Minster 'in flames' for anniversary projections

Several projectors are illuminating York Minster and telling the story of the 1984 fire

A projection display has lit up York Minster in flames to mark 40 years since a devastating fire.

The light show, called Phoenix, uses several projectors to illuminate the Minster's nave and west end in dramatic fashion and tells the story of the 1984 blaze.

Creators Karen Monid and Ross Ashton said the light and sound installation describes the fire, the aftermath and the people who rebuilt the minster.

Phoenix will run from Saturday until 2 November, with ticket sales raising funds for the building's continued restoration work.

Mr Ashton, who designed the projections, described it as "the human story of people coming through adversity and winning".

"We hear the voices of the firemen and the people of York Minster who were trying to save the building," he said.

"Then we have the moment of, what are we going to do now?

"We’re going to get up, reconstruct this and put it back in place."

Artists Karen Monid and Ross Ashton created the exhibition using light and sound

On 9 July 1984 the south transept was gutted by flames after lightning struck the roof, resulting in one of the worst cathedral fires in modern times.

It caused more than £2.25m of damage and it took more than four years to repair and restore the minster.

The artist explained there were several "emotional moments" in the installation, with his personal favourite being [glazier] Peter Gibson talking about the glass restoration.

"They came up with new processes which have then been reused at Notre-Dame," he said.

"It’s not just done and dusted when they’ve rebuilt the building, this resonates through time."

Sound artist Karen Monid wanted to pay tribute to those involved in the aftermath of the fire

Ms Monid, a sound artist, said the installation had been a "passion project" ever since she read messages about people's memories of the fire.

"It’s about what happens when bad things happen and how people put them right," she said.

"When those things happen, it falls to ordinary people whose names you often don’t get to know."

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