York Minster's new architect calls for people to use heritage settings to preserve their future
Oliver Caroe, newly appointed architect of York’s world-famous Minster, has spoken of the “grace and calm” he finds in the cathedral’s “magnificent” space.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAs he readies for the responsibility within one of the church’s most critical conservation roles, he has shared his hopes for a future where such settings can unite communities.
“Right now, everybody needs to recover a sense of equilibrium and hope,” he said. “Heritage anchors us, and gives us a sense of meaning and place.
“These buildings do have a way of grounding us,” he added. “More than at any other time, that matters right now. The Cathedral relies on fundraising to repair itself.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“It would be a tragedy if the constant work to conserve great buildings like this stops. We would just be passing the problem on to the next generation.”
His official title is ‘surveyor of the fabric’, charging him with no small measure of history in a setting at the centre of Christianity in the north of England since the 7th century.
It’s a world he was “born into”, he said, honouring his grandfather and architect great-father, as he recalled his teenage years under his father’s tutelage at Wells Cathedral.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“My sister used to tease me that I didn’t have the imagination to do anything different,” he added. “It’s a vocation. My real privilege is to work with incredibly magnificent buildings.
"To do that is one of the most validating, worthwhile things I could ever imagine, with the Minster being the most thrilling of all.”
Mr Caroe is incumbent as surveyor of the fabric at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, and architect at Ripon Cathedral, overseeing its masterplan. He does “speak a bit of Yorkshire”, he said, and his enthusiasm is palpable when it comes to the Minster.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“You can’t imagine a more rich and complex history,” he added. “It’s a place of stories, you feel that the world is in there.”
Ambitions
Despite the firm grounding of history and community within settings such as York Minster, he said, many of the nation’s cathedrals are still quiet as people cautiously return to normal routines.
“If we can find hope anywhere, we can at York Minster,” he added. “That’s why we need to get back in these buildings. It will help the wider economy.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Get into the Minster now. It’s a rare treat, and of course the Cathedral needs all the help it can from its friends.”
Setting out ambitions for his time as architect at York Minster, Mr Caroe said his primary focus is on the Minster’s Neighbourhood Plan, and the use of its precincts to make the most of its space.
At present, he added, the Minster is in ‘recovery’ mode, like so many businesses nationwide, as it looks to welcome visitors for prayers, reflection, or for the enjoyment of its setting. His hope is for the Minster to serve as a centre for unity.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“You can find grace and calm in the space,” he said. “Particularly in the world that we are in, these are the things we need.”
______________________________________________________________________
Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAlmost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.
And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.
Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIf you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.
Sincerely. Thank you.
James Mitchinson
Editor