York Minster

York Minster, or the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York, to give it its full title, is not only the largest medieval gothic cathedral in Northern Europe but is one of York's most popular visitor attractions. It is at the very heart of worship and the community in this historic city and is internationally known as an architectural masterpiece.

The Minster's current York Minster Revealed project, aims to restore the Great East Window and the Minster's East Front as well as increasing craft skills training and opening up the beauty of the Minster for future generations. This 5 year project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. While steeped in history, York Minster is also boldly leading the way into this twenty-first century. Its website and podcasts allow music and sermons to be heard all over the world, and it has provided the setting for film and television broadcasts including the highly acclaimed BBC2 fly on the wall series,

York Minster - Place of Worship

York Minster - Visitor Attraction

York Minster - Architectural Masterpiece

York Minster - Centre of Learning

Place of Worship

York Minster is a Cathedral and a Minster - the latter a term describing a church which was a centre of mission and ministry. Through all activities at the Minster runs the belief that God wants to show the world his love. The splendour of the building and the care that has gone into it for centuries reflects the glory of God and inspires the pleasure we take in welcoming visitors and worshippers from all over the world, whatever their faith and beliefs.

York Minster is by no means just for visitors and academics, but a thriving community at the heart of the Diocese of York. The diocese is an area bounded by the North Sea and Yorkshire Dales between the Rivers Tees and Humber. York Minster has at least 4 services a day. The Eucharist is offered twice a day. All are welcome to attend any of these services.

Service Times are normally:

Monday - Saturday

07:30 Matins

07.45 Holy Communion

12:30 Holy Communion (12.00 on Saturdays)

17:15 Choral Evensong (said on Mondays)

Sunday

08:00 Holy Communion

10:00 Sung Eucharist

11:30 Choral Matins (Sung Eucharist on first Sunday of the month)

16:00 Choral Evensong

The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Dr John Sentamu is Diocesan Bishop for the Diocese of York, and the senior Bishop or "Primate" of the Province of York. Archbishop Sentamu preaches here at major services such as Easter Day and Christmas Day. The day to day running of the Minster is the responsibility of the Dean and Chapter of  York-a governing body which is made up of clergy and lay people.

The Dean and Chapter of York is currently made up of:

The Dean: The Very Revd Keith Jones

Residentiary Clergy Canons: The Revd Canon Glyn Webster (Chancellor)

The Revd Canon Dr Jonathan Draper (Theologian)

The Revd Canon Jeremy Fletcher (Precentor)

Lay Canons

Canon Dr Ann Lees

Canon Maureen Loffill

Canon Dr Andrew Green

The Very Revd Keith Jones, Dean of York

The 60 metre high Central Tower is worth the climb of 275 steps for amazing views of York and the surrounding countryside.

A Roman Basilica and remains of the Norman Cathedral were excavated underneath the main floor in the early 1970's. The ruins, Minster foundations and the story of the excavation can be viewed in the Undercroft, Treasury and Crypt.

The 13th Century Chapter House and the even older, largest Cathedral Library in Britain are also open to the public as well as two gift shops.

The Minster also provides an unrivalled space for concerts, organ recitals and art exhibitions among many other events making it a cultural hub for the city of York.

The Minster costs over £10,000 a day to run, over £415 per  hour, or nearly £7 a minute. The Minster receives no direct government funding so entry charges where introduced on 2 August 2003 to help preserve this holy and historic site. Worshippers at the many services, York residents, parishioners in the diocese of York and those wishing to pray privately are not charged.

Visitor Attraction

York Minster is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Britain. The majestic windows make-up the largest collection of Medieval  stained glass in the world. The Great East, Great West, Five Sisters, and the Rose Window are internationally famous.

Qualified, voluntary guides can unravel the mysteries of the Minster for any visitor .

Architectural Masterpiece

York Minster is a superb building where history has been made for centuries, an architectural masterpiece and a treasure house of stained glass. It was voted Yorkshire's Best Loved Building in 2004 and one of the Seven Wonders of Britain in a poll in 2002.

The Minster is the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe and clearly charts the development of early English Gothic architecture.

The church is 148 metres long, Its three towers are 60 metres high The quire, at 31m is 2nd tallest only to Westminster Abbey The West Window was constructed in 1338, while some of the glass in the Minster dates back to the 12th Century. Each lancet of the Five Sisters Window in the North Transept stands at over 16 metres high.

Two million individual pieces of glass make up the 128 stained glass windows. Many different types of glazing and painting techniques that evolved over hundreds of years are visible throughout the Minster The famous Rose Window, with glass dating from 1500, commemorates the union of the royal house of York and Lancaster.

A fire destroyed the roof of the South Transept in 1984. Five  new bosses were designed by competition winners from the BBC's Blue Peter show.

The stone used for the building is Magnesian limestone that was quarried in nearby Tadcaster. (The Minster has had its own Stone Mason's Yard since 1360). Historically Masons have left their mark on the building, both with their own masons marks, and with each distinctive style of carving. Characters from Star Trek, each no bigger than a thumb nail, can be found high above the Great West doorway. The stained glass in the Minster is cared for, conserved and restored by the York Glaziers' Trust. The Trust is made of conservators and glaziers whose current focus is the restoration of the Great East Window-the largest expanse of medieval glass in the world.

Centre of Learning

Unlike most historic attractions, York Minster, is a living place of worship and in our multi-cultural society it provides a place not just to learn about the past, but also a place to understand what the Christian religion means today. A visit is a great experience for anybody, and especially a child, but the impact is greatly enhanced by a guided tour by one of our trained teachers and perhaps even a session at the Centre for School Visits which relates learning about the Minster to the National Curriculum and is based on interactive, hands-on learning. Here, children can learn about the Minster from a range of perspectives-whether as a place of worship, a historical building or the science behind the construction of this magnificent cathedral.

Learning is not just for children. Visitors have the opportunity to discover more about the Minster in free guided tours of the building given by volunteer guides. The Minster also works with other organisations to provide specialist lectures and courses. The Ebor Lecture Series is jointly organised by York Minster with other organisations including York St John University. This lecture series relates faith to public issues such as politics, contemporary culture, economics and spirituality and have included speakers such as the Archbishop of York and Clare Short MP. The 2008-2009  series will focus on The Challenge of Climate Change and will include talks by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Dr Elaine Storkey, President of Tearfund.

The Minster School was founded in 627AD by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York, for the education of the choristers. Since 1987, the school has been a co-educational preparatory school with about 200 pupils. The music department is known to be one of the strongest in the country. The Choral Outreach programme run by the Minster school, has been a great success in encouraging primary school children right across York to sing. Teachers and choristers from the School work with local primary schools as part of a national initiative to increase children's involvement with music

York Minster Library is a wonderful resource to be explored and contains publications on many subjects-from the Minster itself, to theology, church history, art and architecture. It is free to access for all and provides a fitting surrounding in which to learn about the Minster's history. The Minster's rich history means it is the source of many interesting objects, artefacts and manuscripts. The finds from some archaeological digs are on display in the Undercroft while fascinating and beautiful manuscripts and engravings are held in the Minster Archive and can be viewed by appointment.

FACT: The Minster Archive contains a copy of the ‘Wicked Bible' printed in 1631 with a bizarre misprint in a verse in Exodus: "Thou shall commit adultery".

Latest Major Project:

York Minster Revealed In brief: York Minster Revealed is a 5 year project supported by an earmarked grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. York Minster is currently engaged in a process of detailed design and planning which is hoped will enable the project to begin soon. The three main aims of the project are:

1. Training in craft skills and education

2. Access and interpretation

3. Conservation and restoration of the East Front and Great East Window

What is it?

1. The main aim is to train and recruit future generations in  ancient specialist skills of stone carving and stained glass conservation. Working with university and education bodies, nationally recognised qualifications will be established.It will be the largest conservation project of its kind in  Europe so provides crucial opportunities for training and expanding the existing apprenticeship programmes in the Minster Stoneyard and the York Glaziers Trust.

2.Access to and enjoyment of the Minster will also be increased and enhanced. A new entrance way is planned, creating a piazza style entrance with the ticket booths moved out of the Minster itself and into an external property in Minster Gates. Lifts added to the Undercroft, Treasury and Crypts increasing  accessibility to all. Interpretation schemes will allow visitors to understand and appreciate the conservation project and the importance of the Great East Window, from within the Minster and remotely. It should transform the passive viewing of a large old building to an active engagement with heritage and the life of the Minster today.

3. The Apocalypse cycle of the Great East Window-the earliest piece of English art by a named artist and the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world will be restored and conserved as well as all of the stonework of the Minster's East Front. Throughout the project visitors will be able to learn about the process in many different ways: - through visiting open workshops, attending family fun days, courses and lectures. The Minster website www.yorkminster.org will also be updated regularly with new research and information from the project as it arises. York Minster Revealed is one of the largest conservation projects in the world and over the next few years will put the Minster at the forefront of craft skills education and several areas of research into conservation.

Visualisation of the new South Transept Piazza Entrance Bedern Glaziers' Studio Bedern Chapel, built in the 13th Century as the chapel of the College of Vicars Choral, opened in 2009 as a public showcase for the conservation of stained glass, and particularly the glass of the Minster's Great East Window .

Members of the public can go ‘behind the scenes' to watch the work of York Glaziers' Trust conservators. York Glaziers' Trust (YGT) will work on the Great East Window as part of the ‘York Minster Revealed' project which is supported by a £10 million earmarked Heritage Lottery Fund grant. YGT has created the Bedern Chapel studio through their own Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £390,000.

York has more medieval stained glass than any other city in the UK, with the Minster as the jewel in the crown. With 128 medieval windows, the Minster has more glass than any other single British building. The Great East Window is the single largest medieval stained glass window in the country and has been called "the Sistine Chapel of stained glass." York Glaziers' Trust grew out of the Minster's glaziers' shop after the Second World War to care for York Minster's own exquisite stained glass and other historically important stained glass in Britain. Forty years on, it is acclaimed as one of Europe's leading centres of conservation excellence and training. YGT has recently completed the conservation of the Minster's impressive St William window.

Facts and Figures

• The Minster has the greatest concentration of medieval stained glass, with 128 stained glass windows
• There are over 2 million pieces of Medieval Stained glass in York Minster
• The Minster contains windows that range in date from the 12th to the 20th Century.
• As well as glass native to the Minster the windows of York Minster also contain glass that has come from Churches in York, France and New College, Oxford

• York Minster contains the earliest surviving example in England of the use of Silver Stain, in a window that dates to 1309

• Amongst other oddities in the glass of York Minster there is a Monkey's funeral, a rabbit sitting on a man's hand, a pair of cherubs' legs with no body and a man having his eyes gouged out during a trial by combat
• The Great East Window is the single largest expanse of Medieval Stained glass in Britain
• The print of the Great East Window, which hangs in its place during the restoration of the window, is the largest print ever to be made, and equals a tennis court in size
• York has more medieval stained glass that any other English city and rivals many European cities in its stained glass wealth - including Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg, Nurnberg and Cologne
• During the fire of 1984, panes of the Rose Window suffered 40, 000 thousand cracks and yet miraculously remained in one piece. It took 2 1/2 years to restore
• During the second world war, 80 stained glass windows were removed in case of bombing and buried for safety. It took 1 year to remove them and then 22 years to put them back in
• Each window is cleaned and restored approximately every 125 years
• Much of the glass from the Norman Minster has been recycled in the present building
• The Five Sisters window is not only our oldest complete window but has also been dedicated as a War memorial to Women of the Empire who lost there lives in the First World War. It is featured in ‘Nicholas Nickelby' by Charles Dickens

York Minster's Stoneyard

The Stoneyard has occupied its current site in Deangate near the south-east corner of the Minster since 1913. For just over a hundred years before this it was situated inside the grounds of the old Purey-Cust hospital in front of the west front.

Restoration projects have been ongoing since the late 1700's. There are currently over twenty craftsmen and women involved in the stone restoration programme. To support this team and attend to the maintenance and repair of the Minster and other Minster properties are joiners, electricians, scaffolders and gardeners.

All craftsmen are fully trained professionals. The current apprenticeship lasts four years. Some masons who show an artistic aptitude might develop their skills and train as carvers who provide embellishment to the architectural stonework in the form of foliage and grotesque figures. Others might specialise in the complex geometrical preparatory stage of the stonemasonry process producing 1 to 1 drawings and templates from which their colleagues receive design instruction. All craftsmen at some time work high up on the scaffolding. The craftsmen in the Stoneyard have won many awards over the years and are internationally recognised for the quality of their work.

Facts and Figures

• The Minster was originally built using magnesian limestone, a Dolomitic rock originally formed in lagoons about 250 million years ago.
• Magnesian Limestone is still used to restore the building and is sourced from two quarries, one near Tadcaster and the other near Doncaster.
• Historically the stone was transported by canal and river to York. The Romans used both limestone and sandstone in their building of Eboracum.
• The main stone-saw in the Stoneyard was the same one that cut much of the stone for Liverpool Anglican cathedral. When it was first used it was reported the lights on Goodramgate would dim.
• The saw is used to square up rough blocks of stone weighing up to 5 tons.
• The stone delivered from Highmoor quarry near Tadcaster is already cut square and costs £2535.75 per cubic metre.
• Explosives are never used in this quarry as this may cause faults in the stone. The stone is extracted using wire saws and expanding high pressure water tanks to push the large blocks apart.
• The Minster has never owned its own quarry. In recent years some investigation has been undertaken to find a reliable source of stone to be used exclusively for the Minster.
• Despite modern aids and machinery the technique of working stone has not changed since the building was built and stonework produced today looks exactly the same as the original stone looked when it was new.
• Original cost of the Great East Window was £56. Current estimates for its conservation stand at around £15,000,000.
• The large carved figure at the apex of the window has opinion divided on who it actually is. It could possibly be Archbishop Thorsby, St. Peter or St. William.

Brief History of York Minster

The Emperor Constantine began his reign here and the remains of the Roman buildings in which he was proclaimed Emperor lie beneath the Minster. St Paulinus baptized the local Saxon King here and numerous Archbishops are buried beneath the ancient walls. Countless fires, armies and the odd lunatic have attempted to destroy it but York Minster still stands proud, being rebuilt and restored.

306 Constantine proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire on site now occupied by York Minster.

627 The first York Minster built for the adult baptism of the converted King Edwin  c640 Oswald replaced the wooden Minster by a stone building dedicated to St Peter. This church was de stroyed in the "harrying of the North' in 1069.670 Wilfrid repairs and renews structure. Beginning of school and library

741 Minster destroyed by fire. Ornate building with many beautiful chapels replaces it.

1080 Building of the more elaborate and larger Norman Minster to replace Saxon. Initial Norman efforts where burnt and destroyed by the Danes.

1220 Construction of present Minster started by Archbishop Walter de Grey. Completion took over 250 years finishing in 1472.

1408 John Thornton of Coventry completes the Great East Window

1534 Reformation. York Minster becomes Church of England. Tombs, altars and treasures were raided.

1544 English Civil War, and York was besieged by Cromwell but Thomas Fairfax prevented more damage to the building.

1829 Arsonist Jonathan Martin set fire to the Minster, believing he was following an order from God. He was not hung as the jury decided he was insane.

1967 Pillars in the central tower were restored and stabilised. During work, Roman Basilica and Norman remains found.

1984 A fire started by lightning destroyed the roof of the South Transept. The Rose Window survived but was cracked into 40,000 pieces. The restoration took four years.

1990 Restoration of the Great West Window completed

2005 A major restoration campaign is launched principally to restore the glass and stonework of the East Front

2007 York Minster Revealed project awarded earmarked grant of £10m by the Heritage Lottery Fund

2009 Planned beginning of the York Minster Revealed project

2013 Planned completion date for the York Minster Revealed project

2009 Entry Charges

Entry for worship, to prayer or to light a candle is free. York residents and parishioners of the Diocese of York can also enter for no charge.

Entry to the Minster (only)

Adults £6.00

Concession £5.00

16 and Under Free

Entry to the Undercroft

Adults £4.00

Concession £3.00

16 and Under £2.00

Entry to the Tower

Adults £4.00

Concession £3.00

16 and Under £2.00

Minster Plus (Minster plus Undercroft or Tower)

Adults £8.00

Concession £7.00

16 and Under £2.00

Do Everything (Minster, Undercroft and Tower)

Adults £9.50

Concession £8.00

16 and Under £3.00

FACT: The Minster costs £8 a minute to run