TWO LEAD TRADESMAN PLAQUES FROM YORK MINISTER
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Scottish Works of Art & Whisky
Auction: 16 August 2023 at 11:00 BST
Description
each a sand-cast lead sheet with relief inscription 'Jn. Gibson, Plumber, Leith, 1831'; one cropped to the edges, the other with borders of rough lead
Dimensions
the larger 50cm wide, 40cm high
Provenance
Provenance: These plaques were recently sold by York Minster in a clearance when acquired by the present vendor.
Footnote
Note: On February 1st, 1829 Jonathan Martin hid behind a monument in the Minster, only emerging into the empty cathedral at night. He piled cushions and prayer books together in the Choir, set fire to them, and left. The blaze was spotted in the early hours and the fire engines were summoned. They had a limited effect against an inferno which melted the lead from the roof and cracked the limestone pillars. Only late that afternoon did the fire begin to die out. By then about 230 feet of the choir roof had come crashing down, and the medieval choir stalls, the organ and the pulpit were destroyed. Martin, a former sailor from Northumberland, was a non-conformist who believed all prayer should come from the heart rather than recited from the formal liturgy. He published pamphlets condemning the clergy as ‘vipers of Hell’. The restoration work was carried out by Sir Robert Smirke and paid for by public subscription. John Gibson of Leith was employed as one of the many tradespeople to restore York Minster following the fire, replacing the necessary lead panels in the restored roof.