Freshly uncovered ancient secrets will be on display at Leeds Minster as part of this year's Church Explorers Festival, which is entitled Lost and Found.
The Minster will be hosting an event exploring techniques for recording and conserving church furniture and monuments, and for creating accessible materials to interpret them.
And in that context, there will be tour of its treasures, including the mysterious stone effigy of a mediaeval knight - found buried face down in the grounds.
There is also the decapitated brass image of Sir John Langton (died 1489) which has just been found behind some choir stalls - far away from his wife who is pinned up on a wall.
"Could these be cases of 'damnatia memoriae' - deliberate acts of condemnation after death?" asks Lisa McIntyre, the Leeds DAC Secretary (pictured), who will be speaking at the event on Wednesday, June 12.
There will be a workshop which will will introduce some of the conservation issues associated with church heritage through a series of case studies, including work completed by York Archaeological Trust’s Conservation department, and Lisa will speak on DAC support and advice for managing some of these issues, including how improved interpretation can attract funding.
To book a free place, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/church-explorers-conservation-and-interpretation-tickets-60196038973
The Church Explorers Network connects people working in churches to help them promote their building through a programme of networking events, training and skill-sharing.
This year’s festival runs between June and September and churches interested in participating by hosting an event are invited to put forward proposals for stories telling of loss and damage, recovery and repair. Yorkshire’s historic churches have experienced Viking raids, the Reformation, and even the bombs of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, as well as the more gradual effects of the passage of time, and the story of this pattern of lost and found will be explored throughout Yorkshire.
For churches interested in getting involved, further information can be found here: https://www.churchexplorers.co.uk/church-explorers-2019-lost-and-found/