Minster

There has been a church on the site of York Minster since AD 627. That one was built of wood and was rather hurriedly put together to accommodate the baptism of King Edwin of Northumberland. The present building was begun in about 1230 and took well over 200 years to complete. The two towers in this picture are some 174ft tall.

During its long history, the minster has had had its fair share of disasters and re-builds and it seems the work of conservation and restoration continues to this day.

The great East Window has undergone extensive repairs over recent years including the restoration of all 311 glass panels making it the largest single expanse of stained glass in Britain. It's about the size of a tennis court!

Round to the north and the octagonal Chapter house is to be found, built on to the North Transept by means of a vestibule.

Further round we came to that North Transept and the 230ft high Central Tower.

Lastly, we got to the northernmost of the two west towers seen in the top picture. Here too, all the scaffolding pointed to the ongoing restoration project.

Despite the dull weather, the Minster was till looking good.