ONE of the church's most prized possessions will not be scrapped.
Leading clergymen have voted to keep Bishopthorpe Palace, home of the Archbishop of York.
The decision was taken despite church reformers calling for buildings to be sold to cut costs.
Governors of the Church Commissioners proposed the sale after it was announced that the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, would retire in January next year.
But a spokesman for the governors said yesterday: "There are no plans to sell Bishopthorpe Palace.
"The Church of England carries out a review of all bishops' homes when they become vacant, and the Bishopthorpe Palace will continue to be the home of the Archbishop of York."
Experts said the palace cost about £100,000 a year to maintain and could have raised between £5m and £6m had it been sold.
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