IT is 35 years ago today since a devastating blaze severely damaged York Minster.
On July 9, 1984, huge flames engulfed the roof of the cathedral.
Firefighters rushed to the city centre and battled through the night to save the building.
Twelve of North Yorkshire’s 21 fire stations had been mobilised, and 114 firefighters and ten officers were directly involved in fighting the fire.
The blaze destroyed the roof of the Minster’s South Transept, which was rebuilt using the traditional materials of medieval builders as part of a £2.25million restoration project. It took four years to repair the damage.
Tests concluded the fire was “almost certainly” caused by lightning striking a metal electrical box inside the roof.
Today, 35 years on, the Minster are sharing images of the fire on their Twitter account, with the hashtag #35YearsAfterTheFire
And here’s some dramatic footage of the South Transept roof coming down whilst still ablaze… #35YearsAfterTheFire pic.twitter.com/1nJfQj7XWw
— York Minster (@York_Minster) 9 July 2019
At around 2.30am on 9th July 1984 the fire alarms of the Minster began to sound.
— York Minster (@York_Minster) 9 July 2019
York Minster was struck by lightning leading to a one of the worst cathedral fires of modern times.
Today we'll look back on images from that day #35YearsAfterTheFire pic.twitter.com/YXn1AEGWlW
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