Custom Tour of York, England

 

Rose Window at York Minster

This evening, I am reprising a one-day tour of York, a major city in northern England.

 Here we visited the following sites:

York Minster, a famous and important cathedral building dating from the 13th century. A summary history and chronology is provided below.

Christianity in York dates back to Roman times but can be traced for certain from AD 625 under Bishop Paulinus. The current building dates from 1080-1110 under the Norman archbishop Thomas of Bayeux. This building was subsequently modified, extended and embellished on numerous occasions, viz:

• 1220- present building begun.
• 1253-north transept completed.
• 1291 – work on nave begun.
• rebuilding of quire and east end over period of 250 years.
• 1407 – central tower partially collapsed
• 1829 and 1840 saw two serious fires.
• 1967 witnessed start of 5 yr rescue operation to stabilise the building.
• 1984 witnessed another fire which destroyed roof of the south transept.

This is a truly magnificent building which is also a popular visitor attraction receiving a million visitors each year. It is also possible to climb up the tower for a birds eye view of the Minster and York . Here is a video clip of the Chapter House.

York Minster.

Medieval Carving at York Minster.

York Minster.

Inside York Minster.

Inside York Minster.

Inside York Minster

We spent about 2 hours here and joined in a tour of the interior.

Low Petergate, York City Centre

Next, we had lunch in the nearby Shambles area and then walked on to the nearby Church of Holy Trinity in Goodramgate which mainly dates from the 12th century. Important aspects of this church are:

• Rare 17th century box pews.
• 15th century font.
• Mayoral Boards.
• 17th century pulpit.
• 13th century carved grave slab.
• 15th century stained glass windows.
• Reredos boards dating from 17th century.
• An angled window or hagioscope.
• Stone alters.
• Piscina.

Inside Church of Holy Trinity, York

Church of Holy Trinity, York.

Church of Holy Trinity, York

Close to  the above church we came across Our Lady’s Row, the oldest surviving houses in York which date from 1316.

Our Lady’s Row, York.

Next, we walked to nearby Monk Bar where is housed the Richard III Museum. The group spent about 45 mins here.

Monk Bar, York

Monk Bar, York

Next, we had a transfer to Bootham Bar where group connected with the open top tour bus and undertook a 1 hour sightseeing seeing tour of this famous city. This tour started and finished at the Art Gallery.

York Art Gallery.

Finally, about 5.15pm we all transferred to our hotel in the village of Huby.