his visits to York to visit his granddaughter, Clive had taken photos of the York Minster and constructed the piece from there.
Based on his photos, he drew the plans to scale onto a board and built the matchsticks on top.
YorkMix spoke to Sue, who told us this is just one of many models her father’s created. “He’s always modelled, so he’s done Lincoln cathedral, Durham Cathedral, they used to live in Lincolnshire, so Southwell Minster and Grimsby Minster as well.”
All of Clive’s models have been sent away for others to enjoy once they’re finished, as his wife feels there’s no room to house them.
Despite the hours spent, Sue revealed that her dad doesn’t mind parting with the models once they’re complete. “He’s perfectly happy, I think once it’s done he loses interest and wants to move on to the next thing.”
So much so, Clive has pledged to torch the model if it hasn’t found a home by 5 November!
“I think he’d like it to go somewhere people can see it, and where he knows that it’s appreciated. But he had said that he was going to burn it come November 5th. If it’s not going anywhere, it’s going to get burnt,” Sue joked.
YorkMix spoke to York Minster, who said: “It is moving to think of how much work went into making this model – a real labour of love. This year is the 40th anniversary of the 1984 fire, a reminder of how fragile this building actually is, and it seemed quite fitting that this model was made of matchsticks – fragile and flammable!
“We’re talking about how to make the most of this spectacular model as the public really do deserve to see this labour of love. Our lightshow – Phoenix – kicks off next week and it’d be great to be able to display this as part of the event.”
Hopefully York will be lucky enough to welcome Clive’s model into the city before 5 November, so it doesn’t go up in flames.