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| War Memorial, York You have chosen to view the JAVA panoramas, you may need to enable JAVA on your computer. |
Panoramic view of the South African War Memorial and gardens alongside York Minster. The Cathedral & Metropolitcal Church of St. Peter in York is popularly known as 'York Minster' from its original foundation as a missionary church or monaterium. It is the seat of the Archbishop of York and, as such, is, not surprisingly, the most dramatic of churches in Northern England. It is simply vast - the largest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe - and displays some of the best examples of the medieval craftsman's work to be found anywhere. Particularly of note are the fine carvings in the chapter house (c.1275) and the fantastic array of medieval glass dating back to the 12th century. The present structure was built in several stages between the early 13th and late 15th centuries. The transepts are early English, the nave is decorated gothic and the tower, quire & lady chapel are Perpendicular. Remains of the previous Norman structure can be seen in the undercroft, but the Minster has been the site of Christian worship since King Edwin was baptised here in AD 627! The nave includes the magnificent West Window, built between 1338-39 in the Curvilinear Decorated style. The master mason was Ivo de Raghton and it was glazed by Master Robert under the direction of Archbishop William Melton (1316-40). The nave also contains several examples of Norman stained glass on both the north and south sides, the finest example being a panel depicting St Nicholas riding over a cheat who had stolen from a money lender. No-one knows the purpose of the dragon's head which protrudes high from the left hand wall of the nave. One suggestion has it that, because it is a pivot and has a hole through its neck, it was originally used as the mechanism for raising the font cover. A chain would have passed through the hole and by raising the dragon's head the font cover would be lifted so that baptism could take place. Portions of the text Copyright Dean & Chapter of York (www.yorkminster.org). VR Photography: Rohan Perera © Red Door VR Limited. |
Tracking since 13th March 2007: