A NORTH Yorkshire furniture designer and manufacturer has been commissioned to supply an altar and lectern to the Dallas hospital where American president John F Kennedy died.

The bespoke church furniture is being air-freighted in individual crates to the New Parkland Memorial Hospital this week, from Treske's factory and headquarters in Thirsk.

It will be installed in the hospital chapel, part of the new Dallas facility, built opposite the historic site of Parkland Memorial Hospital where Kennedy was treated in vain after being shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in November 1963.

Justin Bartlett, the owner and managing director of Thirsk-based Treske, said: "It is a great honour to be designing, making and supplying church furniture to such an historic hospital in the United States.

"The new chapel is ready and waiting for our furniture to be installed and I believe the whole facility will be fully commissioned and up and running by August of this year.

"We are proud of being associated with such a pivotal moment in history – and we are also proud that furniture designed and made in North Yorkshire is now being exported across the world.

"Apart from this five-figure Dallas contract, we have exported to Geneva and Abu Dhabi, where our furniture is an integral part of a Christian church in the middle of the desert."

Mr Bartlett said they received the initial enquiry from the architect of the New Parkland Memorial Hospital, who saw a design she liked on Treske's website. After some further discussions and emails, the contract was agreed, confirming all details including sizes, materials and finishes with the client and the architect.

Mr Bartlett added: "The altar and lectern have been constructed from cherry wood, with solid cherry veneers required for the base. They look very special and we can’t wait to see them in situ.

"The structure of the chapel is completed and I gather that the altar and lectern can be moved to suit the needs of individual services and worship."

Treske has become a leading manufacturer and supplier of church furniture in the UK, having undertaken ecclesiastical projects for high-profile churches across the UK, including Ripon Cathedral; St George’s Chapel, Windsor; and St Martin-in-the-Fields in central London.