Inside York Minster

York Minster: monumental, ancient, breathtaking, busy, expensive to visit (unless you are going in for a church service)! But worth visiting. It's the second largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe (after Cologne) and was mostly built between 1230 and 1472. 

It was not the easiest of places to take photos, especially without a tripod. No doubt a privately booked photo tour, when it might not be so crowded with visitors, would be worth it to get 'serious' photos. I can't tell you how many times I clicked the shutter, only for someone to 'photobomb' at the crucial moment! 

The view above is looking down the Nave towards the 'Heart of Yorkshire' West Window, shown in a little more detail below. The Minster holds some of the finest examples of medieval stained glass in the country, and much of it is undergoing painstaking conservation and restoration, as is the stonework. The West Front and window was created in 1339 and extensively restored in  the late 1980s. 

The view up the Nave towards the Quire is equally breathtaking. 

The 15th century choir screen, separating the Quire from the Nave, has sculptures of the Kings of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI. They all have 'interesting' hair! 

I rather took a fancy to Henry VI (below), who ruled from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, though he proved a weak and ineffectual King. He was only a baby when he succeeded to the throne and died (was killed) aged 49 in the Tower of London, having reigned during a time of war and upheaval. Bookish and pacifist, it was Henry VI who founded King's College, Cambridge, where my daughter studied. 

The Quire and Nave of York Minster are separated by a Crossing under a central tower, with Transepts on either side. The photo above, looking up into the Crossing tower, was a little tricky to take... I didn't really feel I could lie on the floor, given the number of visitors and the location!  

The South Transept (below) suffered a serious fire to its wooden roof in 1984. Firefighters deliberately collapsed the roof by pouring tens of thousands of gallons of water onto it, in order to save the rest of the building. The glass in the Rose Window was shattered by the heat but, held together by its lead, it was successfully removed for repair and the roof was rebuilt with new oak trusses and bosses.