York Minster: The Chapter House

York Minster's official name is the Metropolitan Church of St. Peter and it is both a cathedral and a minster - a minster being a centre of Christian teaching and ministering.  It's the largest Gothic  church in England and is certainly a vast building.  My time spent there touched my senses on all levels.

Here are some more photos from that morning in the Minster.

The Chapter House of the Minster was built between 1297 and 1310 and is an immense octagonal building with a conical-shaped roof, timbered inside and leaded outside.  It has no internal central pillar and relies on massive external buttresses to counteract the downward weight of the roof on the walls.  It is still a place used by the Dean and Minster Community for formal meetings.

The entrance to the Chapter House is by way of a vestibule (where there is an architectural model) and in both there are amazing 14th century stained glass windows and stone carvings. My eyes were draw upwards to the beautiful form and decoration of the roof with the Lamb of God depicted in the central boss.

A visit to York

On Saturday I went to York with a group of women from several churches in our area mainly to visit York Minster where it's now possible to see something of the conservation work that is being done on the medieval stained glass and stonework of the Great East Window.
There is display material in the Minster to explain more fully what it happening as the whole of the window has been removed for restoration and a nearly full-sized digital photograph has been put up to show what the window was like before it was taken out.
The Great East Window is the world's largest area of medieval stained glass in a single window. The theme is  "I am the Alpha and Omega - I am the Beginning and the End" and the panels show 'the Beginning' from Creation and 'the End' from the Book of Revelation.
I haven't been to York for many years so as well as spending time in the Minster I walked by the river and the gardens nearby before joining some friends for lunch in the medieval quarter.

                           The West Front and the Great West Door

                          The Advent Wreath hangs in the crossing
                           between the transepts.

                  The High Altar from the choir stalls with the digital photo
                   of the Great East Window behind it and below - one of
                   the many windows in this sacred place of worship.