A PROJECT to create a national stained glass centre at a disused church in York has received an £8,600 boost.

The team behind plans for the Stained Glass Centre in the historic but long-redundant church of St Martin-cum-Gregory on Micklegate has won backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It will be used for a project called Mobilising Our Supporters, Empowering Our Friends.

A part-time development officer will be brought in to work with volunteers and others and develop a programme of events, lectures, classes and tours based around the discovery and interpretation of stained glass.

The Stained Glass Trust was established as a charity in 2009, based at the church, and is also a member of the Micklegate Action Group which is looking to revitalise the area, with the centre playing a part in this.

York has 60 per cent of the surviving in-situ medieval glass in the country and the trust believes the centre will attract residents, visitors and students.

It will allow them to explore, learn more about and take part in the craft of stained glass, which it says “continues to be central to the heritage, culture and economy of York."