A shot of the towers of York Minster from the market through the roofs and chimneys.
York's cathedral, although known as a minster, is officially the "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York ". By definition a cathedral is the site of a bishop's throne (a cathedra) but the word 'cathedral' did not come into use until af ter the Norman conquest. In Anglo-Saxon times important churches were minsters, but not all were bishops' seats. York Minster's history began in 627AD when King Edwin of Northumbria was baptised in a simple wooden church at York within the site of the old Roman fort. The church was approved by the Pope and its dedication to St Peter reflected its links with Rome. The wooden church was rebuilt in stone and completed by King Oswald but the bishop's seat was transferred for a time to Lindisfarne. The minster was rebuilt again in 664AD and again after a fire in 741AD. It was eventually destroyed during the Norman sieg e of the city in 1069. FROM NORMAN TO GOTHIC York Minster is built in the Gothic style of architecture but what is not widely known is that York was once, like Durham, a Norman cathedral. The Norman cathedral at York was started before Durham in 1070 by the Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeux and a Norman choir was added towards the end of the following century (after Durham) by Archbishop Roger of Pont L'Eveque. Roger's work seems to have been influenced by Durham Cathedral, but the only remains of the Norman Cathedral at York are below ground level in the minster crypt. One thing York lacked in the early days was a shrine and the shrines of saints were a rich source of revenue for Medieval cathedrals. So in the 13th Century William Fitzherbert, Archbishop of York, was posthumously canonized and became St William of York. This encouraged pilgrims to visit York and helped the minster compete with other shrines such as St John Lee's at Beverley Minster.
Size: 3072px × 4608px
Location: York
Photo credit: © Allan Pettigrew / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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