A NEW exhibition about a stained glass window dating back to 1440 opens today at York Minster as it embarks on a £5 million project to conserve the glass and tracery stonework.

St Cuthbert Window, one of the largest surviving narrative windows in the world, tells the story of St Cuthbert, an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop of Lindisfarne, who was for many centuries the most important saint in the north.

Light, Glass & Stone: Conserving the St Cuthbert Window explores the window’s history, its representation of the life of St Cuthbert and the conservation project.

York Press: Head of Heritage, Helen Rawson, surveys the St Cuthbert Window at York Minster Picture: PA

Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see at close range a selection of stained glass panels removed from the window, alongside an animated projection and soundscape of one of St Cuthbert’s miracles.

Initially the exhibition will display three stained glass panels which have already been conserved and cleaned, with additional panels added as the work progresses.

Other highlights include images from a 12th century manuscript about St Cuthbert’s life, which was consulted when the window was designed, and details of how his remains were eventually placed in a shrine at Durham Cathedral following Viking raids on Lindisfarne, his original burial place.

York Press: Head of Heritage Helen Rawson during a photocall for Light, Glass & Stone: Conserving the St Cuthbert Window, at York Minster, ahead of its opening to the public. The exhibition explores the window's history and stories, and the new £5m,

There is also an animated projection and soundscape of his prediction of the end of a storm, while journeying by boat to Scotland.

The exhibition, housed in a specially created gallery at the foot of the scaffolding which is currently surrounding the window, will run until 2024 and is free with general admission. All tickets must be booked in advance; visit www.yorkminster.org for further details.

The project started in spring, when York Glaziers Trust removed all 152 stained glass panels, allowing stonemasons to start carrying out urgent work to replace and repair eroded and decaying masonry.