York
·
2019
Chancel Studio
Built
c. 1420
Listing
Grade II*
Scope
Repair, interiors
Duration
9 months
Area
120 m²
The chancel of a ruined church, roofed again and fitted out as a painter's studio.
All that stood of this church was the chancel, open to the sky since a fire in 1898. A painter wanted a studio with north light and no straight lines.
What we did
We roofed the chancel in oak and lead, glazed the east window in clear glass and left the burnt stone as it was. The floor is lime-ash, laid over three weeks. There is a stove, a sink and a long bench, and nothing else.
Then and now
Drag across the picture to see the building as we found it and as it is today.
In the rooms
“I paint better in here than anywhere I have worked.”
Isobel Crane, painter