two W. towers. The palace of the archbishops is at Bishopthorpe, 212 m. S. of York. It is of various dates, and includes slight remains of the Early English palace of Archbishop Grey. The diocese includes over half the parishes in Yorkshire, and also covers very small portions of Durham, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
The extreme external length of the cathedral is 524 ft. 6 in., the breadth across the transepts 250 ft., the height of the central tower 213 ft., and the height of the western towers 202 ft. The material is magnesian limestone. The cathedral occupies the site of the wooden church in which King Edwin was baptized by Paulinus (q.v.) on Easter Day 627. After his baptism Edwin, according to Bede, began to construct “a large and more noble basilica of stone,” but it was partly destroyed during the troubles which followed his death, and was repaired by Archbishop Wilfrid. The building suffered from fire in 741, and, after it had been repaired by Archbishop Albert, was described by Alcuin as “a most magnificent basilica.” At the time of the Norman invasion the Saxon cathedral, with the library of Archbishop Egbert, perished in the fire by which the greater part of the city was destroyed, the only relic remaining being the central wall of the crypt. It was reconstructed by Archbishop Thomas of Bayeux (1070—1100), but of this building few portions remain. The apsidal choir and crypt were reconstructed by Archbishop Roger (1154—81), the S. transept by Archbishop Walter de Grey (1216—1255), and the N. transept and central tower by John Romanus, treasurer of the cathedral (1228—56). With the exception of the crypt, the transepts are the oldest portions of the building now remaining. They represent the Early English style at its best, and the view across the great transept is unsurpassed for architectural effect. The S. transept is the richest and most elaborate in its details, one of its principal features being the magnificent rose window; and the N. transept contains a series of beautiful lancet windows called the Five Sisters. The foundation of the new nave was laid by Archbishop Romanus (1286—96), son of the treasurer, the building of it being completed by Archbishop William de Melton about 1340. The chapter-house, a magnificent ornate building, was built during the same period. The W. front, consisting of a centre and two divisions corresponding with the nave and aisles, has been described as “more architecturally perfect as a composition and in its details than that of any other English cathedral,” the great window above the door being considered by some superior to the famous E. window at Carlisle.
In 1361 Archbishop Thoresby (1352—73) began the lady chapel and presbytery, both in the Early Perpendicular style. The rebuilding of the choir, begun about the same period, was not completed till about 1400. It is Late Perpendicular, the great E. window being one of the finest in the world. With the rebuilding of the choir the whole of the ancient Norman edifice was removed, the only Norman architecture now remaining being the E. portion of the crypt of the second period, built by Archbishop Roger (1154—1191). To correspond with later alterations, the central tower was recased and changed into a Perpendicular lantern tower, the work being completed in 1444. The S.W. tower was begun in 1432 during the treasurership of John de Bermingham, and the N.W. tower in 1470. With the erection of this tower the church was completed as it now stands, and on the 3rd of February 1472 it was reconsecrated by Archbishop Neville. On the 2nd of February 1829 the woodwork of the choir was set on fire by Jonathan Martin, a madman. On the 2nd of May 1840 a fire broke out in the S.W. tower, reducing it to a mere shell. The stained glass both in the cathedral and in other churches of the city is particularly noteworthy; its survival may be traced to the stipulation made by the citizens when surrendering to parliament in the civil wars that it should not be damaged.
The following is a list of the archbishops of York:—
|
1. Paulinus, 627—633 |
30.Henry Mordac, 1147—1153 |
59.Robert Holgate, 1545—1554 |
*These bishops did not receive the pall as metropolitans
Next to the cathedral, the most interesting building in York is St Mary's Abbey, situated in Museum Gardens, founded for Benedictines by Alan, lord of Richmond, in 1078, its head having the rank of a mitred abbot with a seat in parliament. The principal remains of the abbey (see Abbey) are the N. wall and the ruins of the church, in the Early English and Decorated styles, and the principal gateway with a Norman arch. They lie near the cathedral, outside the walls. The hospitium, of which the upper part is of wood, contains a collection of Roman antiquities; the building is of the 14th and 15th centuries. A considerable portion of the abbey was employed for the erection of the king's manor, a palace for the lord president of the north, now occupied as a school for the blind. In the gardens is also the ambulatory of St Leonard's hospital, founded by King Aethelstan and rebuilt by Stephen. St William's College, near the minster, was founded in 1453 as a college for priests holding chantries in the minster; its restoration as a church house and meeting-place for convocation was undertaken in 1906. York also possesses a large number of churches of special architectural interest, including All Saints, North Street, Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular, with a spire 120 ft. in height; Christ Church, with S. door in the Decorated style, supposed to occupy the site of the old Roman palace; Holy Trinity, in Goodramgate, Decorated and Perpendicular, with Perpendicular tower; Holy Trinity, Micklegate, formerly a priory church, now restored, showing Roman masonry in its walls; St Denis, Walmgate, with rich Norman doorway and Norman tower arches; St Helen's, St Helen's Square, chiefly Decorated; St John's, North Street, chiefly Perpendicular; St Margaret's, Walmgate, celebrated for its curiously sculptured Norman porch and doorway; St Mary the Elder, Bishophill, Early English and Decorated, with brick tower, rebuilt in 1659; St Mary the Younger, Bishophill, with a square tower in the Saxon style, rebuilt probably in the 13th century; St Mary, Castlegate, with Perpendicular tower and spire 154 ft. in height, the body of the church dating back to transitional Norman times; St Michael-le-Belfry, founded in 1066, but rebuilt in 1538 in Late Perpendicular style; St Martin's-le-Grand, fine Perpendicular; and St Martin's-cum-Gregory, Early English and Perpendicular. Among modern churches is the Roman Catholic pro-cathedral, standing near the cathedral.
The guild-hall, with a fine old room in Perpendicular style erected in 1446, contains a number of stained-glass windows. Adjoining it are handsome municipal buildings (1891), and near it is the mansion house, built in 1725 from designs by the earl of Burlington. The courts of justice were opened in 1892. Assembly rooms, a corn exchange, barracks and a theatre are the other chief buildings.
