Commemorative, Historical and Art Medals

York Minster, Nave Destroyed by Fire, 1829, a white metal medal by Hardy, view of Minster, rev. interior of the Cathedral, 45mm (BHM 1360; Taylor –); York Minster, Bell Tower destroyed by Fire, 1840, a copper medal by Hardy, 45mm (BHM 1990; Taylor –) [2]. Extremely fine £60-80

In little over a decade the Minster suffered two devastating fires. The first was set deliberately on the evening of 1 February 1829 by Jonathan Martin, a local madman who believed that he was carrying out God’s will. By the time the fire was discovered early the following morning, much of the Choir and its medieval hammerbeam roof had been destroyed. In May 1840 a second blaze began accidentally when a careless workman left a candle burning in the south-west tower. Restoration after the first fire was undertaken by Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the Tower Hill Mint building. His brother Sydney, perhaps best known for the British Museum’s circular Reading Room, oversaw the repairs in the 1840s