“The history of England was written in the streets of York”, King George VI, who was once Duke of York. The foundations of the history of England seem to have been laid in Roman Eboracum, Saxon Eorfowic, Viking Jorvik and finally Norman York.
Walled City
Almost 3 miles of beautifully preserved wall surround the city of York. Patches reflect different time periods. But it is the Norman incarnation of the walls that now mostly circle York. There are four gates (or bars) in the walls that protect the city. And of course the York Minster majestically dominates the town centre. Thousands of visitors come to enjoy the city, admire and worship in the gothic cathedral. It is the largest north of the Alps and one of Britain’s most respected and admired places of worship.
But sadly, the Minster suffered from one of the wettest summers on record in the UK in 2012. The damp caused the stone structure to deteriorate rapidly, and acid rain sped up this process at an alarming rate. Modern restoration techniques may also have contributed to the building’s decay.
The stone masons who built the Minster between 1220 and 1470 used an ancient technique to preserve the magnesian limestone. They rubbed linseed oil into the blocks to help bind the calcium.
Modern Methods
Now, a research team from Cardiff University have developed a fatty, hydrophobic, protective layer for the Minster using this ancient idea, but with a modern twist of using olive oil instead. They coated the Minster with a layer of only one molecule, to keep the rain out as well as allow the building to ‘breathe out’ the moisture and the salts that are trapped in the walls.
Preservation projects around the world now consider and even use this very clever technique. It will hopefully give the national treasure of the York Minster many more years as the heart of the city of York.
