 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 View of York Minsters Towers, York, Co. North Yorkshire
As the seat of the Archbishop of York , the Minster is the second most important building in the Anglican Church, after Canterbury Cathedral . York Minster began its existence as a humble wooden chapel in which King Edwin the Saxon king of Northumbria was baptized in 627. Since then it developed into a Saxon Minster and Cathedral Church dedicated to St Peter, which was replaced by a Norman structure in the 11th Century. This too was rebuilt from 1220 and constantly added to for a further 250 years to create the grand structure you see today, with representations of all the main Gothic styles of architecture in its towers, arches and ornamental gargoyles.
 Image © by Kevin Gibson
York Minster is the largest medieval gothic cathedral in northern Europe, measuring 160m long and 76m wide along the transepts with towers 60m tall. The Central Tower was reconstructed in 1465, and climbing the 275 spiral stairs to the top offers rewarding views over 35 miles of Yorkshire countryside.
One of the many striking features of York Minster is the Choir Screen lined with statues of the kings of England from William I to Henry VI. The wooden vaulted Chapter House is another stunning sight where strange beasts and extraordinary people hide within the decorative carvings in the architecture. The Vaults and Crypt are built on the site of the 6th Century chapel and an earlier Roman basilica and house the treasure of the Minster such as the silver church plate and jewels of the archbishops and is the last resting place of St William of York.
But for many visitors and pilgrims alike the most distinguished feature of York Minster is its marvellous stained glass collection dating as far back as the late 12th Century. These include; the Five Sisters circa 1260, the oldest window in the Minster and the largest example of grisaille glass in Britain and the Great East Window circa 1405, depicting the beginning and end of the world and containing the world’s largest area of medieval stained glass in a single window.
York Minster is an amazing example of ornamental religious splendour and medieval architecture, the tour guides are well worth taking in order to see and understand it all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
