The Centre of Excellence – York Minster – Heritage and Traditional Building

York-based contractor Simpson has built a strong reputation for heritage restoration, championing traditional craftsmanship through their dedicated apprenticeship programmes.

In 2024, Simpson successfully delivered York Minster’s Centre of Excellence – two landmark buildings designed to safeguard the future of the Minster’s historic precinct.

Overview

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The Centre of Excellence is a first-of-its-kind initiative, establishing York Minster Precinct as a world-class facility for education, research and training in heritage stonemasonry. This landmark project blends traditional skills with cutting-edge digital technology, ensuring the preservation of this declining skill for future generations. Through global learning and exchange programmes, this knowledge will be shared with cathedrals worldwide.

With only 13 workshops remaining across the 42 English cathedrals, the need to sustain these facilities has become critical. By integrating digital fabrication technology with a strong commitment to training and craftsmanship, the Centre is set to accelerate the restoration of York Minster’s historic buildings by decades.

The Centre has two key elements, the Heritage Quad and the Technology Hub, which together combine the latest stone-cutting technology with traditional stonemasonry techniques.

The Heritage Quad has dedicated residential accommodation for six apprentices and a workshop visible from the Bar Walls, enabling public engagement with the trade activity. The students include York Minster’s own 1st and 2nd year apprentices, international exchange visitors and trainees, upskilling stone masons globally.

The Technology Hub has reconfigured the existing Stoneyard and masons’ workshop to house a state-of-the-art, 5-axis CNC saw and band saw, alongside space for York Glaziers Trust and a CAD office equipped with modern digital technology. The new workshop entrance includes a viewing gallery, allowing visitors to watch operations.

Low carbon and renewable technologies are integral, with 80% of the power for the development generated from photovoltaic panels on the feature curved standing seam roof. Rainwater harvesting supports the production processes, with water filtered and recycled.

Safeguarding Heritage

Archaeology: The Centre of Excellence is the first significant new building in the Minster’s precinct within the last century. Both sites were archaeologically sensitive, requiring the construction works to be carried out under strict watching briefs. All finds were recorded and preserved, including a medieval hearth, 12th-century arch stones, and a Roman cess pit. In addition, an existing gas light was protected – one of only four remaining in the UK. Drainage works were hand-dug to protect historical features, and foundation designs were adapted to avoid deeper archaeological layers.

Bar Walls: The Heritage Quad is opposite a section of the historic York bar walls. Vibration monitoring was installed, that would immediately notify the site manager to prevent damage. Similarly, the boundary walls to the historic shopping street at the Technology Hub were monitored.

Design: Both buildings were designed to harmonise with the surrounding architecture and landscape. The Heritage Quad roof maintains uninterrupted views of York Minster from the bar walls. York Minster is an iconic building within the city and the bar walls attract one million visitors a year, so this was of fundamental importance to all stakeholders. The roof arches at the Technology Hub were inspired by York Station, providing a key link to another important building within York. In addition, all materials were carefully selected to complement the historic environment, with mock samples approved by the Fabric Committee before construction.

Performance improvement through Innovation

The Centre enhances York Minster’s ability to maintain its Grade I and II listed buildings, while creating a global platform for heritage skills training. Key improvements include:

A new, state-of-the-art workshop for masons, incorporating underfloor heating and an overhead crane. Each workstation has an adjustable bench, bench lighting and dust extractor.

Installation of one of the UK’s first 5-axis CNC machines – reducing carving time while enhancing precision, embedding a programme of proactive rather than reactive maintenance. Trials showed a time saving of up to 36% for varying stone elements.

Sustainability was central to the design, incorporating low-carbon and renewable technologies alongside water-saving installations. Key measures include photovoltaics, solar panels, feature rainwater harvesting systems, ASHPs and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

HB Wood Concrete Absorbers were used to minimise noise impact. These are fully recyclable, extremely durable and CE certified.

Members of the public can view the works being undertaken at both sites – York Minster Precinct is pivotal to the City of York and visited by thousands every year. Creating the opportunity for visitors and educators to engage with the heritage skills enhances community cohesion and hopefully inspires future career choices.

Project delivery

Delivering the Heritage Quad and Technology Hub required meticulous planning to overcome the challenges of working in two historic, high-traffic locations. Both sites were constrained by their proximity to numerous businesses, residential properties and areas of significant pedestrian activity.

To ensure public safety and minimise disruption, Simpson implemented a carefully coordinated delivery strategy, selecting plant and cranage suited to the sensitive environment. At the Heritage Quad, a boundary wall was dismantled and palletised – later rebuilt exactly as before, guided by detailed archaeological records of its original coursing and bedding.

This complex project was completed through close collaboration with York Minster, City of York Council, our subcontractors, residents and other stakeholders, ensuring the works were delivered successfully while protecting the surrounding community and heritage assets.

Delivering social value

Recognising the local and global educational significance of the project, Simpson embedded social value as a core principle of the works. They engaged local subcontractors, sourced materials through regional supply chain partners wherever possible, welcomed students for work placements, hosted site visits for York College and worked with a careers advisor from a York school to showcase the diverse opportunities within the construction industry. A highlight was providing York Minster’s joinery department with a guided tour of our Joinery Workshop, situated adjacent to their Head Office in Dunnington.

Simpson’s active apprenticeship programme aligned perfectly with the Centre of Excellence’s mission to train future craftspeople. The project gave their apprentices invaluable experience to enhance their portfolios. Site joinery apprentices contributed to works at both the Heritage Quad and Technology Centre, while our bench joinery apprentices supported operations from their in-house joinery workshop – demonstrating the strength of hands-on learning and traditional skills in a modern context.

Recognition

This exceptional project was recognised at the NFB Construction Awards in November, winning the Excellence in Educational Building category – a testament to its quality, innovation, and long-term impact.

“It was a privilege to be selected as the Main Contractor for this prestigious project, delivering a world-class facility across two sites that will not only play a significant role in the ongoing maintenance of York Minster but also provide a global hub for training stonemasons in heritage skills for years to come.” Simpson (York) Ltd

“Simpson have built us two multi award-winning structures of outstanding quality and craftsmanship, reflecting our own in-house approach to construction. Not only that, Simpson were a fantastic company to work with during a stressful construction project, always approaching unforeseen challenges with a robust plan, good humour and superb camaraderie – essential characteristics, in my view, for any major construction project when client and contractor need to work so closely. I will always recommend Simpson to any heritage partner looking for the right skills in a construction company working within a complex heritage estate.” Alex McCallion FRICS FRGS, Director of Works & Precinct at York Minster.