Description: It is a tragic shame that for many Yorkshire-folk of a certain age - those born in the late 1970s and the early 1980s - York Minster is not renowned for its beauty and awe-inspiring scale, but for the fire that engulfed it and left it as smouldering ruins. For many who grew up in that period, the Minster was not a place to visit, but a building site. It was repaired and re-built piece-by-piece and ultimately finished in the 1990s. Even now, after having visited twice, I still cannot shake the images of smoke and flames billowing through the intricately carved windows that had housed beautiful stained glass or the pictures of the scorched shell that remained once the flames were extinguished.
There are many cathedrals in England that you can see coming from a distance. Their spires loom into view a long time before you are even close to seeing the majority of the building close-up. Others suddenly appear from nowhere as through trapped amidst taller surrounding buildings - Sheffield Cathedral is fine example of this. York Minster works on both levels. On the drive into the city, you can see it from miles away towering over York's medieval town center - it is an impressive sight. However, when you get into the centre of town, it virtually disappears. York is one of Britain's oldest cities and the streets that surround the Minster date back to Viking times. Therefore, there are lots of narrow streets with over-hanging roofs that block out much of the city's scenery. Because of this, until you are right in front of the Minster, it is only possible to catch small glimpses of it.
As obscured as the Minster is by the surrounding streets, as soon as you step out to be confronted by its splendour, you are awe-struck. The first aspect of this is, of course, the scale. It simply dwarfs everything around it. To comment merely on the scale, though, would be missing the inherent beauty. I would argue that York Minster offers a wonderfully English feel. It eschews fluid lines and extravagance in favour of stoic solid lines that give it a magnificent Anglo-Saxon feel. These are augmented by some of the most wonderfully delicate masonry that you could ever find. Much of this is so delicate that it seems like it could almost be made from porcelain.
The exterior of the Minster is an immensely gripping sight. However, the interior is not to be missed either. Much of it matches the outside. The stonework is light, rigid and quintessentially English. The high ceilings and wide chambers also emphasize the scale once more. There are, though, two or three touches that really capture the imagination. The first is the hand-carved pulpits and pews in certain parts. The second is the tombs and statues of past arch-bishops who had served in the cathedral - the arch-bishop of York is second only to the archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. These two parts of the Minster are impressive enough, but it is the giant Rose Window that dominates the interior. As the name suggests, this is a rose-shaped window. Again, it is on a huge scale. It is filled with some of the world's most intricate stained glass. The light that diffuses through it is of the most wonderfully delicate quality.
The Minster is a wonderful sight both from inside and out. However, the heavy cost of the restoration means that it has followed in the footsteps of St Paul's and Westminster Abbey and now charges admission. The fee is 6GBP.
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