The Rigg Monument Conservation and Restoration
Client: The Parochial Church Council of the Church of St Lawrence
Promoted & managed by: York Civic Trust
Architect: PPIY
Builder: I M Thornton, York
The Rigg Monument is a very handsome tomb erected by public subscription to commemorate a tragic boating accident in 1830 in which 6 Rigg children lost their lives. Both the ironwork and the stonework had deteriorated over almost 2 centuries. The Church Wardens with the help of the Civic Trust undertook a wholesale restoration including the rebuilding and repointing of the brickwork, the cleaning and resetting of stonework, the re-cutting of the charming elegiac inscription on a new piece of marble – and the restoration of the missing ironwork.
Gates formerly to Archbishop Holgate’s School playing fields
Owner: York Teaching Hospital, National Health Service
Promoted & managed by: York Civic Trust
Builder: I M Thornton, York
This handsome pair of gates is another example of fine Victorian craftsmanship, that without the efforts of the York Teaching Hospital on whose land they stand and the York Civic Trust, might by now have completely disappeared. In fact they have been completely restored – which has involved not only the cleaning and restoration of the ironwork, but also the complete renewal of the foundations. There remains an unsolved mystery – why do the stanchions on either side differ in detail, the left hand with scrolls that match the gates, the right with square Greek pattern decoration.
All Saints Pavement – Churchyard restoration
Client:/Designer All Saints Pavement Parochial Church Council
Promoted & managed by York Civic Trust
Builder: Stoneplan Landscape Construction Ltd
This corner of the Churchyard of All Saints Pavement was walled off from the footway and had been sadly neglected. The Parochial Church Council, the City of York Council and the York Civic Trust worked together to open the area to public access with benches, paving and planting. It is a simple but effective scheme that now provides an attractive pocket-park in the heart of the City.
The John Snow Memorial
Client: York Medical Society and University of York,
Promoted & managed by York Civic Trust
Designer: John Ives, PPIY Architects
Builder: Ian M Thornton, York
The John Snow Memorial is another extraordinary story. It was John Snow originally from York who demonstrated that cholera is caused by contaminated drinking water – by removing the handle from a pump in Broad St, Soho in 1854 – and ending an epidemic. He was also an important pioneer anaesthetist. The memorial in North St Garden celebrates his life with this witty reminder of his work. It is yet another modest but delightful civic project promoted and managed by the York Civic Trust.
