York Minster is definitely the jewel in the historical crown of York.
The largest gothic cathedral north of the Alps, the Minster was built on what was the headquarters of a Roman fortress.
This period of the Minster's history is recorded in the Minster's Undercroft Museum which contains a number of Roman relics.
The first York Minster was a small wooden church built under the care of Paulinus, the chaplain of Princess Ethelburga, who came north to marry King Edwin of Northumbria.
It was then transformed into a stone church by Edwin after he was baptised but it fell into disrepair before being rebuilt by the Bishop of York, St. Wilfrid, in 670.
The current building was started in 1220 by Archbishop Walter de Grey, who, with his Dean and Chapter, decided to rebuild the Norman Minster on a scale to rival Canterbury. It wasn't completed until 1472, although the Minster was in use for much of the ensuing period.
The South Transept was the first section to be rebuilt between 1220 and 1250, with the North Transept just after. Both were built in the Early English Gothic manner but with differences. The south wall is in an elaborate French style with two tiers of doubled lancet windows below an ornate rose window.
The north wall houses the famous Five Sisters windows. Walter de Grey is supposedly responsible for the South Transept, while his sub-Dean and treasurer, John Romanus, was associated with the North Transept and also the great central tower.
Walter de Grey died in 1255 and is buried in a beautiful tomb in the South Transept.
Make sure that you do not miss the Great West Window situated above the two oak doors, right behind you, as you walk down the centre of the nave. Known as 'Heart of Yorkshire', due to the heart-like shapes which decorate the window, it can be traced back to 1338.
Walking down the centre of the nave, cast your eyes upwards to the shields which adorn the spandrels of the arches. These shields portray the coats-of-arms of the noblemen who assisted Edward I and II in the Scottish Wars in the 13th and 14th centuries.
There is no central support to the huge nave and the roof is supported on giant buttresses - a real feat of architectural design.
The Chapter is the governing body of the cathedral, and the Chapter House, contains remarkable and fine carvings is still used for its original purpose of a meeting place for Dean and Chapter.
Coming out of the Chapter House, the visitor should then examine The Choir. Built in the late 14th century, this is where the daily services are held.
Below the Choir lies the Minster Crypt which was originally the area below a platform built to raise the High Altar (the focal point of worship).
Inside the crypt are late Norman pillars and vaulting, the Roman coffin of St. William (the coffin being moved from the nave following the 1967-72 excavations). The York Virgin, one of the Minster's most important treasures, was discovered there after the 1829 fire.
Visitors to the Minster should also take the opportunity to go down into the undercroft. Accessible from the South Transept, the undercroft was the scene of a race against time in the late 1960s and early 1970s when their poor condition threatened to bring down the central tower.
Huge concrete collars now secure the undercroft for the foreseeable future. The undercroft comprises seven chambers which are all on Roman ground level.
It is within these chambers that visitors can see, among other things, how the Roman headquarters building lies beneath the Norman cathedral which, in turn, lies beneath the present Minster. A new highly acclaimed Audio Tour takes visitors round this area and also through the treasury and into the atmospheric crypt.
You can go from the bottom of the Minster right up to the top with a visit to the Central Tower. From the top of the tower on a clear day, the visitor is rewarded with an unrivalled view of the area.
The library was built around 1230, became derelict in the 16th century but was restored between 1806 and 1813. The largest cathedral library in the country, it is the home of many rare books.
The history of the Minster has been scarred by three fires during its lifetime.
In 1829, Jonathan Martin set fire to the choir stalls and the choir was completely burned out.
The second fire happened in 1840 when a careless workman left a candle burning in the South West tower, and the ensuing fire destroyed the roof of the nave, gutted the tower and burnt the doors down. Mercifully the windows escaped. There was also a minor fire in 1909, which did little damage.
The latest fire started during a summer thunder storm in 1984. It is thought that the lightning struck the roof of the South Transept, which was engulfed by flames. The fragile glass of the Rose Window cracked into thousands of tiny fragments. The window has now been painstakingly restored along with the roof and its bosses.
Further details:
York Minster, Deangate, York YO1 7HH
Open:
The Minster: Mon - Sat: 9.00am (9.30am November- March) - last entry 5.00pm. Sunday: 12.00noon - 3.45pm.
No sightseeing on Good Friday and Easter Sunday or on Sundays before 12.00noon.
The Tower: Mon - Sat from 09.30am (Sunday from 12.30pm) - last trip 5.00pm - later at peak times; Nov - March: from 10.00am, last trip 30 mins before dusk. Closed: 24 and 25 December, Good
Friday, Easter Sunday and in extreme weather. Opening times are subject to major church services. (No children under 8 are allowed to climb the Tower. Children 16 and under must be
accompanied)
The Undercroft/ Treasury and Crypt: Monday - Saturday from 9.30am - last entry 5.00pm. Sunday 12.30pm - last entry 5.00pm. Closed: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Good Friday. Opening times
may change subject to major church services.
Admission: Please telephone for details.
Facilities: Shop, toilets, guided tours (when available), restaurant in St. William's College.
Disabled access: A permanent stone ramp at the West End of the Minster. A temporary ramp suitable for wheelchairs and prams outside the South door. There is a Touch and Hearing Centre, Braille guidebook and Acoustic Fingerprint guide cassette for the blind and partially sighted.
Contact: The Visitors Department on 01904 557216
Email: visitors@yorkminster.org
Website: www.yorkminster.org
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