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Largest alteration to York Minster in 200 years

Jack Hadaway-WellerYork Minster
News imageBBC A long, carved stone ramp runs alongside an ornate wall with detailed vertical columns and decorative patterns. Several workers are installing or repairing the flooring, using buckets, tools, and equipment spread across the area. The setting appears to be a historic or grand indoor space, possibly undergoing restoration or maintenance.BBC
The disability access ramp has been designed to blend in with York Minster's architecture

A permanent accessible ramp has been installed inside York Minster, marking the largest architectural addition to the building in the last 200 years.

The ramp, positioned in the Grade I-building's central crossing, means that visitors and worshippers can access the quire without needing to use steps.

It was designed by the York Minster's surveyor of the fabric and Caroe Architecture Ltd to blend in with the centuries-old stonework.

The Rev Canon Timothy Goode said: "The quire in the medieval times was a very exclusive place, only for priests and for the singers, whereas we want to welcome everybody and this ramp states that loud and clear."

News imageWorkers are installing or repairing flooring inside a grand, ornate Gothic interior with detailed stone carvings and statues. Tools, buckets, and equipment are scattered across the floor around a raised platform and steps. The intricate backdrop features arched architecture and a stained-glass window, suggesting restoration within a historic building.
The ramp follows the line of the Kings' Screen

The Minster's head of works, Paul Peirson, said: "Some of the design of the stone replicates the profiles of stone within the rest of the cathedral.

"The significance of this ramp in itself will benefit so many people that work at the cathedral but also visit the cathedral," he added.

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