Major £3.5m renovation planned for one of York’s most historic churches

An ancient York church is set for a major makeover.

Under the £3.5m proposals, St Michael le Belfrey’s roof will be replaced, its bell-tower rebuilt, and the inside reorganised.

A modern stained glass window could also be fitted at the High Petergate church – which was where Guy Fawkes was baptised.

The vision is for the building, next to York Minster, to be made fit for the modern world. St Michael’s leaders say

• changes in the numbers and profile of the congregation together with a more modern style of worship and the availability of new technology are providing incentives and opportunities – alongside the pressing need for major building repairs – to make the building more fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Architects are being invited to enter a design competition to reorder the church to meet this brief.

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According to the brief for that competition, essential work includes:

• a new roof
• rebuilding the bell tower
• and external and internal stonework repairs.

Another York parish church has offered to take St Michael le Belfrey’s organ, “thus freeing significant internal space currently occupied by an instrument which has not been used for some 20 years and would be very expensive to repair”.

The document continues:

• The existing organ will be removed freeing up much needed internal space and revealing a stained-glass window which is currently hidden, providing an opportunity for a contemporary stained-glass replacement.

  A more flexible internal arrangement is required to accommodate greater variety of worship with internal redecoration and removal of pews as necessary.
  

The design compeition was launched on Monday (January 7). The winning entry will be announced in June.