Conservation experts are reviewing repairs to York Minster’s famous Rose Window, which were carried out after a devastating fire in 1984, as part of a new restoration project.
The stained glass masterpiece stayed in place despite the fire raging around it, but its 73 panels, containing 7,000 pieces of stained glass, were subjected to 450°C heat and cracked in 40,000 places.
The painstaking renovation carried out on the window, a symbol of the union between the Yorkist and Lancastrian houses that had looked out over the city for 500 years, will now be reviewed by a team of heritage craftspeople.
It took four years to rebuild and restore York Minster after the 1984 fire.
The new scaffolding, which has been erected inside and outside the South Transept, will allow members of the minster team to access the Rose Window and review the repair works undertaken in this period.
The analysis will reveal how the restoration methods and materials have stood the test of time and whether the window needs further repairs.
The new project will see the minster’s stonemasons working alongside experts from the York Glaziers Trust to conserve three huge lancet windows in the cathedral’s South Transept which depict Saints Peter, Paul, Wilfred, and William of York.
Due to their positioning, the lancets were not subjected to the same extreme thermal stress as the Rose Window.
However, centuries of exposure to the elements have rendered the medieval glass vulnerable to corrosion and paint loss.
Revolutionary protective glazing will be added to the windows to help safeguard the precious works of art well into the next century and beyond.
Professor Sarah Brown, director of the York Glaziers Trust, said: “These windows have a history stretching back many hundreds of years.
“They can be attributed to the workshop of Robert Petty in the late 15th century and have undergone a variety of restorations and additions, as well as being completely removed during the Second World War.
“It was Peter Gibson OBE, former superintendent of the York Glaziers Trust, who insisted that the Rose Window could be saved after the 1984 fire.
“At the time, some people saw its perilous condition as an opportunity for a completely new stained glass commission.
“Thankfully, his advice was heeded and the glaziers worked tirelessly to restore the artwork.”