Want a genuine piece of early 15th century masonry taken from Canterbury Cathedral, the centre of the Anglican Church founded by St Augustine in the 7th century AD? It can be yours on 24 September when 140 lots are auctioned online and at the cathedral's masonry works in Shalloak Road, Canterbury CT2 0PR, on the outskirts of the city.
The stone comes from the massive Great South Window, which is now being exposed again after being hidden behind scaffolding since 2009 while it was repaired (read an earlier report of the work being carried out). The window is 16m high and 7m wide.
That there was a problem with the window was highlighted by a fall of masonry in 2009. The scaffolding was erected both to protect the window and the public. The cathedral's own masons have worked on the stone, replacing it where necessary with Lavoux à Grain French limestone (because it has the bed heights of more than 1m needed for the mullions).
The window was a 15th century addition to the cathedral. The repaired window will be dedicated on 1 October but before then the old masonry from the window will be sold off at auction.
The auction is being run by Canterbury Auction Galleries. You will be able to bid online or you can attend on the day. There is no parking at the auction site but a bus is being run to it from Kingsmead car park in Canterbury (Kingsmead Road CT1 1BD). If you attend on the day you have to buy a catalogue of the lots as an attendance fee. You can also see the lots online.
Viewing is on Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 September, 2pm-5pm, and on the sale day (Saturday 24 September) 10am-2pm. The auction starts at 2pm (local time) on 24 September and is expected to last until about 4pm.
The lots vary from pieces of masonry that are being sold in pairs (for possible use as book ends) or groups, up to larger individual masonry pieces that are being sold as ornaments that could be displayed in the garden.