First time on the blog or new to the Time Pieces History Project? Find out what it’s all about here, and then come back to this page for today’s item – York Minster.
York Minster – Introduction to Item 82
Although I’ve lived in the North East for most of my life, and it’s where both sides of my family are from, I was actually born in York, where I spent much of my formative years.
It’s the place that feels most like home, even though it hasn’t been for several years (I had a brief spell back there in 2008-2009).
I even have a small claim to fame – the night the Minster caught fire, my mum was there, pushing me in my buggy. I was a terrible sleeper, so the only way to tire me out was for one of my parents to walk the streets late at night. The hot night of July 1984, it was my mum’s turn to take me for a stroll.
York Minster dominates the skyline for miles around, and it’s very popular with tourists. Whenever I go back to York I make a point of going to have a look at it, if only for a couple of minutes. It’s a great visual reminder of all of the history of the city.
The History of York Minster
The City of York had a bishop as far back as 314, although the first structure on the site is dated to 627 and made from wood. A stone building was completed by Oswald of Northumbria (who lived at Bamburgh and summoned Aidan to deal with the heathens) in 630.
There were several other iterations of a church building on the land, including one which was burnt down in 741 and one in the 1000s which sent an archbishop to crown William the Conqueror, immortalised on the Bayeux Tapestry and who damaged it three years later while trying to take control of the North.
The structure we see now was begun a few years after this, in 1080, although it took 400 years to complete. The Minster website tells us that it was designed in the Norman style by Archbishop Thomas of Bayeux, who wanted the building to be cross-shaped.
Over the years, though, it evolved into a stunning example of Gothic architecture, thanks to Archbishop Walter de Gray, “who wanted York Minster to be one of the greatest churches in the kingdom” and who oversaw the start of the works in 1225.
The vaulted-ceilinged Chapter House was completed around 1290, and the Nave was started in 1291, although that project took 60 years.
The Nave’s Great West Window was finished in 1340, followed by the East End in 1361 and the Quire between 1394-1420. From the Minster site, we also learn that the bells were housed in the Central Tower, which collapsed during a storm.
William of Colchester, Henry IV’s master mason, arrived in 1407 to help rebuild it, and York Minster was finally ready for re-consecration in 1472. However, works have been ongoing on the building almost ever since, with a dedicated stoneyard established in the early 1800s.
Every single stone was hand-carved with chisels and mallets, and where possible modern stonemasons use the same techniques.
The Treasurer’s House
Just around the corner from the Minster is another building steeped in history – the Treasurer’s House. As you might imagine, almost the entire city has a ghost story attached to it.
York is famous for its street of timbered, rickety buildings (the Shambles), its name is derived from the Viking invaders’ term for it – Jorvik, and the Romans knew it as Eboracum.
I’ve been on most of the ghost tours round the city, but one of my favourite stories is about the lost Roman legion, that my mum told me when I was a little girl.
In 1953, a young engineer by the name of Harry Martindale was hard at work when he heard a sound: a Roman legionary came out of the wall beside him.
The astonished Harry watched as a line of men passed before him, all wearing traditional uniform but visible only from the knees up. There was even a man on horseback, and the legion crossed the cellar floor and exited through the opposite wall.
The story differs slightly here, with some accounts saying Harry rushed upstairs and told his boss, and others that he kept quiet for 20 years. We do know that when he did come forward his story was discounted because he described the soldiers as being dressed in green and carrying round shields – legionaries used rectangular shields.
Some years later, archaeologists digging in the cellars discovered an old Roman road, 18 inches lower than the floor Harry was standing on. If the legion had been walking along that road, they would have appeared to be cut off at the knees.
Evidence was also found that at the time the Roman Empire collapsed, troops were recalled and York, as with other cities, would have been defended by a legion of local men.
This particular group wore green tunics and carried round shields. Their fate, however, is unknown.
The Treasurer’s House as we see it today is actually three buildings knocked together by an industrialist and collector, Frank Green, in the early 1900s, to house his precious objects. But why is it called the Treasurer’s House? Well, it’s obvious, really!
Successive treasurers of the Minster lived there. The first Treasurer was appointed in 1091, and it was the official residence until 1547, although little of the original building remains. Later, it became the home of the Young family, with Archbishop Thomas Young moving in in 1561. His descendants carried out a lot of renovations, which are still visible today.
Clifford’s Tower
Down towards the river, beside the Castle Museum, you’ll find Clifford’s Tower. The museum sits on the site of the former York Castle, the original structure of which was built by our old friend William the Conqueror in 1068, and the Tower is the biggest piece of it still standing.
The castle would have been built in the standard motte and bailey style, and made of wood.
Although it was attacked several times, including by the Danes, it was always repaired and stood until almost the end of the 12th century.
However, at this time the country was seeing a lot of unrest between Jews and Christians, for several reasons. There was a rumour in 1189 that Richard I had ordered a massacre of the Jews, which led to riots, even though it wasn’t true.
The following year, there was a large Jewish community in York, and because of the climate, 150 of its members were moved to the castle to keep them safe. Unfortunately, this protection was short-lived and somehow relations broke down between the community and those assigned to keep them safe.
The Jews barricaded themselves into the tower and the troops sent for reinforcements from the city to take it back. Faced with a relentless onslaught from locals enflamed by anti-Jewish sentiment, the rabbi realised that his people weren’t getting out of the tower safely.
So, the men killed their wives and children and then themselves, and the tower burned down. Interestingly, although the current stone tower was not the site of the massacre, people claim to have seen its walls running with blood.
A stone structure was constructed on the site, and then in 1245 Henry II ordered a new tower to be built, which is thought to have been completed in around 1290. The castle and tower were never lived in, but used as a prison, storage, the treasury and a royal mint.
References
York Minster: Stories
National Trust: Treasurer’s House
English Heritage: History of Clifford’s Tower
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