A History of York Minster

The Largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe

Jan 12, 2009 Rachel Bellerby

York Minster has a history stretching back some 1,400 years, but Christianity was established in the area long before the Minster was created.

The first Christian building on the site of the present-day Minster was a modest wooden church which was eventually rebuilt as the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe.

The city of York has a long Christian history. There was a bishop in York by the fourth century AD and an established Christian community already existed at the time the first Minster building was created.

The Origins of York Minster

The first Minster was a small wooden church built for the christening of the previously pagan King Edwin of Northumbria, in the year 627AD. The church, which, like so many York buildings, stands upon Roman remains, was rebuilt in stone within a few years and was gradually enlarged over the centuries.

The Minster building was badly damaged in 1069 when the Normans took control of York. The Normans instigated the building of a new cathedral on the same site as the fire-damaged building and work started around 1080.

Walter Gray was Archbishop of York for forty years, starting in 1215 and it was during his period in office that much of the Minster’s most celebrated building work began. Work was carried out in the new Gothic style. The north and south transepts were built and work began on the nave, which was eventually completed in 1360. The central tower collapsed in 1407 and was rebuilt by 1465. The lady chapel and western towers were finished during the fifteenth century and the Minster was consecrated in 1472.

St William at York Minster

During the Middle Ages, the most visited religious sites and buildings had religious relics which visitors could see. Most sites charged an admittance fee to view the relics and many people would leave a donation towards the upkeep of the site or building they had visited.

In 1224, William Fitzherbert, who had been Archbishop of York, was canonized and became St William of York. He had been buried at York Minster, which now became a place of pilgrimage. His remains still exist today in the Minster’s crypt.

York Minster’s Great East Window

One of the most striking features of the medieval Minster is the Great East Window. This is a huge expanse of stained glass and, at roughly the dimensions of a tennis court, is the largest expanse of medieval glass in the world.

Work on the window was started in 1405 by John Thornton and took three years to complete. The tracery shows God presiding over a host of saints and angels.

The Minster took around 250 years to build and has always dominated the flat landscape around. Looking down from the tower, it is possible to see York’s network of narrow medieval streets, thoroughfares which have changed little in hundreds of years.

Source

Cannon, Jon Cathedral: The Great English Cathedrals and the World That Made Them, 600-1540 [Constable, 2007]

The copyright of the article A History of York Minster in Medieval History is owned by Rachel Bellerby. Permission to republish A History of York Minster in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

York Minster