Chance to see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel masterpiece for free at Yorkshire church

Hull Minster is expecting the reproductions of the Florentine master to attract as many as 50,000 visitors from far and wide, as the only one of two venues in the UK, and the only one in the North, to host the work.

It will also be the first time that the work is being shown in a church for the first time outside the Sistine Chapel itself, which is has four million visitors a year.

In real life the frescoes on the chapel’s ceiling are 22 metres above visitors’ heads, making it impossible to admire the work, which was completed in 1512, in all its lavish detail.

But the officially licensed Vatican Museums exhibition will allow people to see the artworks from just 6ft (2m) away, with no time constraints, and for free – although the Minster will encourage people to make donations to support the church's wider work.

Interim Minister Bishop Frank White said: "It's a great opportunity for us to exhibit something that people can normally only see in a very crowded environment with the pictures far distant from where they are standing and not be able to have the time and leisure to appreciate the work of Michelangelo as a genius and as an artist."

Michelangelo – A Different View is currently on display in Winchester - where adult tickets cost £6 on the door.

The exhibition opens at Hull Minster on October 8.