THE PETERITE Vol. LXIII
OCTOBER, 1972
No. 387
EDITORIAL
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We are told by Jean Gimpel, author of 'The Cathedral Builders', that by the sixteenth century 'the builders were no longer those of the great epoch, that the people no longer had the faith which had motivated men during the rise of Christianity'. It took nearly two hundred and fifty years of 'the great epoch' for the present York Minster to be completed, and it was rededicated on 3rd July, 1472. In the five hundred years that have passed since that rededication, what has happened to 'the faith which had motivated men'? There is a simple story told by Bernard Feilden, writing about the restoration of York Minster in the new book 'The noble city of York'. He recalls how he took the late Earl of Scarbrough, the High Steward of the Minster, 'up circular staircases and along galleries without much handrailing' to see for himself the extent of the Minster's troubles in January, 1967. Then he tells us: 'When Lord Scarbrough had seen enough we returned to the Deanery, and after getting clean from this dirty expedition, and while waiting for a cup of tea, Lord Scarbrough turned to me and said, "What would it cost to restore the Minster?" 1 replied that it was difficult to give a firm estimate because there were so many doubtful factors, but that I thought it would cost between £1.67 and £2.5 million. He looked me in the eye for what seemed like a minute and then simply said, "It can be done".' It has been done. For the cost of a first-class football team or of a sophisticated reconnaissance aircraft, the Minster has been restored. The triumph of York Minster in 1972 has shown not only that the faith still lives, but that if the Middle Ages was the great epoch' of cathedral building, the late twentieth century must surely be the great epoch of restoration, when it has been seen that only the most modern technology can save ancient buildings from destruction. The nature of the restoration we are only just beginning to appreciate fully. Within living memory until now York Minster as a building has suggested sombre splendour but little of delicacy. Now, both inside and out we see aspiring beauty, and we are aware that 'soaring Gothic' came to the colder north as well as to the gentler climates of Europe. The west front in low evening sunlight reveals all the subtlety of well selected stone, while the whole interior proclaims the harmony of thinking between the builders and the old Psalmist who wrote: 'I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord'. For the restorers have done more than a great feat of engineering; they have brought back light to a piece of inspired work that was built for the light. The Editor thanks the many contributors to The Peterite, and would welcome correspondence and articles of general interest.
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