York Minster: Appeal to raise £4m for heritage craft campus

York Minster is one of 10 English cathedrals which have their own stonemasonry department

York Minster is appealing for £4m in donations to help fund a new facility to train craftsmen in the ancient skills needed to preserve the building.

The Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills will teach traditional crafts such as stonemasonry and glaziery, a minster spokesperson said.

The centre was predicted to cost £5m, but due to rising costs the bill is now expected to be closer to £9m.

The York Minster Fund is hoping to raise the extra money with donations.

It is asking organisations and members of the public to donate to the project, which it said will establish the minster as an "international example of best practice in managing complex heritage estates".

Neil Sanderson, Director of the York Minster Fund, said the centre would deliver "long-term sustainable benefits both financially, and in the maintenance of heritage skills to York Minster, the heritage community, and the wider city".

The planned Heritage Quad will be part of the biggest programme of work at York Minster in 150 years

York Minster is one of 10 English cathedrals to have its own stonemasonry department.

The proposed centre will deliver training in modern techniques, offering accommodation for new apprentices.