Missed opportunity (From Gazette & Herald)

Missed opportunity

WILLIAM Ward claims York Minster "was built and paid for by generations of willing Christians" (Letters, January 26).

Speaking as a descendant of one of the families who contributed to the original building - as witnessed by their heraldic "corporate logo" which still adorns the walls - I have to say that the funding was largely from the profits of land and farms owned by the church and from donations from feudal barons with guilty consciences, frightened by the prospect of eternal torment.

Little cash will have come from donations from ordinary Christians, willing or otherwise.

Of course the real credit must go to the generations of local craftsmen who carried out the actual work.

If Mr Ward came all the way from Torquay then missed out on one of England's finest buildings for the sake of a few quid, I am sorry he has forgone such a moving and very special experience.

Roger Mowbray,

Bootham Terrace, York.

Updated: 10:46 Wednesday, January 28, 2004