York Minster Cathedral

York Minster is a cathedral, one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe (notes from Wikipedia). The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of York. The formal title of York Minster is “The Cathedral and Metro-political Church of St Peter in York”. The title “minster” is attributed to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and serves now as an honorific title. Services in the minster are sometimes regarded as on the High Church or Anglo-Catholic end of the Anglican continuum.

York Minster is the second largest Gothic cathedral of Northern Europe and clearly charts the development of English Gothic architecture from Early English through to the Perpendicular Period. The present building was begun in about 1230 and completed in 1472. It has a cruciform plan with an octagonal chapter house attached to the north transept, a central tower and two towers at the west front. The stone used for the building is magnesian limestone, a creamy-white colored rock that was quarried in nearby Tadcaster. The Minster is 519 feet long and each of its three towers are 200 feet high. The choir has an interior height of 102 feet. The minster has a very wide Decorated Gothic nave.

Below this, separating the choir from the crossing and nave is the striking 15th century choir screen. It contains sculptures of the kings of England, from William the Conqueror to Henry VI with stone and gilded canopies set against a red background.

The east end features a Perpendicular Gothic Quire with organ

Early English north and south transepts complete the plan.

 The south transept (abive) contains a famous rose window

This decorative plan illustrates many of the features.

 

Unusual features are that the Quire is essentially the same length as the nave which alters the traditional ‘cross-shaped’ plan proportions of the plan, and the addition of a Chapter House, which has its own dramatic character.

The nave contains the West Window, constructed in 1338, and over the Lady Chapel in the east end is the Great East Window, (finished in 1408), the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world (unfortunately currently under restoration and not able to be viewed). In the north transept is the Five Sisters Window, each lancet being over 52 feet high and glazed with grey (grisaille) glass, rather than narrative scenes or symbolic motifs that are usually seen in medieval stained glass windows.

The south transept contains a famous rose window, while the West Window contains a famous heart-shaped design, colloquially known as ‘The Heart of Yorkshire’. All of these stylistic developments join at a tall central lantern, one of the defining features of both the interior and exterior.

The sparsely decorated central tower was built between 1407 and 1472 and is also in the Perpendicular style. During the 20th century there was concerted preservation work, especially following a 1967 survey that revealed the building, in particular the central tower, was close to collapse.

York as a whole, and particularly the minster, has a long tradition of creating beautiful stained glass. Some of the stained glass in York Minster dates back to the 12th century. The Minster’s records show that much of the glass (white or colored) came from Germany. Upon arrival at York, it was intricately painted, fired, then glazed together with lead strips into the windows. The 76-foot tall Great East Window, created by John Thornton in the early 15th century, is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. Other windows in the minster include an ornate rose window and the 52-foot tall Five Sisters window. Because of the extended time periods during which the glass was installed, different types of glazing and painting techniques which evolved over hundreds of years are visible in the different windows. Approximately two million individual pieces of glass make up the cathedral’s 128 stained glass windows. Much of the glass was removed before and pieced back together after the First and Second World Wars, and the windows are constantly being cleaned and conserved to keep their beauty intact.

Work began on the chapter house and its vestibule that links it to the north transept after the transepts were completed. The style of the chapter house is of the early Decorated Period where geometric patterns were used in the tracery of the windows, which were wider than those of early styles. However, the work was completed before the appearance of the ogee curve, an S-shaped double curve which was extensively used at the end of this period. The windows cover almost all of the upper wall space, filling the chapter house with light.

The chapter house is octagonal,

as is the case in many cathedrals, but is notable in that it has no central column supporting the roof – as shown in the model below. The wooden roof, which was of an innovative design, is light enough to be able to be supported by the buttressed walls.

The chapter house has many sculptured heads above the canopies, representing some of the finest Gothic sculpture in the country. There are human heads, no two alike, and some pulling faces; angels; animals and grotesques.

Unique to the transepts and chapter house is the use of Purbeck marble to adorn the piers, adding to the richness of decoration. This decorative quality continues into the floor design, at multiple scales.

Each of the smaller squares has its own individual pattern

The history of the building of the cathedral reads like a gothic novel. The first recorded church on the site was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to baptize Edwin, King of Northumbria. Subsequently, structures were built, fell into disrepair, were enlarged, were destroyed by fire, were destroyed during by one invader or another, were rebuilt and enlarged, were remodeled to suit then current tastes, were again damaged by fire and rebuilt, and had pieces (eg. Chapter House) added, suffered collapses, were rebuilt, and finally the cathedral was declared complete and consecrated in 1472.

The English Reformation led to the looting of much of the cathedral’s treasures and the loss of much of the church lands. Under Elizabeth I there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Roman Catholicism from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows and altars. In the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to the forces of Cromwell in 1644, but Thomas Fairfax prevented any further damage to the cathedral. Following the easing of religious tensions there was some work to restore the cathedral. From 1730 to 1736 the whole floor of the minster was relaid in patterned marble and from 1802 there was a major restoration. However, on 2 February 1829, an arson attack by a non-conformist, Jonathan Martin, inflicted heavy damage on the east arm. An accidental fire in 1840 left the nave, south west tower and south aisle roofless and blackened shells. The cathedral slumped deeply into debt and in the 1850s services were suspended. From 1858 Augustus Duncome worked successfully to revive the cathedral.

During the 20th century there was more concerted preservation work, especially following a 1967 survey that revealed the building, in particular the central tower, was close to collapse. During the excavations that were carried out, remains of the north corner of the Roman Principia  (headquarters of the Roman fort, Eboracum) were found under the south transept. This area, as well as remains of the Norman cathedral, re-opened to the public in spring 2013 as part of the new exhibition exploring the history of the building of York Minster. Now, the lower level of the cathedral contains a museum of artifacts from Roman times, elements of the early Roman fortification foundations, and displays about restoration techniques, especially stonework, as well as an opportunity for up and coming stone masons to try their hands.

The shapes of the stones themselves are elegant in that they carry complex geometries that must be structural, able to be securely attached to each other, and fit into a complex overall pattern.

Finally, it was emphasized during a docent-guided tour, that the cathedral is a living part of the church and not just a historic monument.

And as if to underline his point, his tour ended with a wedding recessional

Duly recorded of course with period-appropriate historic devices.

I also climbed to the roof and enjoyed the view – next post.