The longstanding historic links between the cities of York and New York have been renewed with a new ledger stone. Currently on its way to New York, the stone was designed by stonemason Richard Bossons, who was responsible for creating York Minster’s statue of Queen Elizabeth II.
It goes without saying that the two cities have an unbreakable bond through the history of their names (New York was named in 1664) and in 1924, New York presented the city of York with a bronze plaque, which is currently housed in York Guildhall. The new ledger stone marks the centenary of this gift.
The stone was unveiled by HRH Duke of Gloucester, Patron of the St George’s Society of New York, on 11 July last year, a date that also signified the formal affiliation of the Company of the Merchant Adventurers of the City of York and the St George’s Society of New York. On arrival in New York, the stone will be formally unveiled during a special evensong and civic reception at the Church of St Thomas in the city on 5 May.
The Very Reverend Dominic Barrington, Dean of York, said: “York and New York have a deeply rooted history, and continue to remain connected in many ways, from education, business, and culture. We’re extremely excited that we’ve reached the next step in the programme of celebration marking the centenary of this historic moment as we look to further develop connections between the two cities.
"It also comes at a time where work on our Centre of Excellence is well underway, a project that will establish the York Minster Precinct as a world class campus facility for heritage craft skills, so we’re delighted to be able to showcase the talent of our stonemasons and the scheme on an international scale through this gift."
Mark Aiston, 2nd Vice President of St. George’s Society of New York and owner of Aiston Fine Art Services, who is sponsoring the shipment of the stone and travelled to York especially to accompany the stone back to New York, added: “I am thrilled to be a part of such an important project for both the City of York and for New York City, particularly as it marks the 100th anniversary of a similar event for which the City of York was then the recipient. I hope many other visitors from York add this to their list of things to see in Manhattan too."
Read an exclusive interview with the team working on the Centre of Excellence project in the Spring issue of Stone Specialist out later this month.