A peaceful day out (York Minster Cathedral)

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	York Minster Cathedral
Date:	21/09/09 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots to see

Disadvantages: Not for everyone

York Minster is a Christian church in York. It was at one point a Catholic church, but became part of the Church of England after Henry VIII broke away from the church way back in 1534.

As well as being a tourist attraction this is also a working church with regular Christian masses, it is also a Cathedral, which means it is the seat of the bishops for the York Diocese.

However, you don't have to be a Christian or attend mass to visit and enjoy the Minster. You can visit just to take in the magnificence of the building.

== Opening Times and Prices == Taken from the website for ease.


Monday - Saturday: open 9.00am (9.30am November- March);
last entry 5.00pm
Sunday: 12.00 noon - 3.45pm
No sightseeing on Good Friday and Easter Sunday
or on Sundays before 12.00 noon
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===Entry to the Minster ===


Adult: £6.00
Senior (60+)/student: £5.00
Children with family (16 and under): Free
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=== Entry to the Undercroft, Treasury & Crypt ===


Adult: £4.00
Senior (60+)/student: £3.00
Child under 16: £2.00
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=== Entry to the Tower ===


Adult: £4.00
Senior (60+)/student: £3.00
Child (age 8 to 16): £2.00
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=== Minster Plus Ticket ===


Entry to the Minster and Undercroft, Treasury & Crypt
or
Entry to the Minster and Tower.
Adult: £8.00
Senior (60+)/student: £7.00
Children 16 or under with family: £2.00 each
____


=== Do everything ticket ===


Entry to the Minster, Undercroft, Treasury and Crypt and Tower
Adult: £9.50
Senior (60+)/student: £8.00
Children 16 or under with family: £3.00 each
Children under the age of 8 may not climb the Tower


== Attractions ==



Attractions might be the wrong word, because it conjures up images of theme parks and similar, but whilst the Minster might not be as exciting as a theme park, it certainly has a lot to attract people to it.


There are far too many items to mention here. So I will just try to select a few things that I enjoyed.

=== The Rose Window ===



Starting at the front entrance, the first thing to see is the Rose Window. This is a magnificent example of a stained glass window. It commemorates the joining of the houses of York and Lancaster, which any good Englishman knows caused quite a few ruckus's in the past.



=== The Screen ===



This isn't like any screen I've ever seen, it's a marvellous screen with statues of 15 English kings, from William I to Henry VI.


===The Great East Window ===


This is dated between 1405 and 1408, and it is the largest piece of medieval stained glass in a single window. The window depicts the beginning and the end of the world, with scenes taken from the Book of Genesis and the Book of Revelation.

=== The Chapter House ===



This is a circular room off the North Transept. Here you'll find some wonderful carvings, and children will also enjoy the mini hunt they have. Which gives them clues to finding the carvings, so whilst the children and hunting, parents are able to read up on the information boards around the room.


=== The Great West Window ===


I couldn't mention the Great East Window without mentioning its counterpart at the other side of the Minster. This window is also known as the "Heart of Yorkshire", because there looks to be a heart in the centre. It dates from 1338, and was paid for by Archbishop Melton. St Peter stands underneath the window, well not literally, but his statue stands there, St Peter of course is the Minster's patron saint.


=== Jesse Window ===



The last of the windows I want to mention is the Jesse Window, this is close to the Great West Window and depicts the family tree of Jesus, showing Jesse, King David, Mary of course amongst other prophets.

=== Undercroft, Treasury and Crypt ===


As you will have seen by the pricing section, you have to pay extra to go down into the Undercroft, but it's well worth it. Underneath the main Minster area you'll find the remains of a Roman fortress, and there are also Viking and medieval carvings.



=== The Tower ===



Again this is an extra on the entrance fee, and I would love to tell you about it, but unfortunately as under 8's aren't allowed to climb up the Tower we weren't able to visit. Although I'm sure my knees were quite pleased about that.


== My Thoughts ==



These are just a few of the wonderful things to see in the Minster. Even if you're not religions you can't help but marvel at the work and detail that has gone into everything in this church.

I always recall on school trips the teacher drumming into us to 'look up', and you certainly need to do that here, there are so many things that you would miss if you didn't look skywards. The ceilings are amazing, and all around the nave are carvings and shields.

There was a bit of restoration work going on when we visited, but you can expect that really, it must be hard work and take a lot of money to keep the Minster in good order, and the items in the church are certainly worth preserving.

Being a church it was nice and peaceful, and it was nice to just sit for a while and take in the surroundings. Even my children, who aren't the most patient of kids, managed to sit and soak in the spirituality of it all.

You can either wander around by yourself, or you can take one of the guided tours. Or like us you can do both, take the tour and then spend more time in the areas you like the most.

You can probably tell by my choices of attractions that I love the stained glass windows, and they were my favourite part of the Minster. My children both enjoyed the Undercroft the best.

Summary: Well recommended