View source for York Minster

{{Short description|Grade I listed cathedral in England}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox church
| name             = York Minster
| fullname         = Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York
| image            = York Minster from M&S.JPG
| imagesize        = 
| imagealt         = 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.
| landscape        = 
| caption          = The southern façade of the cathedral, including the rose window on the south transept
| pushpin map      = United Kingdom North Yorkshire
| pushpin label position = top
| pushpin map alt  = 
| pushpin mapsize  = 
| map caption      = Location within North Yorkshire
| coordinates      = {{coord|53|57|43|N|1|4|55|W|region:GB|format=dms|display=title,inline}}
| osgraw           = <!-- TEXT -->
| osgridref        = {{gbmappingsmall|SE 603 522}}
| location         = [[Deangate]], [[York]]<ref>{{cite web|title=York Minster|url=https://yorkminster.org/visit/|access-date=22 August 2020|website=York Minster}}</ref>
| country          = England
| denomination     = [[Church of England]]
| previous denomination = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| churchmanship    = [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]]<ref name="ScreenYorkshire">{{cite web |title=York Minster |url=https://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/filming-in-yorkshire/locations-production/historic/york-minster/ |website=Screen Yorkshire |access-date=14 January 2025}}</ref>{{ref|a}}
| membership       = 
| website          = {{URL|https://yorkminster.org/}}
| former name      = 
| bull date        = 
| founded date     = {{start date and age|df=yes|627}}
| founder          = 
| dedication       = [[Saint Peter]]
| dedicated date   = 
| consecrated date = 3 July 1472
| cult             = 
| relics           = 
| events           = 
| past bishop      = 
| people           = [[William of York]]
| status           = [[Cathedral]]
| functional status = Active
| heritage designation = Grade I
| designated date  = 14 June 1954<ref name="HE1257222">{{NHLE|num=1257222 |desc=Cathedral Church of St Peter, York Minster|access-date=22 June 2016}}</ref>
| previous cathedrals = at least 3
| architect        = 
| architectural type = [[Cathedral]]
| style            = [[Early English Period|Early English]], [[Perpendicular style|Perpendicular]]
| years built      = {{circa|1230–1472}}
| groundbreaking   = 673
| completed date   = 1472
| construction cost = 
| closed date      = 
| demolished date  = 
| capacity         = 
| length           = {{convert|524.5|ft}}<ref name="bigland">{{cite book |last=Bigland |first=John |year=1815 |title=Yorkshire; or, Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive of That County |url=https://archive.org/details/yorkshireororig00biglgoog |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/yorkshireororig00biglgoog/page/n233 211] |oclc=19912009 |access-date=14 September 2016 }}</ref>
| length nave      = {{convert|262|ft}}<ref name="York Minster">{{cite web|title=York Minster|url=https://yorkminster.org/discover/interactive-map/|access-date=20 January 2022|website=York Minster}}</ref>
| length choir     = 
| width            = {{convert|222|ft}}<ref name="bigland"/>
| width nave       = {{convert|98|ft}}<ref name="York Minster" />
| width transepts  = 
| height           = 
| height nave      = {{convert|99|ft}}<ref name="bigland"/>
| height choir     = {{convert|102|ft}}<ref name="York Minster" />
| dome quantity    = 
| dome height outer = 
| dome height inner = 
| dome dia outer   = 
| dome dia inner   = 
| tower quantity   = 3
| tower height     = Central Tower: {{convert|235|ft}}<ref name="bigland"/><br /> Western Towers: {{convert|196|ft}}<ref name="bigland"/>
| spire quantity   = 
| spire height     = 
| bells            = 36
| archdiocese      = 
| metropolis       = 
| diocese          = [[Diocese of York|York]]
| diocese start    = 314
| province         = [[Province of York|York]]
| archbishop       = [[Stephen Cottrell]]
| bishop           = 
| dean             = [[Dominic Barrington]]
| provost          = 
| canon            = 1 vacancy
| canonmissioner   = Maggie McLean
| canonpastor      = Timothy Goode
| precentor        = James Milne
| archdeacon       = Liz Hassall (acting)
| chancellor       = 
| reader           = 
| director         = Robert Sharpe
| organist = Ben Morris (Assistant Director of Music)
| laychapter       = 
| businessmgr      = David Colthup (Chapter Steward)
| logo             = Arms of the Archbishop of York.svg
| logosize         = 
| logolink         = 
| logoalt          = Official arms of Archbishop of York
| module           = {{Infobox designation list
 |embed = yes
 |designation1 = UK Scheduled Monument
 |designation1_offname = York Minster cathedral precinct
 |designation1_date = 8 October 1937
 |designation1_number = 1017777
 |designation2 = UK GRADE I
 |designation2_offname = Cathedral Church of St Peter, York Minster
 |designation2_date = 14 June 1954
 |designation2_number = 1257222
}}
}}

'''York Minster''', formally the '''Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York''', is an [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] cathedral in the city of [[York]], [[North Yorkshire]], England.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jonathan |date=2025-07-30 |title=Great British Buildings: York Minster |url=https://anglotopia.net/columns/great-british-buildings/great-british-buildings-york-minster/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=Anglotopia.net |language=en-US}}</ref> The minster is the seat of the [[archbishop of York]], the second-highest office of the [[Church of England]], and is the [[Mother Church#Cathedral|mother church]] for the [[diocese of York]] and the [[province of York]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/ks3-place-of-worship.pdf |title=York Minster a Medieval Cathedral |access-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208141209/https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/ks3-place-of-worship.pdf |archive-date=8 February 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is administered by its [[Dean of York|dean]] and [[Chapter (religion)|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 (church)|minster]]" also dates to the [[Anglo-Saxon period]], originally denoting a missionary teaching church and now an honorific.<ref name="faqs">{{cite web|url= http://www.yorkminster.org/general/faqs/|title= York Minster FAQs|publisher= York Minster|access-date= 1 January 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071116120700/http://www.yorkminster.org/general/faqs/|archive-date= 16 November 2007|url-status= dead}}</ref> The minster undercroft contains re-used fabric of {{circa|1160}}, but the bulk of the building was constructed between 1220 and 1472. It consists of [[Early English Period|Early English Gothic]] north and south [[transept]]s, a [[Decorated Gothic|Decorated]] Gothic [[nave]] and [[chapter house]], and a [[Perpendicular Period|Perpendicular Gothic]] eastern arm and central tower.

The minster retains most of its medieval [[stained glass]], a significant survival among European churches.<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last1=Pesvner |first1=Nikolaus |title=The Cathedrals of England: The North and East Anglia |last2=Metcalf |first2=Priscilla |publisher=[[The Folio Society]] |year=2005 |location=London |pages=294–95, 303 }}</ref> 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 [[lancet window|lancets]], each over {{convert|16.3|m|ft|order=flip}} high, filled with [[grisaille]] glass.<ref name="FiveSisters">{{cite web |title=Work Minster Fact Sheets: The Five Sisters Window |url=https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/fact-sheet-the-principal-windows.pdf |access-date=27 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015030/https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/fact-sheet-the-principal-windows.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
A bishop of York was summoned to the [[Council of Arles (314)|Council of Arles in 314]], indicating the presence of a Christian community in York at this time; however, archaeological evidence of Christianity in [[Roman York]] is limited.<ref>{{cite book |section=Before the Norman Conquest |title=A History of the County of York: the City of York |editor-first=P. M. |editor-last=Tillott |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |year=1961 |pages=2–24 |via=British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/city-of-york/pp2-24 |access-date=19 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419023839/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/city-of-york/pp2-24 |archive-date=19 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Roman York|last=Ottaway|first=Patrick|publisher=Tempus|year=2004|pages=136–138|isbn=0-7524-2916-7}}</ref> The first recorded church was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to [[baptism|baptise]] [[Edwin of Northumbria|Edwin]], King of [[Northumbria]]. The location of this church, and its pre-1080 successors, is unknown. It was probably in or beside the old Roman ''principia'', (the military headquarters), which may have been used by the king when in residence in York. Archaeological evidence indicates the ''principia'' was located partly beneath the post-1080 Minster site, but excavations undertaken in 1967–73 found no remains of the pre-1080 churches. It can therefore be inferred that Edwin's church, and its immediate successors, was near the current Minster (possibly to the north, underneath the modern [[Dean's Park]])<ref name="auto1">{{cite web | url=https://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/1064/area-9-minster-precinct | title=Character area 9: Minster Precinct – Archaeological background | website=www.york.gov.uk | access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref> but not directly on the same site.<ref>{{cite book |section=One York or Several? The city resettled |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=43 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref>

Moves towards a more substantial building began shortly after Edwin's baptism. According to Bede, Edwin set about building a larger church made of stone, intended to enclose the wooden chapel in which he had been baptised.<ref>{{cite book |section=One York or Several? The city resettled |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=31–32 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> This stone structure was completed in 637 by [[Oswald of Bernicia|Oswald]] and was dedicated to [[Saint Peter]]. The church soon fell into disrepair and was dilapidated by 670 when [[Wilfrid|Saint Wilfrid]] ascended to the [[Episcopal see|See]] of York. He repaired and renewed the structure, installing leaded roofs, glass windows, and rich furnishings.<ref>{{cite book |section=One York or Several? The city resettled |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> The attached school and library were established and by the 8th century were some of the most substantial in Northern Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Peter Hunter |title=The World of Bede |date=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0521398190 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ku7u03GUIP4C&q=ezra |edition=1970 reprint|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>The most renowned product of the school was [[Alcuin]].</ref>

In 741, the cathedral may have been damaged or destroyed in a fire.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |section=One York or Several? The city resettled |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=39 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin+alma+sophia&pg=PT81 Evidence of the fire is limited to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and the fragmentary ''Northern Annals''. Of these, the ''Chronicle'' briefly reports, under year 741, "York was burnt down." The ''Annals'' give a little more detail, reporting that on 23 April 741 "the ''monasterium'' in the city of York was burnt." Academic opinion is divided on the severity of the fire, and on the identity of the affected ''monasterium''. Besides St Peter's Cathedral, candidates might include the Church of St Gregory, the St Mary Bishophill churches, St Martin’s, and Holy Trinity, Micklegate. ]</ref> Any damage to the cathedral was not long-lasting. Alcuin (who makes no mention of the fire or rebuilding) wrote in detail of the building's wealth and grandeur. In his time, there was a grand altar erected over the place of Edwin's baptism, covered with precious metals and jewels. A spectacular chandelier hung above the altar, and the cathedral possessed a rich and valuable silver cross and golden cruet.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oYviDwAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin+thirty+altars&pg=PA25 | isbn=978-0-227-90083-3 | title=Alcuin: His Life and Legacy | date=29 November 2012 | publisher=James Clarke & Company Limited }}</ref> The cathedral, together with the rest of the city, then passed through the hands of numerous invaders, and its history is obscure until the 10th century. There were a series of [[Benedictine]] [[archbishop]]s, including [[Oswald of Worcester|Saint Oswald of Worcester]], [[Wulfstan (died 1023)|Wulfstan]] and [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred]], who travelled to [[Westminster Abbey|Westminster]] to crown [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]] in 1066. Ealdred died in 1069 and was buried in the cathedral.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://notesfromtheroad.net/bhc/bios/abofy/ealdred.html |title=Britannia Biographies: Ealdred, Archbishop of York |publisher=notesfromtheroad.net |access-date=2 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723230138/http://notesfromtheroad.net/bhc/bios/abofy/ealdred.html |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In January 1069 a rebellion in support of [[Edgar Ætheling]] triggered a brutal crackdown by William. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' reports that William's forces "ravaged the town, and made St Peter’s Minster a disgrace". Later in the year, [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] invaders supporting the Ætheling sailed up the Humber and Ouse; they attacked the city, in the course of which a fire broke out, burning the cathedral.<ref>{{cite book |section=French Conquest and Lordship |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=87–88 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> Anything at this point remaining of the cathedral may then have been further damaged by William's [[Harrying of the North]]. The first [[Normans|Norman]] archbishop, [[Thomas of Bayeux]], arriving in 1070, apparently organised repairs, but in 1075, another Danish force sailed up the river, "travelled to York and broke into St Peter’s Minster, and there took much property, and so went away."<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |section=French Conquest and Lordship |title=Medieval York: 600–1540 |editor-first=D. M. |editor-last=Palliser |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |pages=92 |isbn=978-0-19-925584-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnNmAgAAQBAJ&dq=alcuin%20alma%20sophia&pg=PT77 |access-date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> Building of a new cathedral, the Norman Minster, began in 1080, and was completed before Thomas's death in 1100.<ref name="auto2"/> The new cathedral was likely immediately to the south of the old Saxon cathedral, which was probably demolished once the new structure was completed.<ref name="auto1"/> A similar approach was taken in the same period at Winchester.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=prETEAAAQBAJ&dq=winchester+old+minster+demolished&pg=PA45 Old Minster at Winchester and the Tomb of Christ] The Middle Ages Revisited. Martin Biddle.</ref> Built in the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] style, the new cathedral was 364.173&nbsp;ft (111&nbsp;m) long and rendered in white and red lines. The new structure was damaged by fire in 1137 but was soon repaired. The choir and crypt were remodelled in 1154, and a new chapel was built, all in the Norman style.

The [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]] in cathedrals had arrived in the mid 12th century. [[Walter de Gray]] was made archbishop in 1215 and ordered the construction of a Gothic structure to rival [[Canterbury Cathedral|Canterbury]]; building began in 1220. The north and south transepts were the first new structures; completed in the 1250s, both were built in the Early English Gothic style but had markedly different wall elevations. A substantial [[crossing tower|central tower]] was also completed, with a wooden [[spire]]. Building continued into the 15th century.

The Chapter House was begun in the 1260s and was completed before 1296. The wide nave was constructed from the 1280s on the Norman foundations. The outer roof was completed in the 1330s, but the vaulting was not finished until 1360. Construction then moved on to the eastern arm and chapels; the Norman choir was demolished in the 1390s with the exception of its undercroft of {{circa|1160}}, which was reconstructed to provide a platform for the new high altar.<ref name=":4" /> Work here finished around 1405. In 1407 the central tower collapsed; the piers were then reinforced, and a new tower was built from 1420. The western towers were added between 1433 and 1472. The cathedral was declared complete and [[Consecration|consecrated]] in 1472.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/timeline/medieval/the-medieval-minster |title=The Medieval Minster: History of York |publisher=www.historyofyork.org.uk |access-date=2 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128015806/http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/timeline/medieval/the-medieval-minster |archive-date=28 January 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 of England|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 [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]] in 1644, but [[Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax of Cameron|Thomas Fairfax]] prevented any further damage to the cathedral.
[[File:York Cathedral (BM 1958,0124.2).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Etching by William Martin, brother of arsonist [[Jonathan Martin (arsonist)|Jonathan Martin]]]]
Following the easing of religious tensions some work was done 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 [[Jonathan Martin (arsonist)|Jonathan Martin]] inflicted heavy damage on the east arm.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A4187649 |title=Jonathan Martin: The Man Who Burned York Minster |work=BBC News |access-date=16 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530003413/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4187649 |archive-date=30 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 Duncombe]] worked successfully to revive the cathedral. In 1866, there were six residentiary canonries: of which one was the Chancellor's, one the Sub-Dean's, and another annexed to the [[Archdeaconry of York]].<ref>''The Clergy List for 1866'' (London: George Cox, 1866) [https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=hIxbAAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.RA1-PA261 p. 261]</ref>

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. £2,000,000 was raised and spent by 1972 to reinforce and strengthen the building foundations and roof. During the excavations that were carried out, remains of the north corner of the Roman ''Principia'' (headquarters of the Roman fort of [[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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkminster.org/about-us/york-minster-revealed-ymr.html |title=Revealed |publisher=York Minster |access-date=19 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907104555/http://www.yorkminster.org/about-us/york-minster-revealed-ymr.html |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1984 fire===
{{main|York Minster fire}}
[[File:Inspecting Fire damage, firemen, York Minster.jpg|thumb|280px|Firemen inspect damage the day after the fire in 1984]]
On 9 July 1984, York Minster suffered a serious fire in its south transept during the early morning hours.<ref name="Potts">{{cite news|first=Lauren|last=Potts|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-28112373|title=Remembering the York Minster fire 30 years on|work=BBC News|date=9 July 2014|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417103958/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-28112373|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Firefighters made a decision to deliberately collapse the roof of the south transept by pouring tens of thousands of gallons of water onto it, in order to save the rest of the building from destruction.<ref name="OnthisDay"/> A total of 114 firefighters from across [[North Yorkshire]] responded to the fire and contained it,<ref name="Potts"/> while York Minster's staff and clergy rushed to preserve historical objects in the building.<ref name=Potts/> The glass of the south transept rose window was shattered by the heat but the lead held it together, allowing it to be taken down for restoration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/05/world/york-minster-is-back-to-life-after-84-fire.html|title=York Minster Is Back to Life After '84 Fire|work=The New York Times|date=5 November 1988|access-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419050105/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/05/world/york-minster-is-back-to-life-after-84-fire.html|archive-date=19 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="OnthisDay">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/july/9/newsid_3857000/3857779.stm|title=1984: York Minster ablaze|work=BBC News|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328213630/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/july/9/newsid_3857000/3857779.stm|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> A subsequent investigation found an 80% chance that the fire was caused by a lightning strike to a metal electrical box on top of the roof, a 10% chance that the fire was caused by arson, and a 10% chance that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.<ref name="Potts"/> Some traditionalist Anglicans suggested the fire was a sign of divine displeasure at the recent consecration as [[Bishop of Durham]] of [[David Jenkins (bishop)|David Jenkins]], whose views they considered [[heterodoxy|heterodox]].<ref name=Telegraph_obit>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/09/04/the-right-reverend-david-jenkins-bishop-of-durham--obituary/ |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |issue=((50,165)) |date=5 September 2016 |page=25 |title=The Right Reverend David Jenkins: Bishop of Durham who created a storm for the Church but was admired within his diocese |access-date=18 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418092722/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/09/04/the-right-reverend-david-jenkins-bishop-of-durham--obituary/ |archive-date=18 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A repair and restoration project was completed in 1988 at a cost of £2.25&nbsp;million,<ref name="Potts"/> and included new [[Boss (architecture)|roof bosses]] to designs which had won a competition put on by [[BBC Television]]'s ''[[Blue Peter]]'' programme for children.<ref name="OnthisDay"/> The roof trusses were rebuilt in oak, but some were coated with fire-retardant plaster.<ref name="Potts"/>

===2002 West Door renewal===
In 2002, the carvings round the great west door, which had become severely weathered, were replaced with new sculptures carved by Minster masons to designs by the sculptor [[Rory Young (sculptor)|Rory Young]], telling the [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] story.

===2007–2018 renovation===
In 2007 renovation began on the east front, including the Great East Window, at an estimated cost of £23&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkminster.org/learning/the-minsters-history/ |title=York Minster: a very brief history |publisher=York Minster |access-date=5 October 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209035428/http://www.yorkminster.org/learning/the-minsters-history/ |archive-date=9 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://70.86.220.251/documents/73/press-pack.pdf |title=York Minster Press Pack |access-date=5 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030085407/http://70.86.220.251/documents/73/press-pack.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 311 glass panels from the Great East Window were removed in 2008 for conservation. The project was completed in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-44155108/york-minster-window-renovations-complete-after-a-decade|title=York Minster window renovations complete after a decade|work=BBC News|date=17 May 2018|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417173929/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-44155108/york-minster-window-renovations-complete-after-a-decade|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Schools===
There have been choir schools associated with the Minster since the 7th century. A 'song school' was founded in 627 by [[Paulinus of York]], the first Archbishop of York.<ref name="school-history">{{cite web |publisher=The Minster School |url=http://www.minsterschoolyork.co.uk/about-us/history/ |title=History |access-date=12 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118053108/http://www.minsterschoolyork.co.uk/about-us/history/ |archive-date=18 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Buildings used by the [[The Minster School, York|former Minster school]] have been awarded listed status, among them the school house built 1830–33,<ref>{{NHLE | num = 1257229 | desc = Minster Song School (Part), York| date =14 June 1954 |access-date = 1 July 2017}}</ref> two houses dating back to 1837,<ref>{{NHLE | num= 1257259 | desc = Minster Song School (Part), York| date =14 June 1954 |access-date = 1 July 2017}}</ref> and a Georgian building of 1755.<ref>{{NHLE | num = 1257261 | desc = Minster Song School (Part), York | date =14 June 1954 |access-date = 1 July 2017}}</ref>

==Architecture of the present building==
{{more citations needed section|date=May 2017}}
{{Multiple image
| align         = centre
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| perrow       = 2
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| image1       = York - York Minster - 20220520111412.jpg
| image2       = YorkMinsterPlanDehio.jpg
| footer         = Aerial view and cruciform plan of York Minster; plan drawn by [[Georg Dehio]].
}}
[[File:York Minster - geograph.org.uk - 3449487.jpg|thumb|350px|The west front of York Minster, featuring its twin Gothic towers and large central window.]]
York Minster is the second-largest [[Gothic (architecture)|Gothic]] cathedral of Northern Europe and clearly charts the development of English Gothic architecture from [[Early English Period|Early English]] through to the [[Perpendicular Period]]. The present building was begun in about 1230 and completed in 1472. York Minster is the largest cathedral completed during the Gothic period of architecture, [[Cologne Cathedral]] only being completed in 1880, after being left uncompleted for 350 years. 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 [[Geology of Yorkshire|magnesian limestone]], a creamy-white coloured rock that was quarried in nearby [[Tadcaster]]. The Minster is {{convert|524.5|ft|m}} long<ref name="bigland"/> and the central tower has a height of {{convert|235|ft|m}}.<ref name="bigland"/> The choir has an interior height of {{convert|102|ft|m}}.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

The north and south [[transept]]s were the first parts of the new church to be built. They have simple [[lancet window]]s, including the ''Five Sisters'' in the north transept. These are five lancets, each {{convert|16.3|m|ft}} tall and five feet wide<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/fact-sheet-the-principal-windows.pdf |title=York Minster centre for school visits, York Minster fact sheets, the great west window |publisher=York Minster |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015030/https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/fact-sheet-the-principal-windows.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and glazed with grey ([[grisaille]]) glass,<ref>{{cite book|first=Sara N. |last=James|title=Art in England: The Saxons to the Tudors: 600–1600|publisher=Oxbow Books|year= 2016|page= 105 |isbn=9781785702235}}</ref> rather than narrative scenes or symbolic motifs that are usually seen in medieval stained-glass windows. In the south transept is a [[rose window]] whose glass dates from about 1500 and commemorates the union of the royal houses of [[House of York|York]] and [[House of Lancaster|Lancaster]]. The roofs of the transepts are of wood; that of the south transept was burnt in the fire of 1984 and was replaced in the restoration work which was completed in 1988. New designs were used for the [[Boss (architecture)|bosses]], five of which were designed by winners of a competition organised by the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Blue Peter]]'' television programme.
[[File:York - York Minster - 2025-09-19 19-11-44 007.jpg|thumb|350px|The chapter house]]
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 that 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. The wooden roof, which was of an innovative design, is light enough to be able to be supported by the [[buttress]]ed 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. The chapter house exhibits the influence of [[Basilique Saint-Urbain de Troyes|Saint-Urbain, Troyes]] in the tracery in the vestibule, while the stalls are enlarged versions of the archivolt niches in the portal of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Not without Honour save in its own Country? Saint-Urbain at Troyes and its Contrasting French and English Posterities {{!}} The Year 1300 and the Creation of a new European Architecture|chapter=Not without Honour save in its own Country? Saint-Urbain at Troyes and its Contrasting French and English Posterities|chapter-url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/M.AMA-EB.3.9|series=Architectura Medii Aevi|date=January 2008|volume=1|pages=107–122|doi=10.1484/M.AMA-EB.3.9|isbn=9782503522869|last1=Wilson |first1=Christopher }}</ref>

The [[nave]] was built between 1291 and {{circa|1350}} and is also in the decorated Gothic style. It is the widest Gothic nave in England and has a wooden roof (painted so as to appear like stone) and the aisles have vaulted stone roofs. At its west end is the Great West Window, known as the 'Heart of Yorkshire', second-largest among the church's 128 windows.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Sarah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYUzvgAACAAJ&q=stained+glass+windows+in+york+minster|title=Stained Glass at York Minster|year= 2018|publisher=Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Limited|isbn=9781785510731|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622165023/https://books.google.ca/books?id=ZYUzvgAACAAJ&dq=stained+glass+windows+in+york+minster&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQvdrluufbAhWi24MKHXF9BMEQ6AEIKTAA|archive-date=22 June 2018|url-status=live|via=Google Books}}</ref> This window was designed and built along with the rest of the west front by the master mason Ivo de Raghton in 1338–39.<ref name=":1">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Curl|first=James Stevens|title=Raghton, Ivo de|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-3781|encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture|year=2015|editor-last=Curl|editor-first=James Stevens|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|access-date=28 June 2020|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Susan|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The tracery is in the [[Flamboyant]] or Curvilinear [[Decorated Style|Decorated style]] of [[English Gothic architecture]].<ref name=":0">York Minster site: the Great West Window – Fact Sheet 7</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Flamboyant|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001/acref-9780199674985-e-1822|encyclopedia=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture|year=2015|editor-last=Curl|editor-first=James Stevens|edition=3rd|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199674985.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-967498-5|access-date=28 June 2020|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Susan|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Because of deterioration of stone mullions, the tracery was replaced in the late 1980s with an exact copy.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:York Minster exterior, 2022.jpg|thumb|350px|The east front of York Minster, featuring the Great East Window — one of the largest expanses of medieval stained glass.]]
The east end of the Minster was built between 1361 and 1405 in the [[Perpendicular Gothic]] style. Despite the change in style, noticeable in details such as the tracery and capitals, the eastern arm preserves the pattern of the nave. The east end contains a four-bay choir; a second set of transepts, projecting only above half-height; and the Lady Chapel. The transepts are in line with the [[high altar]] and serve to throw light onto it. Behind the high altar is the Great East Window, the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country, which underwent a decade-long restoration and conservation project, completed in 2018.

The sparsely decorated ''Central Tower'' was built between 1407 and 1472 and is also in the Perpendicular style. 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 of England|Henry VI]] with stone and [[Gilding|gilded]] canopies set against a red background. Above the screen is the organ, which dates from 1832. The West Towers, in contrast with the Central Tower, are heavily decorated and are topped with battlements and eight pinnacles each, again in the Perpendicular style.

In 2003, English Heritage made publicly available a monograph on the architectural history of York Minster.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first= S. |year=2003 |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089082 |title=York Minster: An architectural history c. 1220–1500 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113114006/http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/eh_monographs_2014/contents.cfm?mono=1089082 |archive-date=13 November 2014 |publisher=English Heritage}}</ref> The book charts the construction and development of the minster based on the architectural recording of the building from the 1970s.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="250px">
File:York Minster - geograph.org.uk - 1749718.jpg|York Minster, taken from Minster Yard
File:York Minster Rood Screen, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|The Kings Screen and organ
File:YorkMinsterCrossingH1c.jpg|Crossing
File:Statues york minster 8404.jpg|Some of the 15 statues of kings, from Henry III to Henry VI, in the 15th-century Kings Screen
</gallery>

===Stained glass===
{{See also|Five Sisters window}}
<gallery widths="150" heights="200">
File:York Minster Chapter House, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|Stained glass windows and painted ceiling of the Chapter House.
File:Yorkminster west glass 8430.jpg|The west window (1338–39), with curvilinear tracery in the [[Decorated Style|Decorated style]]
File:York Minster East Window 15 a & b (42439130781).jpg|Detail from the east window, depicting the first two days of creation 
File:York Minster, Great East Window.jpg|The east window (1405–1408), in the [[Perpendicular style]]
File:York Minster Window S27 detail (Clerestory) (43485367321).jpg|Detail of a [[clerestory]] window, depicting part of a miracle of [[St Nicholas]]
File:York Minster window n16 "The Five sisters" (16157008236).jpg|The Five Sisters window, in the [[Early English (architecture)|Early English]] style
</gallery>
Some of the stained glass in York Minster dates back to the 12th century and much of the glass (white or coloured) came from Germany.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gibson |first=Peter |title=The Stained and Painted Glass of York Minster |year=1979 |publisher=Jarrold Publishing |location=Norwich|isbn=085306833X|pages=5–6}}</ref> The glass was painted, fired, then joined with lead strips ([[came]]) into the windows. The Dean and Chapter of York commissioned [[John Thornton (glass painter)|John Thornton]] in 1405 to design the {{convert|77|ft|m|adj=on}} tall and {{convert|32|ft|m|adj=on}} wide<ref>{{cite book |last=Berlow |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4t4CAAAQBAJ&q=great+east+window+york+minster++76+feet+x+32+feet&pg=PA183 |title=Reference Guide to Famous Engineering Landmarks of the World: Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Roads and Other Structures |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=9781135932541 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622165143/https://books.google.ca/books?id=I4t4CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=great+east+window+york+minster++76+feet+x+32+feet&source=bl&ots=xVKHyEFDT-&sig=zd8DZjVC27W5_MohM06XAk5BZAo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFlrHQuefbAhUD4IMKHfT3CPcQ6AEIcjAQ#v=onepage&q=great+east+window+york+minster++76+feet+x+32+feet&f=false |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref> Great East Window;<ref name=":5">{{cite news|url=https://heni.com/talks/the-great-east-window|first=Brian |last=Clarke|title=The Great East Window: Brian Clarke|work=HENI Talks|access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> he was paid £66 for the work.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.york.ac.uk/50/impact/stained-glass/ |title=Preserving York Minster's Great East Window – 50th Anniversary, University of York |publisher=University of York |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164805/https://www.york.ac.uk/50/impact/stained-glass/ |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Composed of over 300 panels,<ref name=":5" /> this is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country, according to the Minster.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yorkminster.org/discover/conservation/great-east-window/|title=Great East Window|publisher=York Minster|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622165140/https://yorkminster.org/discover/conservation/great-east-window/|archive-date=22 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The window represents scenes from the [[Book of Revelation]], and the glazier Thornton may have been influenced by earlier [[illuminated manuscript]]s on the subject such as the Latin [[Douce Apocalypse]] (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Douce MS 180) and the Old French Queen Mary Apocalypse (London, British Library Royal MS BXV).<ref name=":3">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Sarah|title=The great east window of York Minster : an English masterpiece|year=2018|isbn=978-1-78125-978-8|publisher=Third Millennium Publishing|location=London|oclc=1023399752}}</ref> The work was conceived by Archbishop [[John of Thoresby]] in the mid fourteenth century, but the window itself was only completed thanks to the funding of Bishop [[Walter Skirlaw]] and Archbishop [[Richard Scrope (bishop)|Richard Scrope.]]<ref name=":3" />

{{anchor|Five Sisters window}}
Another important window is the {{convert|16.3|m|ft|order=flip|adj=on}}<ref name="FiveSisters" /> tall Five Sisters window. Because of the extended time periods during which the glass was installed, different types of [[Glaze (painting technique)|glazing]] and painting techniques are visible in the different windows. Approximately two million individual pieces of glass make up the cathedral's stained-glass windows. The windows were removed in 1916 because of the fear of bombing during the [[First World War]] and the "Five Sisters" window was restored in 1925 with £3,500 raised by [[Almyra Gray]] and Helen Little.<ref name="Fell2018">{{cite book|first=Alison S. |last=Fell|title=Women as Veterans in Britain and France after the First World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rORfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|year=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-42576-6|pages=46–}}</ref> The glass was removed again during the [[World War II|Second World War]].

In 2008 a conservation project of the Great East Window commenced, involving the removal, repainting and re-leading of each individual panel.<ref>{{cite episode| series = The ONE Show| series-link =The One Show| network = [[BBC 1]]| air-date = 29 January 2008}}</ref> While the window was in storage in the minster's stonemasons' yard, a fire broke out in some adjoining offices, due to an electrical fault, on 30 December 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/4828313.York_Minster_Stoneyard_blaze_caused_by_electrical_fault/ |title=York Minster Stoneyard blaze caused by electrical fault |work=York Press |access-date=1 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124024505/http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/4828313.York_Minster_Stoneyard_blaze_caused_by_electrical_fault/ |archive-date=24 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The window's 311 panes, stored in a neighbouring room, were undamaged and were successfully moved to safety.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6917193/York-Minster-fire-medieval-stained-glass-window-saved.html |title=York Minster fire: medieval stained-glass window saved |work=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=31 December 2009 |location=London |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413221414/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6917193/York-Minster-fire-medieval-stained-glass-window-saved.html |archive-date=13 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/8435819.stm |title=Fire crews rescue medieval York Minster window |date=31 December 2009 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=6 January 2010}}</ref> In September 2015, the first phase of the renovation project of the East Front of the Minster was completed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-34279214 |title=York Minster window gets major renovation |work=BBC News |date=30 July 2014 |access-date=19 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919103106/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34279214 |archive-date=19 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The final phase of the £11&nbsp;million restoration<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-42551807 |title=Medieval great window finally restored |date=22 June 2018 |work=BBC News |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625004640/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-42551807 |archive-date=25 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> of the 311 panels was completed in September 2017 and they were re-installed between November 2017 and January 2018. In total, the work on the Great East Window had taken 92,400 hours of labour, including the time required to add protective UV coating on the glass.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/york-minsters-massive-great-east-windoow-finishes-10-year-restoration-180967797/#qLu8O5SEdlEEGiIJ.99 |title=York Minister's Massive Medieval Stained-Glass Window Restored to Its Former Glory |first=Jason |last=Daley |journal=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |date=11 January 2018 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622165029/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/york-minsters-massive-great-east-windoow-finishes-10-year-restoration-180967797/#qLu8O5SEdlEEGiIJ.99 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The work was largely undertaken or overseen by [[Peter Gibson (glazier)|Peter Gibson]], who worked on all the Minster's windows during his career.<ref name=press>[https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/14904192.tributes-paid-to-peter-gibson-renowned-york-craftsman-and-glazier/ "Tributes paid to Peter Gibson, renowned York craftsman and glazier"] – ''[[The Press (York)|The Press]]'', 15 November 2016</ref>

===Towers and bells===
<gallery widths="250" heights="250">
File:York Minster Moon Light View 1844 Cadell Antique Print Waverley Novels Colour.jpg|York Minster in Moon Light, Waverley Novels IV 1844
File:York Minster from the walls near York Station - geograph.org.uk - 6014256.jpg|View of York Minster seen from the city walls near York Station
File:Lower Petergate in York, England.jpg|[[Low Petergate]] with the Minster towers in the background
File:Yorkminster near sunset 8495.jpg|One of the towers, near sunset, York Minster
File:York Minster Towers.jpg|A view of York (West) from York Minster main tower
</gallery>
The two west towers of the minster hold [[Bell (instrument)|bells]], clock chimes and a concert [[carillon]]. The north-west tower contains Great Peter (216&nbsp;[[Hundredweight|cwt]] or 10.8&nbsp;[[ton]]s) and the six clock bells (the largest weighing just over 60&nbsp;cwt or 3&nbsp;tons). The south-west tower holds 14 bells (tenor 59&nbsp;cwt or 3&nbsp;tons) hung and rung for [[change ringing]] and 22 carillon bells (tenor 23&nbsp;cwt or 1.2&nbsp;tons) which are played from a baton keyboard in the ringing chamber (all together 36 bells.)

The clock bells ring every quarter of an hour during the daytime and Great Peter strikes the hour.

The change ringing bells fell silent in October 2016, following the controversial termination of the ringers' volunteer agreements by the dean and chapter.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bell ringers update |url=http://www.yorkminsterbells.org.uk/?p=465 |website=York Minster Society of Change Ringers | date=13 October 2016 |access-date=15 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017141412/http://www.yorkminsterbells.org.uk/?p=465 |archive-date=17 October 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BellsGuardian">{{cite news |last=Perraudin |first=Frances |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/13/york-minster-to-fall-silent-after-sacking-bellringers-for-whom-the-bell-tolls |title=For whom the bell tolls: York Minster to fall silent as ringers sacked |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=13 October 2016 |location=London |access-date=16 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015235001/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/13/york-minster-to-fall-silent-after-sacking-bellringers-for-whom-the-bell-tolls |archive-date=15 October 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The pause in ringing included the Christmas period of 2016, reported as the first time in over 600 years that the Minster's bells were not heard on Christmas Day.<ref name="York Minster bells' first Christmas Day silence for 600 years">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-38436809 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |title=York Minster bells' first Christmas Day silence for 600 years |date=26 December 2016 |access-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418181730/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-38436809 |archive-date=18 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> After a year with no change ringing, a new band was appointed and ringing resumed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sherwood |first1=Harriet |title=York Minster bells to chime again next month after year's silence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/22/york-minster-bells-to-chime-again-next-month-new-bellringing-band |website=The Guardian |date=22 August 2017 |access-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602175223/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/22/york-minster-bells-to-chime-again-next-month-new-bellringing-band |archive-date=2 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

York Minster became the first cathedral in England to have a carillon of bells with the arrival of a further twenty-four small bells on 4 April 2008. These are added to the existing "Nelson Chime" which is chimed to announce Evensong around 5:00&nbsp;pm each day, giving a carillon of 35 bells in total (three chromatic octaves). The new bells were cast at the Loughborough Bell Foundry of [[John Taylor & Co]], where all of the existing minster bells were cast. The new carillon is a gift to the minster. It will be the first new [[List of carillons of the British Isles|carillon in the British Isles]] for 40 years and first hand played carillon in an English cathedral. Before Evensong each evening, hymn tunes are played on a baton keyboard connected with the bells, but occasionally anything from [[Beethoven]] to [[the Beatles]] may be heard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkminster.org/news/story220/new-bells-for-york-minster.html |title=New Bells for York Minster |last=Peacock |first=Alix |date=4 April 2008 |work=Minster News |publisher=York Minster |access-date=10 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107004751/http://www.yorkminster.org./news/story220/new-bells-for-york-minster.html |archive-date=7 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Shrines===
When [[Thomas Becket]] was murdered and subsequently enshrined at [[Canterbury Cathedral|Canterbury]], York found itself with a rival major draw for pilgrims. More specifically, pilgrims spent money and would leave gifts for the support of the cathedral. Hence [[Walter de Gray]], supported by the King, petitioned the Pope. On 18 March 1226, [[Pope Honorius III|Pope Honorius]] issued a letter to the effect that the name of William (Fitzherbert), formerly Archbishop of York, was "inscribed in the catalogue of the Saints of the Church Militant." Thus there was now St [[William of York]] (whose name is perhaps more often associated with the adjacent St William's College). York had its saint but it took until 1279, when [[William de Wickwane]] (William de Wykewayne) was elected archbishop, for the remains of the canonised William to be transferred to a shrine prepared for them behind the high altar.<ref name=Purey>Purey-Cust, A. P. The Very Reverend Dean ''York Minster'' (1897) Isbister & Co</ref> This was placed on a platform raised upon the arches of the crypt removed to this position for that purpose. On 29 December [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] himself, together with the bishops who were present, carried on their shoulder the chest or [[feretory]] containing the relics to their new resting-place and [[Antony Bek (bishop of Durham)|Anthony Beck]], consecrated the same day as [[Bishop of Durham]], paid all the expenses.

The tomb of [[Walter de Gray]] was erected in the south transept. His remains were interred on "the vigil of Pentecost, 1255"<ref name=Purey/> under his effigy "in full canonicals" carved in [[Purbeck marble]] under a canopy resting on ten light pillars. It was subsequently somewhat hidden behind a screen of ironwork erected by Archbishop [[William Markham (bishop)|William Markham]] in the early 19th century.

On 9 November 2022 [[King Charles III]] unveiled [[Statue of Elizabeth II, York Minster|a statue]] of his mother [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in a niche on the west facade of York Minster.<ref>{{cite news |date=9 November 2022 |title=York: King Charles unveils first statue of Queen since her death |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-63558962 |access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

==Consulting architects==
The Minster's consulting architects (since 1965 called "Surveyors of the Fabric" – see Cant and Aylmer, ''York Minster'', p.&nbsp;554) have included the following:

* [[G. E. Street]] (1868–1881)
* [[G. F. Bodley]] (1882–1907)
* [[Walter Tapper]] (1908–1935)
* Sir [[Charles Reed Peers]] (1935–1946)
* [[Sir Albert Edward Richardson]] (1946–1964)
* [[Bernard Feilden]] (1964–1977)
* [[Charles Brown (architect)|Charles Brown]] (1977–1995)
* [[James Simpson (architect)|James Simpson]] {{circa|1995}}
* Andrew Arrol (????–2020)
* Oliver Caroe (2020– )

== Vaults ==
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:York Minster Nave 1, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|The nave of York Minster
File:YorkMinsterDeckeChorH1c.jpg|Chancel
File:YorkMinsterDeckeRechtesSeitenschiffH1b.jpg|South transept
File:YorkMinsterDeckeLinkesSeitenschiffH1c.jpg|North transept
File:YorkMinsterKaiptitelsaalDeckeH1c.jpg|Chapter house
File:YorkMinsterDeckeHauptschiffH1c.jpg|Nave
</gallery>

==Organ==
The fire of 1829 destroyed the organ and the basis of the present organ dates from 1832, when [[Elliot and Hill]] constructed a new instrument. This organ was reconstructed in 1859 by [[William Hill & Son|William Hill and Son]]. The case remained intact, but the organ was mechanically new, retaining the largest pipes of the former instrument.

In 1903, [[J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd|J. W. Walker and Sons]] built a new instrument in the same case. They retained several registers from the previous instrument.

Some work was undertaken in 1918 by [[Harrison & Harrison]] when the Tuba Mirabilis was added and the Great chorus revised. The same firm rebuilt this Walker-Harrison instrument in 1931 when a new console and electro-pneumatic action were added together with four new stops. The smaller solo tubas were enclosed in the solo box. In 1960, J. W. Walker & Sons restored the actions, lowered wind pressures and introduced mutations and higher chorus work in the spirit of the neo-classical movement. They cleaned the organ in 1982.

The fire of 1984 affected the organ but not irreparably; the damage hastened the time for a major restoration, which was begun in 1991 and finished two years later by Principal Pipe Organs of York, under the direction of their founder, Geoffrey Coffin, who had at one time been assistant organist at the Minster.<ref>{{NPOR|id=D04217|desc=Yorkshire York, Cathedral of St. Peter ('York Minster'), Deangate|access-date=22 June 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, a £2&nbsp;million project to refurbish the current organ was announced. The project took two years for its completion in March 2021 and saw nearly all of its 5,403 pipes removed and taken to organ specialists [[Harrison & Harrison]] in Durham.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yorkminster.org/discover/conservation/organ-refurbishment/ |title=The once-a-century refurbishment |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821162120/https://yorkminster.org/discover/conservation/organ-refurbishment/ |archive-date=21 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-56294640|title=York Minster Grand Organ to play again after £2m repair|date=5 March 2021|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

<gallery widths="250px" heights="250px">
File:Interior of York Minster31.JPG|The organ on the choir screen
File:York Minster Choir, Nth Yorkshire, UK - Diliff.jpg|The choir
File:YorkMCrypt.jpg|The crypt
</gallery>

===Organists===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2025}}
{{See also|List of musicians at English cathedrals}}
The organists of York Minster have had several official titles, the job description roughly equates to that of [[Organist and Master of the Choristers]]. The current Organist and Director of Music of the Minster is Robert Sharpe. There is also an assistant director of Music, Ben Morris.

Among the notable organists of York Minster are four members of the [[Camidge family]], who served as the cathedral's organists for over 100 years, and a number of composers including [[John Naylor (organist)|John Naylor]] (1883{{ndash}}1897), [[T. Tertius Noble]] (1898{{ndash}}1913), [[Edward Bairstow]] (1913{{ndash}}1946), [[Francis Jackson (composer)|Francis Jackson]] (1946{{ndash}}1982) and [[Philip Moore (organist)|Philip Moore]] (1983{{ndash}}2008).

==Dean and chapter==
As of 20 January 2024:

* [[Dean of York|Dean]] – [[Dominic Barrington]] (since 12 November 2022 installation)<ref>{{cite web |website=Archbishop of York |title=The Installation of Dominic Barrington as the 77th Dean of York |date=25 October 2022 |url=https://www.archbishopofyork.org/news/latest-news/installation-very-reverend-dominic-barrington-77th-dean-york |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031131641/https://www.archbishopofyork.org/news/latest-news/installation-very-reverend-dominic-barrington-77th-dean-york |archive-date=31 October 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref>
* Pastor – Timothy Goode (since 9 September 2023 installation)<ref name="acc13">{{cite web|url=https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/Signed%202013%20Chapter%20full%20accounts(1)(1).pdf |title=York Minster – full accounts, 2013|access-date= 6 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174037/https://yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/Signed%202013%20Chapter%20full%20accounts(1)(1).pdf|archive-date = 6 January 2018}}</ref>
* Missioner – Maggie McLean (since 17 November 2019 installation)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d10okuw2vik61v.cloudfront.net/uploads/2019/11/scheme-Nov-Dec.pdf |title=The Mailing |publisher=dioceseofyork.org.uk |date=2019 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref>
* Precentor – James Milne (since 18 May 2024 installation)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://d10okuw2vik61v.cloudfront.net/uploads/2019/12/Scheme-Jan-Feb.pdf |title=The Mailing |publisher=dioceseofyork.org.uk |date=2019 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref>
* Chancellor – vacant since 31 August 2020<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dioceseofyork.org.uk/uploads/attachment/5009/the-mailing-14-october-2020.pdf |title=The Mailing |publisher=dioceseofyork.org.uk |date=2020 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref>

==Burials==
{{see also|Category:Burials at York Minster}}
{{Incomplete list|date=December 2010}}
[[File:Memorial to Thomas Watson Wentworth in York Minster.JPG|thumb|Funerary monument to [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham]], [[Prime minister of the United Kingdom]], in York Minster]]
{{div col}}
* [[Bosa of York]], Bishop of York and [[Saint]] (died {{circa|705}})
* [[Eanbald (died 796)|Eanbald]], Archbishop (780–796)
* [[Osbald of Northumbria|Osbald]], [[List of monarchs of Northumbria|King of Northumbria (died 799)]]
* [[Guthred|Guthred Hardacnutson]], King of Northumbria (died 895)
* [[Tostig Godwinson]], brother of [[Harold Godwinson|King Harold II]] (both died in separate battles in 1066)
* [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred]], Archbishop (1061–1069)
* [[Thomas of Bayeux]], Archbishop (1070–1100)
* [[Gerard (archbishop of York)|Gerard]], Archbishop (1100–1108)
* [[Thomas II of York]], Archbishop (1108–1114)
* [[William of York]], Archbishop (1141–1147, 1153–1154)
* [[Henry Murdac]], Archbishop (1147–1153)
* [[Roger de Pont L'Évêque]], Archbishop (1154–1181)
* [[Walter de Gray]], Archbishop (1216–1255)
* [[Sewal de Bovil]], Dean and Archbishop (1256–1258)
* [[Godfrey Ludham]], Archbishop (1258–1265)
* [[William Langton]], Archbishop (1265)
* [[Walter Giffard]], Archbishop (1266–1279)
* [[John le Romeyn]], Archbishop (1286–1296)
* [[Henry of Newark]], Archbishop (1296–1299)
* [[William Greenfield]], Archbishop (1306–1315)
* [[William of Hatfield]], infant son of Edward III (1337)
* [[William Melton]], Archbishop (1317–1340)
* [[William Zouche]], Archbishop (1342–1352)
* [[Henry Percy (Hotspur)|Henry Percy]], soldier (1364–1403)
* [[Richard Scrope (bishop)|Richard le Scrope]], Archbishop (1398–1405)
* [[Henry Bowet]], Archbishop (1407–1423)
* [[Thomas Rotherham]], Archbishop (1480–1500)
* [[Thomas Savage (bishop)|Thomas Savage]], Archbishop (1501–1507)
* [[Hugh Ashton]], [[Archdeacon]] of York (died 1522)
* [[John Piers]], Archbishop (1589–1594)
* [[George Meriton]], Dean of York (1579–1624)
* [[Thomas Danby (died 1660)|Thomas Danby]] (MP) (1610–1660)
* [[Richard Neile]], Archbishop (1631–1640)
* [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham]], (1730–1782)
* [[John Farr Abbott]], barrister (1756–1794)
{{div col end}}

==Astronomical clock==
{{Main|York Minster astronomical clock}}
The [[York Minster astronomical clock|astronomical clock]] was installed in the north transept of York Minster in 1955. The clock is a memorial to the airmen operating from bases in Yorkshire, [[County Durham]] and [[Northumberland]] who were killed in action during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.yorkminster.org/documents/59/york-minster-news-december-2005.pdf|title = 50th Anniversary of the Astronomical Clock|work = York Minster News|publisher = York Minster|date = December 2005|access-date = 27 July 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081030085408/http://www.yorkminster.org/documents/59/york-minster-news-december-2005.pdf|archive-date = 30 October 2008|url-status = live}}</ref> The clock is not currently working.

==Illuminations==
[[File:York Minster Illuminations.jpg|thumb|The West Door, illuminated in December 2005]]
In November 2002, York Minster was illuminated in colour, devised by York-born Mark Brayshaw, for the first time in its history. The occasion was televised live on the BBC1 ''[[BBC Look North|Look North]]'' programme. Similar illuminations have been projected over the Christmas period in subsequent years.

York Minster was also artistically illuminated on 5 November 2005, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the foiling of York-born [[Guy Fawkes]]' gunpowder plot. This was done by [[Patrice Warrener]] using his unique "chromolithe" technique with which he 'paints' with light, picking out sculpted architectural details.

In October 2010, York Minster's south transept was selected for "Rose", a ''son et lumiere'' created by international artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid which lit up the entire exterior of the south transept of the minster and illuminated the Rose Window. There were also satellite illuminate events in [[Dean's Park]].

==York Mystery Plays==
{{Main|York Mystery Plays}}
In 2000, the Dean and Chapter allowed the York [[Mystery Play]]s to be performed for the first time inside the Minster, directed by [[Gregory Doran]].<ref>Archive of Mystery Plays at National Centre for Early Music.</ref> The Plays returned to the Minster for a second time in 2016, directed by Phillip Breen with [[Philip McGinley]] performing the role of [[Jesus]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jun/02/york-minster-mystery-plays-review-philip-mcginley |title=York Mystery Plays review – an epic medieval disaster movie |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2 June 2016 |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160621231416/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jun/02/york-minster-mystery-plays-review-philip-mcginley |archive-date=21 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Archbishop's Palace, Bishopthorpe]]
* [[Early Gothic architecture]]
* [[English Gothic architecture]]
* [[Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England]]
* [[English Gothic stained glass windows]]
* [[List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe]]
* [[Cathedral diagram]]
* [[Dean of York]]
* [[History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes]]
* [[The Minster School, York]] (now closed)
* [[Old Palace, York]]: Minster Library and Archives
* [[York Minster Police]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=Sarah |title=Stained Glass at York Minster |year=1999 |publisher=Scala in association with the Dean and Chapter of York |location=London |isbn=1-85759-219-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/stainedglassatyo00brow }}
* {{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Neave |first2=David |title=Yorkshire: York and the East Riding |orig-year=1972 |edition=2nd |year=1995 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=0-14-071061-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Willey |first=Ann |title=York Minster |year=1998 |publisher=Scala |location=London |isbn=1-85759-188-7}}
{{Refend}}

== Notes ==
{{Note|a}} The saying of the [[Anglican Daily Office|Daily Offices]] ([[Matins]] and [[Evensong]]) and [[Holy Communion]] (or Mass) also being celebrated daily, plus the use of vestments and incense, mean it is fair to ascribe the label "Anglo-Catholic" to the style of worship at York Minster. However, the theological and sacramental positions, and how far they may be called "catholic", is debated.

==External links==
{{commons category|York Minster}}
* {{official website|https://yorkminster.org/}}
* [http://www.yorkshireguides.com/york_minster.html Information on the history of York Minster and photographs]
* [http://www.york-united-kingdom.co.uk/york-minster/ Independent travel guide to York Minster with pictures]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180903044544/http://yorkshire-attractions.co.uk/attractions/york-minster.html York Minster information and pictures]}}
* [https://archive.today/20130421091310/http://www.theminsteryork.co.uk/ York Minster Information and Images www.theminsteryork.co.uk]
* [http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/york-minster History of York] – the Minster theme on the city's history website
* [http://www.fmschmitt.com/travels/England/york/YorkMinster/index.html Photo essay on interior of York Minster]
* [http://www.vryork.com/york-virtual-tour/York-Minster--interior-panoramic-view--York.html VR York Tour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814174932/http://www.vryork.com/york-virtual-tour/York-Minster--interior-panoramic-view--York.html |date=14 August 2018 }} Virtual Tour of York Minster – view the interior and exterior of the Minster in York
* [http://www.britishtours.com/360/yorkminster.html York Minster, QuickTime image]
* [http://kunsthistorie.com/galleri/index.php?album=England%2FYork+katedralen&sortby=name&order=asc Photos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090914/http://kunsthistorie.com/galleri/index.php?album=England%2FYork+katedralen&sortby=name&order=asc |date=29 September 2007 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125152837/http://www.ofchoristers.net/Chapters/York.htm A history of the choristers of York Minster]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/nov/30/arts.artsnews1 ''The Guardian'' Christmas illuminations]
* ''[http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20100804115740/http%3A//www%2Egutenberg%2Eorg/etext/19420 The Cathedral Church of York]'', 1899, by A. Clutton-Brock, from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [http://www.gotik-romanik.de/YorkThumbnails/Thumbnails.html Photos and plans]
* [http://alles-uke.de/york-minster-eng.html Sound of the chime and photography of York Minster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131034939/http://alles-uke.de/york-minster-eng.html |date=31 January 2012 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110831001200/http://theprojectionstudio.com/Projects/Project/project.asp?id_no=50 Rose—Illuminating York] by Ross Ashton & Karen Monid – "son et lumiere" images.

{{Cathedrals of the Church of England}}
{{Deans of York}}
{{Churches in York}}
{{British and Irish stained glass}}
{{Portal bar|Christianity|Yorkshire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:York Minster| ]]
[[Category:Anglican cathedrals in England]]
[[Category:Anglo-Catholic church buildings in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Carillons]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in York|Minster]]
[[Category:Diocese of York]]
[[Category:English Gothic architecture in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed cathedrals]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in York]]
[[Category:Museums in York]]
[[Category:Musical instrument museums in England]]
[[Category:Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic cathedrals]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in York]]
[[Category:13th-century church buildings in England]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Affirming churches in England]]