York 2023

We visited the city of York, formerly known as Jorvik when the Vikings were in charge, previously known as Eboracum to the Romans. We'd been to the city many times when we lived in England so we took the kids back to see some of the highlights.

We used a new park and ride to get into downtown. The River Ouse runs right through the middle and is near the bus drop off point.

The River Ouse

Walking down the street, we saw two churches: York Oratory and York Minster. The Minster is the more famous one, having been built in the middle ages and still in use and under seemingly perpetual repair. The Minster was originally Roman Catholic but was switched over to Church of England. The Oratory is Roman Catholic.

York Oratory and Minster

The minster is an amazing example of medieval architecture. The West Window, over the entrance, features dozens of saints. I took a picture of a side window that was also nice.

One of the many stained glass windows

Statues of saints above the west door/below the west window

A playful addition is a row of headless figures using semaphore to spell out "Christ is here."

Semaphore saints?

Epic nave

Another famous bit of the Minster is the rood screen that separates the main body of the church from the quire (where the clergy worships). Dozens of statues of saints and kings are on display.

Rood fellows

We discovered a side altar to Saint Nicholas, so our youngest posed there.

St. Nicholas altar

The east window was being restored last time I was here. It is glorious, with many scenes from the Bible depicted.

No way to do the east window justice, just go see it

In the crypt, we saw the Doomstone, a depiction of the entrance to Hell, along with sinners being dragged down. It's a little hard to see the details, even in real life. Maybe that's a good thing?

Doomstone

Just outside of the Minster is a Roman column that was reconstructed in the 1970s when its parts were discovered below the crypt in the 1960s.

Roman column

A picture with the column for a geocache

A statue of Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor, is also on the street. Constantine was declared emperor by this troops here in York, so naturally they want to remember.

Also a geocache picture

We went to lunch at the oldest continuously-running pub in York, Ye Olde Starre Inne. I had fish and chips with a nice ale.

Sign over the street

Classic pub grub

More of the pub

We took the kids to Jorvik Viking Centre, which features a long ride through a recreation of York in its days as a Viking settlement. One of the characters on the ride is an old woman trying to cross the street. The character is based on a skeleton found in the area! She is on display in the museum part of the center.

Old lady skeleton

Visitors can have a Viking coin struck for the small cost of two pounds. My youngest wanted one as a souvenir, so we watched the guy make change.

One coin at a time seems really slow

Our final treat was to walk along the city walls. York was a walled town in medieval times, though the walls fell into disrepair over the centuries. The Victorians had a craze for all things medieval, so the locals decided to restore the walls to their former glory. It also gave them a nice way to show off, parading around town to be seen.

Walking south from the train station

No railing to hold you in!

Looking back at the Minster and York

We have many fond old memories of York and now some new ones.

The Orb at York Minster

For Gaudete Sunday 2012 (i.e. the third Sunday in Advent), here's something to rejoice about--restoration of stained glass windows to their original glory!

As they restore the East Window of York Minster, they have set up a display explaining the restoration of the window and the original work done centuries ago.

Doesn't really fit aesthetically with the medieval cathedral

When we were there, various windows were on display inside the Orb. Here are a few. First is the Seven Churches mentioned in the first chapter of Revelation. St. John is in the bottom left, being told to write to seven churches by an angel. The image includes all the churches, represented by archbishops in archways.

Seven Churches (click to enlarge)

The Elders Worship God is another bit from Revelation (4:4) where the 24 elders worship God in Heaven.

The Elders Worship God (click to enlarge)

Saint John Sailing to Patmos is again from the first chapter of Revelation. This island off the coast of modern-day Turkey is where he had his visions recorded in revelation.

Saint John Sailing to Patmos (click to enlarge)

Flanking the Orb are two exhibits. One explains the art of making and restoring the stained glass windows. In addition to panels explaining what's going on, plenty of interactive exhibits kept J and L entertained.

Model of a window-maker's workshop

Stained glass puzzle

The West Window is covered up for restoration

On the other side of the Orb is an exhibit on masonry, explaining how the building was physically put together. This also had some hands-on displays that were so much fun, I forgot to take pictures. They did have some interesting statues, the most interesting of which is this weeping angel, which is not that kind of weeping angel.

Angel, sad about death?

For those interested, the West Window is still visible and the center of it, called the "Heart of York" for its heart-shaped framing, looks glorious with the sunlight coming through it. This visit was the first time we visited in the afternoon. Naps are becoming a thing of the past!

West Window/Heart of York (click to enlarge)

York Minster, Visit the First

With my sister in town, we've been visiting a few more historical sites. Today we drove into York to see the famous Minster, the main northern English cathedral built in the 1200s and still functioning today as the seat of the Anglican Archbishop John Sentamu. We came as curious pilgrims to Northern Europe's largest gothic cathedral.

The ride there was rather long, so the first thing Jacob wanted to see on arrival was the toilet, to which we were directed by the nice lady at the ticket booth (£9 per adult to get in, but the ticket lasts a whole year, hence the title of the blog post; we will definitely be coming back, especially since the "two adults" ticket has no names!). Jacob was excited that the hand dryer was out of order, though it took me a while to explain its disfunctionality to him. After that, we wandered around the cavernous church, admiring stained glass, carvings, and furnishings.

The west window is quite famous though it is difficult to photograph. Completed in the 1300s, it was restored during the 20th century and stands 54 feet tall and 25 feet wide. The stonework at the top has been nicknamed "The Heart of Yorkshire" though the original artist was probably thinking of Christ's heart when he designed it. It is breathtaking to see.

Why don't digital cameras come with a "stained-glass window" setting?

Also at the west end was a small chapel dedicated in 1982 (quite recent, practically brand new) to St. Cuthbert, Prior of Linisfarne and major religious figure of 7th century England. Jacob and Lucy liked it as it had an interesting baptismal font and a depiction of Cuthbert's vision of Heaven overhead. The chapel was interesting to me because it is not enclosed or on the wall. It's freestanding in the back of the church.

Jacob and Lucy in St. Cuthbert's Chapel (baptismal font behind Lucy)

Christ in His glory over the Cuthbert Chapel; seems a little modern for a 7th century vision

Another photographic snafu is the picture of the seat that gives the cathedral its name. Catherdrals are the "home base," if you will, of a bishop, often called the "seat" of the bishop. That's where his cathedra or throne is. The lighting in this picture of the bishop's seat did not work out well. And I couldn't get Lucy to turn around either!

Maybe Lucy didn't want to turn her back on the bishop?

Another famous feature of the Minster is the quire (or choir) screen. Like Ripon Cathedral, it is decorated with statues. These are more ornate and, in the novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, they are brought to life by magic. They are amazing sculptures.

They do look like they could step off their pedestals, though an alarming number have swords!

Lucy showed her piety at the high altar in the quire by using the communion rail as a kneeler, just as it is intended. I hope she prayed for all you fine readers.

This was just too cute

Jacob had lots of questions about the various lecterns, pulpits, and other spots from which people could speak. He is quite adept at spotting microphones and was constantly asking if people would read the gospel or say a sermon or what would they do from the various locations. I did my best to answer and must now embark on new studies of the topic.

Jacob with Auntie Rosemary by the main pulpit

Cool eagle pulpit near the high altar

Jacob also spotted a window into the crypt and asked to go down there. The undercroft, treasury, and crypt below the main church were an education adventure in themselves. Most of the undercroft is dedicated to historical and archeological information about the original Roman fort and the Norman minster that existed on the site before the current medieval cathedral. The foundation stones of the Norman cathedral are laid bare for the curious to see. The treasury has many sacred and profane articles donated to the Minster or found during excavations. We almost went into the treasury, but that was the point where Jacob decided he was too tired to continue.

So we headed for the exit and back to the car, leaving Auntie Rosemary in York to have further fun adventures while we returned home for lunch and nap time. But we will definitely come back in the future to see more of the Minster and more of York.

According to Jacob's guide to churches, York Minster is an "old" church. I confirmed this by asking Jacob directly.