An auction on Saturday (24 September) of masonry, some of it medieval, taken from Canterbury Cathedral's Great South Window during its rebuilding raised £210,000.

The masonry was sold off as 144 lots, some of more than one piece of stone. The best was saved to last, when two principal Caen stone springers dating from 1428 went for £7,400 each, which was the highest sum paid for any lot. But even the smaller stones attracted wide interest with lots suggested as ideal book ends consistently reaching more than £500.

The money raised will go towards the conservation of the fabric of the Cathedral.

More than 200 people crowded into Saturday’s auction, held at the Cathedral's masonry yard, eager to take home a historic piece of masonry. They were joined online by bidders from the USA, India and the rest of the UK. All the lots were sold.

The sale was organised by the Canterbury Cathedral Trust. Chief Executive Andrew Edwards said afterwards: "This was a truly unique event, attracting interest from around the world and providing that special opportunity to take home a piece of Canterbury. A big thank you to all our bidders, our auctioneers, The Canterbury Auction Galleries, and all the local businesses who made the day one to remember."

The Great South Window the stone came from has just been uncovered again after being shrouded in scaffolding since falling masonry exposed structural problems in 2009. The window was taken down and rebuilt using existing stone where possible, although much of it was replaced.

The window dates from 1428, although it has undergone repairs from time to time since then, so not all the masonry that went under the hammer on Saturday was from the original build.

The new masonry was cut in Lavoux à Grain French limestone (because it has the bed heights of more than 1m needed for the mullions) by the Cathedral’s stonemasons to match exactly the original stones. It can now be seen with the cleaned and repaired stained glass, including the internationally-renowned medieval Ancestors of Christ.

The cost of repairing the window has been met by generous benefactors who have contributed £2.5million.

The Cathedral Trust, which was established in 1974 as an independent charity raising funds for the Cathedral from individuals, trusts and foundations, statutory bodies and corporate partners, thanks the following for supporting the auction: The Canterbury Auction Galleries, The Tyler’s Kiln, MB Farms, Poynters of Wye, Motorline, Young Brothers Transport, Pardy & Son, Premier Flush, Viridor, Omicron, architects Purcell and Antiques Trade Gazette.