TO THE dismay of conservationists, York Minster is helping to fund the restoration of its East Front by selling off original medieval stonework from the West Front.

Fashioned with religious devotion by master masons in the 14th century, carved stones that once formed an integral part of the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe have found themselves reposing as ornaments in suburban gardens after a sale last week that raised a disappointing £12,000 towards a £23 million refurbishment project.

Other buyers have disclosed that they intend to cut the ancient stones into small pieces and sell them as souvenirs of Old England on the internet, in the hope of lively interest from American buyers.

More than 100 stones, both medieval and 19th-century, which once formed part of the West Front and the Chapter House buttresses, were sold off, attracting strong criticism from some experts. One stone stood 3ft high; many others bore the remains of tracery carved by 14th-century hands.

Cathedral authorities were undeterred by the criticism last night, and said that more sales would follow. The buyers included David Sherry, a local property developer in his sixties, who purchased two of the stones for his garden.

He said that they looked particularly good next to his bright begonias. “I want a bit of history in the garden,” he added.

The dispersal of stones from a jewel of Britain’s heritage is not without precedent. St Paul’s sold off delicately carved angels with gilded wings and statues of St Peter and St Paul, created for its magnificent 19th-century high altar, in the 1970s, while St Giles’ Cathedral, in Edinburgh, sold off 19thcentury chairs in 2002 to help to pay for restoration.

But the minster’s decision has incurred the wrath of John Larson, one of the country’s foremost art and conservation experts. A former adviser to Lincoln and other cathedrals, he described the sale as scandalous.

Mr Larson, who was the head of sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was shocked to learn that the minster was planning more sales in the future.

Canon Peter Lyddon, chapter steward of the minster, vigorously defended the decision, saying that it had been driven by the need to raise £23 million to restore the East Front. “We don’t have the storage capacity to keep every stone . . . It wasn’t done on a whim . . . It’s taken two to three years to get it through the various committees,” he said.

On being told of Mr Larson’s criticisms, he said: “He’s entitled to his opinion, I’m entitled to mine . . . We’re clearly now facing a huge campaign. We need every penny we can get. We see this as a way forward. There’s more to sell.”

Mr Larson said that France, Italy and Germany would never allow their cathedrals to sell anything: “They don’t let things like this happen. Everything is properly logged and looked after. This is just scandalous.”

The Council for the Care of Churches has detailed guidelines on how to look after such fragments, but its remit does not extend to cathedrals, and other advisory bodies are proving to be “toothless”, according to Mr Larson.

“The cathedrals are more or less a law unto themselves,” he added. “If York Minster wanted to paint the outside pink, they probably could. English Heritage must know it’s happening. If someone with a Grade II listed house wants to change a window, it’s ‘terrible’. But a cathedral can throw away bits of medieval carving.”

A spokeswoman for the minster said that money was needed for a ten-year restoration project of the East Front, which dates back to the 1420s. She said that masonry has become unsafe and that there was widespread erosion of the stonework, including the delicate tracery of the Great East Window, which, being roughly the size of a tennis court, is the biggest single expanse of medieval stained glass in the world.

An English Heritage spokesman said: “The minster have retained and stored the best architectural examples of the damaged masonry and timbers, and the sections that have been auctioned have been carefully recorded and catalogued.”

A piece of minster stone removed during an earlier restoration had attracted a bid of £10.50 last night on eBay.

PRICE OF PRAYER

The minster makes money from properties in the city

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