York Minster
East end and the Great East Window.
York Minster is without doubt one of the largest and most impressive Gothic architectural buildings in all of England. The full majestic proportion of the building can be seen after entering a few narrow streets called the shambles that bring you to the south of the Church. Altho it's the Cathedral of York and it's dedication is St Peter, the building was given the title Minster for it's importance in the church field considering it's the home place for the Archbishop of York.
The Minster has had a long very active history with there being a building on site back to the Anglo- Saxon age. The Norman's built a Cathedral on site in the 11th-Century but shortly after the present Gothic Structure was built in place starting from the 13th-Century. The new nave was built on the old Norman Cathedral foundations and shortly after the Transepts, Choir and Chapter House were constructed. The original Central tower collapsed in 1407 and the present tower was built along with the western towers near the end of the Century.
The Cathedral has many notable features which includes the Chapter house, octagonal shaped with carvings of heads around the bases of the large windows, the space in the Nave and Choir making them the largest of their kind in England, a decorated Central tower and a large collection of bells which are set in the Western towers, one of them holding the Cathedral's hour bell 'Great Peter' along with 6 clock bells, while the other tower holds the 14 peal as well as a collection of 22 Carillion bells which are unique in an English Cathedral.
The Cathedral's main interior feature is it's medieval stained glass which is seen throughout the building. At the West end is a large window which near the top is heart shaped which has since been given title 'The Heart of Yorkshire'. The transepts too have their stained glass masterpieces with the North having the five sisters window while the South has a rose window.
The most famous Stained glass window in the Minster is the Great East Window by John Thornton, the largest piece of medieval glass in the world at 76 ft and if layed down would cover one of Wimbledon's tennis courts. For the past couple years the window has been replaced by a large full size print copy of the window since the glass was taken out as part of a large restoration project that is due to be completed in 2016.
During the Minster's turbulent history, it's been noted for having a number of disasters caused by fire. The first recorded instance was during the Anglo-Saxon period when the old wooden structure was destroyed. In 1137 the old Norman structure was damaged and replaced by another Norman building afterwards.
Most recently was a fire in 1829 started by resident Jonathan Martin which destroyed the East end roof along with the organ, after this Martin was tried at the Courts and sent to the Lunatic Asylum as it was found he was mentally unstable at the time of starting the arson. Shortly afterwards in 1840 the Nave and South West tower were gutted by a fire this time by accident.
On July 9 1984 thinking it was a lightning strike, fire destroyed the South Transept roof leaving it a gutted shell and open to the elements. Up to £2 million was spent to renovate the damage which was completed in 1988.
York Minster
East end and the Great East Window.
York Minster is without doubt one of the largest and most impressive Gothic architectural buildings in all of England. The full majestic proportion of the building can be seen after entering a few narrow streets called the shambles that bring you to the south of the Church. Altho it's the Cathedral of York and it's dedication is St Peter, the building was given the title Minster for it's importance in the church field considering it's the home place for the Archbishop of York.
The Minster has had a long very active history with there being a building on site back to the Anglo- Saxon age. The Norman's built a Cathedral on site in the 11th-Century but shortly after the present Gothic Structure was built in place starting from the 13th-Century. The new nave was built on the old Norman Cathedral foundations and shortly after the Transepts, Choir and Chapter House were constructed. The original Central tower collapsed in 1407 and the present tower was built along with the western towers near the end of the Century.
The Cathedral has many notable features which includes the Chapter house, octagonal shaped with carvings of heads around the bases of the large windows, the space in the Nave and Choir making them the largest of their kind in England, a decorated Central tower and a large collection of bells which are set in the Western towers, one of them holding the Cathedral's hour bell 'Great Peter' along with 6 clock bells, while the other tower holds the 14 peal as well as a collection of 22 Carillion bells which are unique in an English Cathedral.
The Cathedral's main interior feature is it's medieval stained glass which is seen throughout the building. At the West end is a large window which near the top is heart shaped which has since been given title 'The Heart of Yorkshire'. The transepts too have their stained glass masterpieces with the North having the five sisters window while the South has a rose window.
The most famous Stained glass window in the Minster is the Great East Window by John Thornton, the largest piece of medieval glass in the world at 76 ft and if layed down would cover one of Wimbledon's tennis courts. For the past couple years the window has been replaced by a large full size print copy of the window since the glass was taken out as part of a large restoration project that is due to be completed in 2016.
During the Minster's turbulent history, it's been noted for having a number of disasters caused by fire. The first recorded instance was during the Anglo-Saxon period when the old wooden structure was destroyed. In 1137 the old Norman structure was damaged and replaced by another Norman building afterwards.
Most recently was a fire in 1829 started by resident Jonathan Martin which destroyed the East end roof along with the organ, after this Martin was tried at the Courts and sent to the Lunatic Asylum as it was found he was mentally unstable at the time of starting the arson. Shortly afterwards in 1840 the Nave and South West tower were gutted by a fire this time by accident.
On July 9 1984 thinking it was a lightning strike, fire destroyed the South Transept roof leaving it a gutted shell and open to the elements. Up to £2 million was spent to renovate the damage which was completed in 1988.