CHANCE TO BUY A SLICE OF HISTORY WITH RECLAIMED WOODEN FURNITURE

We’re now offering the public the chance to purchase a piece of Belfrey history with the reuse of the wood that’s been reclaimed from St Michael le Belfrey and made into quality furniture. 

As part of the pre-construction phase of our major £11m Impact building project, we employed specialist York contractor Pinnacle Conservation to carefully and sensitively take down all the wooden pews, Narthex screen and gallery. It has then been repurposed into furniture by Stewart Long, an expert furniture maker, based in Lincoln.

Currently being inflexible with a narrow dark entrance, we are seeking to repair and renovate our medieval church building to create a welcoming, accessible and beautiful space for the next 100+ years. As part of our sustainability strategy we have sought to meticulously reclaim the wood for it to be made into traditional furniture that can be purchased and enjoyed by hundreds of people for generations to come.

In addition to the above, a York Social Enterprise has been given some of the wood to use in their workshop and create some specific items for The Belfrey, including a communion table and holding crosses.

Andy Baker, Interim Priest in Charge at The Belfrey explained “We wanted to remove and treat the wood with great care so that anyone with an attachment to the church could purchase a piece of it to keep. Pinnacle and all the contractors have done a terrific job during this process, which forms the starting point to creating a flexible and accessible open space in the church that will ultimately welcome many more people into the building”

Adam Hickey, Managing Director of Pinnacle Conservation commented: “It was an honour as a local main contractor, to be involved in the timber and tiling reclamation works at the stunning St Michael le Belfrey Church. At Pinnacle we are driven by a passion to help protect and preserve architectural heritage.”

For details of the wooden furniture for sale please see belfrey.org/furniture. 50% of the proceeds of the wooden items will be going towards the Impact building project, with the remainder going to the furniture maker for their time and labour.