York Minster

York Minster
Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York
York Minster seen from the side – a long building with a pair of towers at one end and a massive central tower with two perpendicular windows. The round rose window can be seen on the south transept.
The southern façade of the cathedral, including the rose window on the south transept.
York Minster is located in North Yorkshire
York Minster
York Minster
Location within North Yorkshire
53°57′43″N 1°4′55″W / 53.96194°N 1.08194°W / 53.96194; -1.08194
OS grid referenceSE 603 522
LocationDeangate, York[1]
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Previous denominationRoman Catholic
ChurchmanshipAnglo-Catholic[citation needed]
Websiteyorkminster.org
History
StatusCathedral
Founded627; 1397 years ago (627)
DedicationSaint Peter
Consecrated3 July 1472
Associated peopleWilliam of York
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Designated14 June 1954[2]
Previous cathedralsat least 3
Architectural typeCathedral
StyleEarly English, Perpendicular
Years builtc. 1230–1472
Groundbreaking673
Completed1472
Specifications
Length524.5 feet (159.9 m)[3]
Nave length262 feet (80 m)[4]
Width222 feet (68 m)[3]
Nave width98 feet (30 m)[4]
Nave height99 feet (30 m)[3]
Choir height102 feet (31 m)[4]
Number of towers3
Tower heightCentral Tower: 235 feet (72 m)[3]
Western Towers: 196 feet (60 m)[3]
Bells36
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseYork (since 314)
Clergy
ArchbishopStephen Cottrell
DeanDominic Barrington
PrecentorJames Milne
Canon(s)1 vacancy
Canon PastorTimothy Goode
Canon MissionerMaggie McLean
ArchdeaconSamantha Rushton
Laity
Director of musicRobert Sharpe
Business managerDavid Colthup (Chapter Steward)
Official arms of Archbishop of York
Official nameYork Minster cathedral precinct
Designated8 October 1937
Reference no.1017777
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameCathedral Church of St Peter, York Minster
Designated14 June 1954
Reference no.1257222

York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the mother church for the diocese of York and the province of York.[5] It is administered by its dean and chapter. The minster is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

The first record of a church on the site dates to 627; the title "minster" also dates to the Anglo-Saxon period, originally denoting a missionary teaching church and now an honorific.[6] The minster undercroft contains re-used fabric of c. 1160, but the bulk of the building was constructed between 1220 and 1472. It consists of Early English Gothic north and south transepts, a Decorated Gothic nave and chapter house, and a Perpendicular Gothic eastern arm and central tower.

The minster retains most of its medieval stained glass, a significant survival among European churches.[7] The east window, which depicts the Last Judgment, is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. The north transept contains the Five Sisters window, which consists of five lancets, each over 53 feet (16.3 m) high, filled with grisaille glass.[8]

  1. ^ "York Minster". York Minster. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Cathedral Church of St Peter, York Minster (1257222)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bigland, John (1815). Yorkshire; or, Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive of That County. London. p. 211. OCLC 19912009. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "York Minster". York Minster. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ "York Minster a Medieval Cathedral" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  6. ^ "York Minster FAQs". York Minster. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  7. ^ Pesvner, Nikolaus; Metcalf, Priscilla (2005). The Cathedrals of England: The North and East Anglia. London: The Folio Society. pp. 294–95, 303.
  8. ^ "Work Minster Fact Sheets: The Five Sisters Window" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.