Anniversary of York Minster blaze

The restoration of York Minster took four years. Picture courtesy of AP

People in York have been remembering the news 20 years ago that a blaze had devastated part of their historic minster.

On 9 July, 1984, the south transept was gutted by fire and the famous sixteenth century Rose Window cracked into 40,000 pieces.

More than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze which started in the early hours after a probable lightning strike.

Restoration work took a total of four years and cost around £2.25m

The Minster has marked the anniversary with a lecture from international stained glass expert Peter Gibson.

The probable cause of the fire was a lightning strike.

The restoration of the Rose Window was carried out by the York Glaziers' Trust under his direction and became one of the most challenging tasks in stained glass ever undertaken.

The window had cracked in the intense heat but thanks to lead work 12 years before the fire, the glass stayed in its frame.

The roof was repaired using the traditional structure and materials of medieval buildings.

And on top of the repair costs, minster officials had to find £350,000 to install modern fire protection systems.