Minster stories make cash for charity

PICTURE: From left,  Roy Pawsey, John Key and Richard Bunday

A book that captures life within the walls of York Minster has raised hundreds of pounds for charity.

The memoir, Not Just A Job, was the work of a former head verger, Richard Bunday, and two ex-Minster Policemen, John Key and Roy Pawsey, all friends who decided to pool their recollections of their working lives.

Their efforts raised £1,650 for York Against Cancer, the charity they decided should benefit from the book.

John Key had been a special constable before taking up a job as a Minster policeman.

He stayed with the Minster force for 25 years, making friends with many including Richard and Roy. “I absolutely loved the organisation,” he said.

During his career John had to manage 400 keys, watch for pickpockets in busy summer crowds, search the Minster roofs for dangerous masonry and undertake night patrols in the atmospheric precincts.

He discovered there was no official history of the Minster police, and began work on a brief account which was put onto the Minster’s website.

He later produced a book, Close Encounters, and his anecdotes were turned into an audiobook narrated by the Yorkshire author Gervase Phinn.

More recently, after all three retired, John, Richard and Roy’s thoughts began to return to their Minster days, and they decided each should write down their memories for another book, Not Just A Job.

The work was snapped up through shops including The Little Apple, High Petergate; Red House Antiques, Duncombe Place; Minster Gate Bookshop, Minster Yard; Dean’s Garden Centre, Stockton Lane as well as through York Against Cancer,

John said he, Richard and Roy had been delighted by the success of the book. The three men were now looking at the idea of producing a calendar using historic images of Minster life.

Julie Russell, general manager of York Against Cancer, said she wanted to thank the authors for supporting the charity through the book.

“It was a fascinating read for people who love York and its historic Cathedral,” she said.