A Story Set In Stone

Opens 9th January 2010
Holy Trinity Church on Goodramgate, York
A photographic exhibition showcasing beautiful artefacts in a beautiful setting.

Photographs of some of the Yorkshire Museum’s star objects will go on show in a new exhibition this week – so people can still see them while the museum is closed for refurbishment.

The talented members of York Camera Club have captured the highlights of the museum’s stonework collection for the new show, entitled Beliefs in Reliefs: a story set in stone, which opens on Thursday January 9.

It will take place in the fascinating surroundings of Holy Trinity Church on Goodramgate, run by the Churches Conservation Trust which also looks after some spectacular monumental and sculptural artefacts.

This exhibition has been supported by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. It is part of the adult learning scheme Learning Revolution. It is free.

Martin Watts, director of learning at the museum, said: “This is an incredible selection of photographs that show off our stonework collection brilliantly. Their use of angles and light present these ancient engravings and sculptures to us in a new way and you can see things that maybe before you had missed. The exhibition is the perfect opportunity for visitors to the city to enjoy these artefacts while the museum is being refurbished and to discover one of York’s hidden gems, the beautiful Holy Trinity Church.”

The club members spent an evening at the museum before it closed to take the pictures. Among the items photographed is the Roman statue of Mars and stonework from the Viking and Anglo Saxons. The club went on to produce so many good images that the pictures on show will be changed through the duration of the exhibition.

The venue was chosen with the aim of inspiring visitors to explore the monumental and sculptural heritage in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, for example at All Saints, Harewood Park, Leeds, West Yorkshire, where a spectacular and fascinating collection of alabaster tombs, dating from 1419 to 1510, commemorating the owners of Harewood and of a nearby estate, Gawthorpe can be found.

Six pairs of effigies, intricately carved, and virtually without rival in England, provide a unique history of mediaeval armour and costume, and of the development of the art of alabaster carving for which England was famed throughout Europe.
Or Christ the Consoler in the grounds of her home at Newby Hall, the design is based on medieval French church architecture, but with Burges’ unique interpretation. Every detail here repays attention: the carvings on the corbels, the coloured sculptures over the chancel arch depicting the Ascension and the fine pavement. Colours and details become progressively more opulent as you approach the east end.

The Yorkshire Museums closed on November 1st 2009 for a £2 million refurbishment. The inside of the museum will be completely changed with brand new exhibitions on Roman York, Medieval York and the history of Extinctions, including dinosaurs. There will also be a learning level and an audio visual introduction to the History of York. It will reopen on Yorkshire Day (August 1st) 2010. For more information go to www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk