York Minster

York Minster, the cathedral of St Peter, dominating the historic centre of York. It is the largest medieval church in Britain and is particularly famous for its unrivalled wealth of medieval stained glass. York Minster is the seat of the archbishop of York (second in rank only to the Archbishop of Canterbury). The see was founded by Paulinus in 627 and the Saxon minster survived intact until William the Conqueror wrought devastation in York in 1069. Having been sacked and burned, the minster was repaired only to be destroyed by fire within years. It was replaced with a new building, completed c. 1100. Nothing of the Norman minster now remains above ground.

The transepts of the present building date from c. 1225-1255. The vast new nave was begun c. 1290 and completed, with the west front, by 1345. The eastern arm was constructed between 1361 and 1400. The two western towers and the huge central tower are of 15th-century date. York Minster's medieval stained glass ranges in date from the 12th to the 15th century. The great east window, containing about 155 sq m (1,680 sq ft) of glass and completed in 1408, is the largest in Europe. Fires in 1829 and 1840 destroyed many fittings, along with the timber nave vault. A further fire in 1984 destroyed the roof of the south transept, since rebuilt according to the old pattern.