York is a terrific city to visit. I should know – I spent about two hours there last week. The weather was awful, the wind was blowing a gale, it snowed, and then rained. So my visit consisted of a whistle stop blast round the Minster, followed by lunch at Bettys.
If you’ve never been to either, take my advice and go. The Minster is awesome, and I do mean awesome, and Bettys takes an awful lot of beating for an excellent meal.
The Minster itself is the second largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, with an outstandingly beautiful set of Stained glass windows, the East Window being the largest in the World. The church there dates back to c 300 AD, but the present building was started in 1220, and “declared complete” and consecrated in 1472.
If you’ve never been to either, take my advice and go. The Minster is awesome, and I do mean awesome, and Bettys takes an awful lot of beating for an excellent meal.
The Minster itself is the second largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, with an outstandingly beautiful set of Stained glass windows, the East Window being the largest in the World. The church there dates back to c 300 AD, but the present building was started in 1220, and “declared complete” and consecrated in 1472.
YORK MINSTER - THE CENTRAL NAVE
Admiring the building through my untutored eyes, it is incomprehensible to imagine what an average person from Rural England must have thought the first time he saw it in the Early Middle Ages. Even today, the size is intimidating.
The other immediate impression is the quality and quantity of the detailing. It is all of the highest quality, and ranges from 13th Century effigies to a magnificent Astronomical Clock installed in 1956, commemorating the Airforce Crew who were stationed around the area in the Second World War.
STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AND VAULTING - CHAPTER HOUSE
VERTICAL VIEW OF THE CHAPTER HOUSE ROOF
DETAIL OF THE CHOIR SCREEN
DETAIL CARVING - ONE OF LITERALLY HUNDREDS!This remembrance of the Second World War jumps out again in Bettys, where the inner man benefited from a Seafood Linguini, a steamed Ginger Pudding, and a cold lager.
BETTYS - INTERIOR SHOT
Downstairs, a large mirror is covered with signatures from airmen who were stationed at the surrounding airfields in the early 1940s. Bettys in York was the unofficial “Ops Room” for these men, and those that survived and have returned to York in the last 60 years are invited to sign the mirror with an engraving pen.
THE AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHING THE MIRROR IN BETTYS
There are 600 names there. Quite moving.
Tags:
york,
york minster,
minster,
bettys
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