It was a dry, bright, and sunny morning as I headed up the A19 to York and a browse around York Minster.Much restoration work is being carried on this beautiful Gothic building at the time of my visit, with scaffolding covering half of the external south side of the building, though this had no impact on my visit today.I entered via the usual West door entrance, and once inside I always stop and marvel at the sheer size of the building, and think about the workforce that built it, let alone the equipment and resources they had at their disposal at that time (1220).

It was quite a busy this morning with lots of overseas visitors also having a browse around. I tend to head for the central Nave area first and look back at the great West doors and the huge Great west window, the eight lights date from 1338 and most of the glass is still 14^th century. Walking down the central Nave several groups of visitors were listening intently to their guides who were pointing out several key features to them.

It was good to see the organ was taking centre stage in the naïve this morning.  Built in the 1830s, this spectacular, ornate instrument was removed in 2018 and completely renovated, only returning to action in the spring of 2021. It boasts an impressive 5,400 beautifully decorated pipes - most of them original - the now fully-restored organ has a unique sound, which can be heard when the instrument is put through its paces at church services as well as a series of organ recitals which are taking place in the Minster between 17^th July – 21^st August 7.00pm with some very distinguished guest players.

Behind the organ and in the Central Tower is the Quire Screen which separates the nave from the quire. It is decorated with the Kings who were on the throne during the time the minster was being built and include – William t6he Conquer, William Rufus, Henry 1, Stephen, Henry 11, Richard 1, and John. On the right stands Henry 111, Edward 1, Edward 11, Edward 111, Richard, Henry 1V, Henry V and Henry V1.

In the Central Tower, restoration work was being carried out behind a huge white protective screen partially covering the beautiful Rose window on the South Transept. A skilled team of heritage craftspeople have begun a huge restoration project which will include an up-close analysis of the Rose Window. The window was badly damaged when a devastating fire tore through the Minster in 1984, leaving the precious stone and glass of the South Transept heavily damaged. The cathedral’s Rose Window, is a symbol of the union between the Yorkist and Lancastrian houses that looked out over the city for 500 years, was subjected to 450C heat and had cracked in 40,000 places. This new project will see the Minster’s stonemasons working alongside experts from the York Glaziers Trust to conserve three huge lancet windows which depict Saints Peter, Paul, Wilfred, and William of York. Due to their positioning, the lancets were not subjected to the same extreme heat stress as the Rose Window. However, centuries of exposure to the elements have rendered the medieval glass vulnerable to corrosion and paint loss. Revolutionary prtective glazing will be added to the windows to help safeguard them well into the next century and beyond. I could spend hours standing and sitting in the Central Tower area of the minster, there is just so much to see, the South Transept is the earliest part of the minster. The wooden roof was rebuilt following the fire in 1984, which started after the Minster was struck by lightning, The restored roof has 68 colourful bosses depicting the words of the Benedicite. And six of the new bosses were designed and installed following a competition run with the BBC’s Blue Peter programme. The North Transept on the opposite side is dominated by the Five Sisters Window - the only memorial in the country to women of the British Empire who lost their lives during the First World War. The huge window dates from the mid-1200s, and was restored and rededicated between 1923 and 1925 after it was removed during the First World War to protect it during Zeppelin raids.

Leaving the Central Tower area, I popped around the corner to the Chapter House. One of York Minster’s architectural gems, which contains some of the Minster’s finest carvings and in 1297 was used as the location for the Parliament of King Edward I. The octagonal space dates from the 1280s, its magnificent vaulted ceiling is supported by timbers in the roof, instead of a central column, which is the earliest example of its kind to use this revolutionary engineering technique.

On leaving the Chapter House I continued along the North Transept and down half a dozen steps into the Crypt, the earliest part of the present minster, which houses the tomb of St William of York, the only saint to be buried here in the Minster. One of the eeriest of all the carvings is the Doom Stone, situated in the Crypt. It has been dated back to the 12^th Century and is a representation of hell.  It depicts a cauldron and three mouths of hell into which the souls of the damned are being pushed and tortured by fearsome demons. The cauldron is meant to represent one of the mouths of hell and act as a warning to people as to what may happen if they act in an un-Godly manner. Another gem in the Crypt is the 15th-century baptismal font used for the baptism of King Edwin by Bishop Paulinus in AD 627. Leaving the Crypt I headed around the corner to the East End of the minster. This area is dominated by the newly restored East window the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country, for the last 12 years, the 600-year-old window has been the subject of a major restoration and conservation project – one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Also of note is the beautiful Nativity scene below the East window, which forms a beautiful back drop to the Lady Chapel.

Leaving the East window, I passed the story boards with information about the restoration work being carried out to the St Cuthbert Window one of the largest surviving narrative windows in Europe which tells the story of the life and miracles of one of Northern England’s most significant saints. It is thought to date from c.1440 and is the only surviving whole stained-glass window dedicated to the life of the saint. From here it is just a short stroll to the Minster shop and time for brunch.