0:00:04 > 0:00:07York Minster is a marvel of the medieval age,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11a testament to human faith and the worship of God.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17But looking after this 800-year-old building is no easy task.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24No stone is left unturned in maintaining its Gothic splendour.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27600, anybody? I'm selling it at 550.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29GAVEL BANGS Thank you very much, indeed.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33This is the story of one year in the life of the Minster.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37And for the people who work here, it's much more than a job,
0:00:37 > 0:00:38it's a calling.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08York Minster dominates the city around it.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10But it's a vulnerable giant
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and its size has offered little protection against the elements.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Rain, wind and pollution have taken their toll,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and the scale of the renovation work is enormous.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26The east end of the Minster is covered by 16 miles of scaffolding.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28The £20 million restoration project
0:01:28 > 0:01:31is the biggest of its kind in Europe.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33And, high above the streets of York,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36a new generation of masons are leaving their mark.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46There was nothing here, there was nothing left,
0:01:46 > 0:01:52so our cathedral architect had to come up with a theme,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and he came up with medieval ailments and illnesses.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57So, that's what they're based on.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09We've got the plague doctor here. You can see his beak and his glasses.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12We've got bubonic plague...
0:02:12 > 0:02:16madness, who's quite funny...
0:02:16 > 0:02:19and blind man...
0:02:19 > 0:02:24we've got broken arm, and then on the corner, we've got the Black Prince,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28who died of dysentery, which is why he's looking a little bit poorly.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Not every statue is in pristine condition.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35This weathered figure is St Peter.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38He has sat above the East Window for hundreds of years.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Now, he's about to be replaced.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44There will be a new statue of the saint
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and, from his office in the stoneyard,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50master mason John David is supervising the plans.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Not only will the carving be seven feet tall,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56it will be 150 feet off the ground.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59If he was done to scale or even, sort of, larger than scale,
0:02:59 > 0:03:04looking up at him, at an angle, he would look...
0:03:04 > 0:03:08his body would be slightly squat, compared to his knees.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12So, this was accommodated in the original design,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16that his knees are actually slightly shorter in proportion to his body,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18because it's viewed from the ground.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28What St Peter should look like has been the topic of much debate.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30A life-sized clay model has been created,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34which will be the template for a later carving in stone.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41This method I'm using now is a traditional method, really.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44The techniques haven't really changed that much
0:03:44 > 0:03:46in a couple of thousand years, to be honest,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and this is very much a traditional method,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and it's the way we like to work here.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56It's Martin's responsibility to bring St Peter to life.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59It's his biggest ever project
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and a chance to leave his own lasting legacy on the building.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It's St Peter, isn't it? And he was a fisherman,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08so, hopefully he's got that, sort of...
0:04:08 > 0:04:10A bit rugged, I suppose...
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Slightly weather-beaten.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17As long as he's got, sort of, a bit of a personality,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21I've achieved something, if it's well liked.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25So, it's that aspect of it, really,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29and, hopefully, sort of, generations down the line,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33there'll be a carver that will come along and think, "Oh, that was OK".
0:04:33 > 0:04:35And that's, like, the tradition
0:04:35 > 0:04:38that's continued for hundreds of years here.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42The carving will take four months to complete,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44but work can only start on the stone
0:04:44 > 0:04:48when the model has been signed off by the church hierarchy.
0:04:48 > 0:04:55He's become a real character that we've grown to know so well
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and would fit beautifully here on the Minster.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02So it's a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, really.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04So, I hope they do say yes.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09The replacement of St Peter isn't the only long-term project
0:05:09 > 0:05:10at the Minster.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11PIANO PLAYS
0:05:12 > 0:05:16CHOIR: # This is a beautiful day today... #
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Try and look a bit more excited about that.
0:05:20 > 0:05:21It's just after 8am,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and while bleary-eyed schoolchildren across the city
0:05:25 > 0:05:27are still munching on toast and cereal,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30the girl choristers are already at work.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Three, four.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35They face a big test.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37In a few days, they'll perform evensong on their own,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40without adult singers to help them.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43The great thing about training children to sing in choirs
0:05:43 > 0:05:48is they don't have any experience of what's difficult and what's easy,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52so when you give a child a difficult piece of music to sing,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55especially when they've been in the choir a while, so are experienced,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59they don't think, "Oh, this is hard," they just start singing it.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06And when you tell them, after they've performed it,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09that actually very few choristers can sing this kind of music
0:06:09 > 0:06:12or very few places do it or whatever,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15then they, kind of, look at you and say, "Well, it was easy".
0:06:18 > 0:06:21The girls are all pupils at the Minster School,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and choir duties come on top of their lessons.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28There are boy choristers at the Minster, too,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31but this is a girls' performance only.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Robert Sharpe has just a few days to make sure they're prepared.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41Good. Can we be careful about Ds in the middle of this long recitation?
0:06:41 > 0:06:46# Let not them that trust in thee, O Lord God of hosts... #
0:06:46 > 0:06:48So we don't lose those in the middle of it.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51'My role is very much a sort of caretaker, really, of tradition.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53'And I obviously have an idea
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'about the kind of sound I'm trying to achieve from the choristers.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59'But quite a lot of what they learn, they learn from each other,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02'and they just need gentle steering.'
0:07:02 > 0:07:04It's a big moment for Robert.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07If the girls can handle evensong on their own, then he'll know
0:07:07 > 0:07:10they'll be ready for even bigger challenges later in the year.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18A few metres below the surface of the Minster,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20a new world is taking shape.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27This is the Undercroft, which was dug out in the late 1960s,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31as part of engineering work to shore up the central tower.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35It's being transformed into a multimillion-pound exhibition space,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38which will house many of the Minster's most precious artefacts.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Some of them once belonged
0:07:44 > 0:07:47to the man who shaped the Minster that exists today.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Walter de Gray was Archbishop of York in the 13th century.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55His grand vision was a minster built in the Gothic style,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57that was all the rage on the Continent.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04His tomb was opened in the 1960s and it revealed a man of means.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07He was pretty special and also enormously wealthy.
0:08:07 > 0:08:14So, his ring is made of sapphire, natural sapphire in the middle,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and it has emeralds and rubies and garnets around the edge.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20When you see some of the other archbishops' rings
0:08:20 > 0:08:22who were just as important,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25they're very plain, they might have one stone across.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Everything about Walter is showy.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Walter de Gray's jewels aren't the only artefacts going on display.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37There are medieval gospels, in all their splendorous detail,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42and an elaborate elephant tusk that dates back to the Vikings.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The Horn of Ulf is important to us
0:08:45 > 0:08:50because it's been in our collection for the last thousand years.
0:08:50 > 0:08:57It was given to the dean and chapter by a Viking nobleman called Ulf.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00He had extensive lands around York and Yorkshire
0:09:00 > 0:09:03and, to stop an inheritance row,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07he decided to gift the lands to the dean and chapter,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and he did this by filling this horn with wine
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and placing it on the high altar, as a symbol.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19The Minster's gone through civil war - it was damaged through that -
0:09:19 > 0:09:21it's survived three fires,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23it's gone through two world wars
0:09:23 > 0:09:27and managed to survive it all.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Yeah, it's a really important piece.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33The work on the Undercroft has meant
0:09:33 > 0:09:36the Minster has revealed more of its secrets.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Archaeologists know that, underneath the building,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41there's evidence of a large Roman fortress
0:09:41 > 0:09:45and that Constantine was proclaimed Emperor in the city
0:09:45 > 0:09:47in the fourth century.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50But in putting in a lift, there'd been new discoveries.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Human remains from ancient burial grounds have been uncovered.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57But what is fascinating the Minster's archaeological team
0:09:57 > 0:10:02is one tiny artefact, which sheds light on York during the Dark Ages.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- There it is.- Oh, yes. - This is very special, actually.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11This is a styca, minted around 800 AD. This is in beautiful condition.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- It's absolutely perfect, isn't it? - Yeah. It's unhandled.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- It's never been in circulation. - No.- That's quite clear.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18There's no wear on it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:19There's the moneyer, which is Edwin.
0:10:19 > 0:10:25- Edwin. Again, it's equally unworn. - Yeah. If I just turn it...
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- There you are.- It is actually in very good condition.- Yeah.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- And you can read the archbishop there. It's Eanbald.- Eanbald.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I'm not quite sure how exactly to say that.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40York in the seventh and eighth and early ninth century is one of the...
0:10:40 > 0:10:45most important intellectual centres in Europe and therefore the world,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and yet the archaeology is very ephemeral and very fragile.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51So, to be able to recover anything from that period
0:10:51 > 0:10:55that, you know, comes from this time of York's pre-eminence, if you like,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57is very, very important.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58- That's a 5p.- Right.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01You can see, the comparison's very clear,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03and it's very, very thin and about two thirds the size.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05- Yeah.- A very delicate object.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14It's a big day for the carvers working on the statue of St Peter.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18A member of the Minster's governing body is on his way to the stoneyard.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22It could be the moment that allows the carving to begin.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- He's had a decent haircut, I think.- Right.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28There had been concern over the length of his hair
0:11:28 > 0:11:30and the height of his mitre.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Well, I must say, the improvements have been for the better,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36because the mitre's more striking, I think,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38when you see it from the distance.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40We've had the clearance now from the Fabric Advisory Committee
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and from the cathedral's Fabric Commission, as well,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and the tweaks have been made,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49and I think, yes, the chapter would be delighted to see it start
0:11:49 > 0:11:51and we look forward to seeing it take shape now.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- So, yes, please, do get on with it. Thank you.- That's great news.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Thanks, Martin.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58This is two years of work.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00We've gone through all sorts
0:12:00 > 0:12:05of processes and procedures and acknowledgements and permissions,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07and we've actually now got the go-ahead.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10So it's very exciting and it's a huge, huge relief.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32From a distance, the Minster looks in marvellous condition.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36But get closer and it's a different story.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Some of the stonework is deteriorating
0:12:38 > 0:12:40and is in a dangerous state.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44It's Richard Shephard's job to raise the cash for the repairs.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49'We're standing on the roof of the Zouche Chapel,
0:12:49 > 0:12:51'which is on the south side of the Minster,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54'and we're looking up at some of these buttresses here.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56'And this is just an example of one.'
0:12:56 > 0:12:58So you can see from the stonework there
0:12:58 > 0:13:01it's the wrong sort of stone, it's different-coloured,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04so that will have been a 19th-century repair put in.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And can you also see there are iron cramps in there?
0:13:07 > 0:13:09And here's one I did earlier!
0:13:09 > 0:13:11This is a piece of stone which has fallen off.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13So this is the sort of thing we don't do nowadays,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16we don't put iron in to hold stone together.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18It works for a bit, but in the long term, it doesn't.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And actually, this bit of stone, I mean, that's come off, another bit...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25I mean, it just is very friable, it sort of disappears,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and you wouldn't want a bit like that falling on your head, would you?
0:13:29 > 0:13:30Well, I wouldn't, anyway.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Because of the wear and tear,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37there's plenty of redundant stone at the Minster.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40With millions of pounds needed for repairs,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42it's not going to go to waste.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48These piles of weathered stones are being auctioned off,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50and master mason John David
0:13:50 > 0:13:53is saying farewell to a few old friends.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55I got to know quite a lot of these stones quite well,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57because I'm involved with all the measuring
0:13:57 > 0:14:00and re-setting out of all the new stonework,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05so a lot of these stones I've had sort of quite close contact with.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08But we have no room to put them anywhere,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11we don't need them for the archaeological record,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13they're surplus to that requirement,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16so they're for other people to enjoy and share.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Amongst the battered pinnacles and weathered gargoyles,
0:14:20 > 0:14:22one piece stands out.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27This collection of masonry was once the base of a huge spire.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29This stone isn't actually medieval.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32It dates probably from the 18th century
0:14:32 > 0:14:34after the spire was struck by lightning.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38It could be a raised flowerbed, it could be a pond
0:14:38 > 0:14:41or, dare I say it, somebody's Jacuzzi.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43It's an unusual auction.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47It's not every day such heavyweight items go under the hammer.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Fantastic. There's so much history goes with this stone it's unreal.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53It's your chance to buy a part of the Minster!
0:14:53 > 0:14:55And it's going to a good cause.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- I just thought they had character. - Yes.- I could see them in the garden.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00But then, that's what everybody wants.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03The plainer pieces without character are not necessarily what people want.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05SHE LAUGHS
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- Are you happy?- Yeah!- Hand your form in over there.- Yeah, I'll do that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- That's super.- And I'll just keep everything from my husband.- Right.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13SHE LAUGHS
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Can anybody please put me in £50? Anybody start me at 50?
0:15:16 > 0:15:18£30 bid. I've £30. 40, anybody?
0:15:18 > 0:15:22As the auction takes off, the stone sells like hot cakes.
0:15:22 > 0:15:2470. 80. Hold on. 90.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27100. Hold on. £110. 10.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30120. At 120. The bid's over here. Are you bidding?
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Why not? It's only money!
0:15:32 > 0:15:34At £140? 130.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36140. 150.
0:15:36 > 0:15:37160. 170.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39170. 80.
0:15:39 > 0:15:4190. 2. 210.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44220. Well, I'll come back to see you at 230.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45All done at 230?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47230. I'm without you at 230. GAVEL BANGS
0:15:47 > 0:15:49I've bought a piece, and it was number one.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53And, fortunately, everybody was a bit cold, and nobody, you know...
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I want it for my garden. Nobody showed any interest in it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00So I got it for £60, that. Can't believe it.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Once people get bidding, it's very difficult not to.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05I've bought a bit, but it's a bit more of a manageable size.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09It's not going to fit in my handbag! So we've got to work this out.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12It costs £10,000 a day to run the Minster,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and yours is only a drop in the ocean, sir, at 1,150.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17£1,150. 1,200?
0:16:17 > 0:16:191,200. Thank you.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23At £1,400. I think he means it this time. At £1,400.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26All done and selling at £1,400.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29APPLAUSE Whoo!
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Some stones will have special significance.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36It's partly in memory of a friend who died...
0:16:36 > 0:16:37in December.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And he left us some money, and we thought,
0:16:40 > 0:16:43"Wouldn't it be nice if we used the money to buy some Minster stone
0:16:43 > 0:16:47"to put in the garden?" So that's what we've actually done.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49You're buying all eight stones in your bid price.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Who's going to put me in this time? Anyone going to start me at 300?
0:16:52 > 0:16:54300. Two for a bid, then.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57150. 200 anywhere? 150 is the bid. 150.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00As the biggest lot comes under the hammer,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02even the Minster's superintendent of works
0:17:02 > 0:17:04gets caught up in a bidding war.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Anybody get 300? 50. Still plenty of value at 350.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08£400 bid. 400.
0:17:08 > 0:17:1150 with you, sir? I've... Never mind her!
0:17:11 > 0:17:15450. £450 bid. £500 I'm bid.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- 550. Man or mouse, sir? - Mouse!- Pass the cheese!
0:17:19 > 0:17:21550 bid. At 550.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25The bid's at 550. 600, anybody? I'm selling it at 550.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28GAVEL BANGS Thank you very much indeed.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29It's going at a bargain!
0:17:29 > 0:17:33But our garden just isn't big enough, so I had to cringe and walk away
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and just say, "Oh, I don't know that we can have it".
0:17:36 > 0:17:38But I think I'd have squeezed it in somewhere
0:17:38 > 0:17:40if we'd have actually managed to get it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43But they've got a really fabulous piece there.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46It's going to make a very nice feature for our garden,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48and we're thinking we can make chairs out of it
0:17:48 > 0:17:50and put a table in the middle
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and it will be very interesting and part of history.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Well, our house is called the Old Vicarage,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58so maybe it needs a bit of York Minster in it!
0:17:58 > 0:18:01How we get it home is just a different question.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04But it's fantastic. I'm really pleased.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07More than £20,000 has been raised.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10But it's just a tiny fraction of what the Minster needs.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Back inside the Minster, head verger Alex Carberry
0:18:17 > 0:18:21is preparing for one of the more sombre events in the calendar.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22Dotted around the Minster
0:18:22 > 0:18:26are memorials to military campaigns in faraway lands.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Some are adventures long forgotten,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32others are much more recent in the memory.
0:18:32 > 0:18:33Today, the Minster is marking
0:18:33 > 0:18:37the return of the 4th Mechanized Brigade from Afghanistan.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The unit is stationed at nearby Catterick garrison.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41And there aren't many churches
0:18:41 > 0:18:44that can accommodate hundreds of Army personnel.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46We've been talking about this.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50We've had it booked in for possibly the best part of a year
0:18:50 > 0:18:55and started to talk and formulate the elements of the service,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57the involvement of various people in the service.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So yeah, Ian'll need to take the Archbishop
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- during He Who Would Valiant Be.- Yeah.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Alex has launched his own small military campaign,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08marshalling his vergers, to make sure every base is covered.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The wives and girlfriends will start.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14They'll move out into position.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It's important the mood is right.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Nine members of the brigade lost their lives during the tour of duty.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24In one sense, it's a day of relief for those who have come back,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26but a day of sadness,
0:19:26 > 0:19:27but very important for the Minster,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30because this is one of the things we're there for.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32We're there to be, if you like,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34a spiritual focus for the whole of the north of England,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and that's what we're being today, as we welcome 4 Mech.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44We give thanks for the work of the 4th Mechanized Brigade,
0:19:44 > 0:19:45for their operations....
0:19:47 > 0:19:50This is far from being the first time that soldiers have returned
0:19:50 > 0:19:54to the Minster to remember those who died in foreign fields.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57BELL TOLLS
0:20:00 > 0:20:05"Last Post" PLAYS
0:20:15 > 0:20:19SOLDIERS GIVE THREE CHEERS
0:20:33 > 0:20:38Over in the stoneyard, St Peter is starting to emerge.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Three carvers are working on the statue,
0:20:40 > 0:20:44each one using a plastercast model, as a template.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46As well as being chief designer,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Martin also has the trickiest section to work on.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54There's a lot of subtleties I want to get within the face and the beard.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57These are easier, the flatter planes,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02where the design's quite easy to apply.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03I just want some...
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Obviously, it's the face, to try and get some subtleties within it.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13So, we're at the process of taking measurements from the plastercast
0:21:13 > 0:21:18actually directly into the stone, and this is what this apparatus is.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22It's just an apparatus for just taking depth, really.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27It's a method that they've used since, really, the 1700s,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29this pointing machine method.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36It's midsummer, and the carvers have three months to complete the work.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The statue has to be in place before the weather turns cold.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42If temperatures fall below five degrees,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45the lime mortar won't set properly.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48But the work can't be rushed.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51St Peter remains a long way from being finished.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53ORGAN PLAYS
0:21:55 > 0:21:57As darkness falls over the Minster,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00a big moment looms for the girls' choir.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02They're about to perform evensong on their own,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05without the adult singers to help them.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08On page two, "In the waves of the sea"...
0:22:08 > 0:22:11This happens just once each term.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12For some of the younger girls,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15it will be the first time they've flown solo.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18When you're singing without the men behind you,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21tell me a few things to think about which we might not necessarily...
0:22:21 > 0:22:25The rehearsal is a last chance to make sure the girls are on track.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28So could we pick it up, please, girls, from page two,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30second line, "In the waves of the sea"?
0:22:30 > 0:22:33So one, two, three.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38# In the waves of the sea
0:22:38 > 0:22:42# And in all of the earth... #
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Training the choristers is a very rewarding thing.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48I think it's very important that children who are doing this work,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50which is very demanding, are having a really great time
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and they're coming out of the choir feeling
0:22:52 > 0:22:56that they want to carry on singing and getting great things out of it.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02# With all these I sought rest
0:23:02 > 0:23:05# And... #
0:23:05 > 0:23:06Roll it.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Some of the children will be up
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- probably well before seven, I suppose, in the morning...- Yeah.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14..and actually work a longer day
0:23:14 > 0:23:17than your nine-to-five adult might do in the insurance office.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19So actually, for seven-, eight-year-olds
0:23:19 > 0:23:22it's a tremendously busy and demanding timetable.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Good. Who's got hiccups?
0:23:24 > 0:23:27OK. How do we get rid of that?
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Hold your breath till you pass out. Yes.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Just try your best to control it.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33# Amen
0:23:33 > 0:23:39# Amen. #
0:23:39 > 0:23:42OK. That's great. Thank you very much, indeed.
0:23:42 > 0:23:43It's very good for them,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46cos singing without the assistance of the other parts behind,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49it means they become much more responsible for what they're doing.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52It's more exposed and more scary, but on the other hand,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56without the men there it brings them on as musicians,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59which is then of benefit when the men return tomorrow.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01For the girls, there's now no turning back.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06- ORGAN PLAYS - The first lesson is written in the book of the prophet Habakkuk,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09the third chapter, beginning at the first verse.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15# Glory be to the Father
0:24:15 > 0:24:17# And to the Son
0:24:17 > 0:24:21# And to the Holy Ghost
0:24:22 > 0:24:27# As it was in the beginning
0:24:27 > 0:24:32# Is now and evermore shall be
0:24:32 > 0:24:36# World without end
0:24:36 > 0:24:40# Amen. #
0:24:41 > 0:24:45They've been a big success. But the work doesn't stop here.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48We go straight in again tomorrow morning and pick up,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and we have evensong again tomorrow, this time with the men,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52so it's a very busy time.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00The girl choristers have had their big moment.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's time for St Peter to step back into the limelight,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and the finished piece is a revelation.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09It's quite hollow-sounding, isn't it? It rings like a bell.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13So, I'm just coming up to the final touches now,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16just on this curved joint.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19There's a little bit of fettling to do
0:25:19 > 0:25:22to get this onto the stone which lies beneath it.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25But we're nearly there.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30Looking at the old one, you could just capture the design
0:25:30 > 0:25:33of what was there before, before it was lost completely.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38So hopefully it's sort of a rendition of the stance of the original figure.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42But obviously, it's a new imagery, as such.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45But a lot more detail on it than what was there before.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58All the carvings are delicate, but the importance of this piece
0:25:58 > 0:26:03means everyone's aware that it's not a time to take any risks.
0:26:03 > 0:26:09Once it goes up onto the scaffolding, it's in these lads' hands, really,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and they'll do their good work and pop it in. So, hopefully it will fit!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17It's just a short journey to the east side of the Minster,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20but it means negotiating the streets of York.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25It can rock, you see, so you've got to just take it carefully.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Lots of cobbles in York, so you've got to negotiate them.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31So, we're going to take it up onto the hoist now,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33and that'll take us to the very sort of top, really,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37about 150 foot up in the air, I think, with this one.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41It's the end of a long and painstaking process
0:26:41 > 0:26:43for Martin and his colleagues.
0:26:43 > 0:26:4972 days after they started carving, St Peter is coming home.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59You can just see the ghostly outline of the old one,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03so it's fitting in nicely to the old image of what was there before.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07'To see it in its final sort of resting place,
0:27:07 > 0:27:08'that's the most rewarding thing,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11'and then they can walk away quite happy, then.'
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Do you fancy just poking that up while we guide it in there,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22just until it gets on the zinc?
0:27:22 > 0:27:25- Yeah.- We're on there. - You're on.- Are you all right?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Er, down a little bit more, Andy.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30That'll do.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33'Well, I'm relieved, actually,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37'so I can sort of, erm, stop thinking about it so much.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42'And there's just these little jobs just to finish it off, clean it up.'
0:27:42 > 0:27:44And it's there hopefully for the next 600 years.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49From ground level, the visitors to the Minster
0:27:49 > 0:27:53won't see the detail of the statue of St Peter.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56But this has been much more than a labour of love.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58It's a work of art.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Martin has created something which was probably there before.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05He's got a very special skill of recreating what...
0:28:05 > 0:28:09investigating the original form of the statue
0:28:09 > 0:28:13and putting the bits back that might be missing.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15It's one of the most important statues on the building.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Next time at the Minster...
0:28:22 > 0:28:25graffiti artists invade the central nave,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28with the full blessing of the clergy,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30and it's the countdown to Christmas,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and head verger Alex gets to dress up.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37I feel I've finally made it now I've been dressing up as Santa Claus.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Ho, ho, ho! Hello, everybody!