I am not a regular visitor to York these days, but since the beginning of December 2023 I had been trying to arrange a day when I could visit to see the Christmas Tree Festival at York Minster. 

The Christmas Tree Festival opened at York Minster on the 2nd December and finished on the 5th January 2024, to say I left my visit to the last day is a poor excuse really, but at least I managed to see it, unfortunately though the huge Advent Wreath which had been suspended in the Central Tower had just been removed prior to my visit.

From the entrance at the West end of the minster we headed into the Nave, I always have to stop here to marvel at the vast expanse of Medieval stained-glass windows and the huge Heart of Yorkshire window above the West doors. Erected almost seven hundred years ago, the Great West Window of York Minster is a striking feat of Medieval stained glass and stonework, overlooking the city. The central motif of the remarkable window is a detailed and flowing heart design, carved by master masons. Two huge Christmas trees stood either side of the West end doors.

From the Nave we headed towards the Altar and Central Tower, this is the highest point in York and large enough to fit the Leaning Tower of Pisa inside. The Central Tower was originally built between around 1220 and 1253 and was the only part of the current cathedral to have collapsed, which happened in 1407 due to soft soil beneath its foundations.

The Choir or Kings’ Screen which separates the choir from the nave is always worthy of a ponder, it features fifteen kings ranging from William the Conqueror to Henry IV. After leaving the Kings we headed over to the North Transept where there was a fine display about the work involved in making one of the most recent statues, being that of our late Queen Elizabeth 11. The statue of the Queen is a sculpture that was planned to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. It has been installed on a plinth on the West wall of the Minster. The statue is 6ft 7in tall and weighs almost two tons. It is made from French Lepine limestone and shows the Queen wearing Garter robes and the George IV State Diadem and holding the orb and sceptre. The design of the statue was chosen by the Queen herself. King Charles 111 unveiled the statue after her death in 2022.

After leaving the Queens display, we followed the route into the Chapter House and one of York Minster’s architectural gems. The Chapter House contains some of the Minster’s finest carvings, with its ancient roof beams and glittering stained glass provides the perfect backdrop to the Christmas tree festival. The trees have been decorated to individual and unique themes by local businesses, schools, and Charities.  Each tree stands around 6ft tall and glistened with shimmering festive fairy lights which transformed the space into a winter wonderland. There must have been at least thirty trees spaced around the Chapter House and a fair few more lining the passageway leading into the Chapter house all beautifully decorated with handmade ornaments, ribbon garlands and festive lights by their sponsors. The festival has been running for several years now and is becoming part of the Christmas tradition at the Minster.

Reluctantly leaving the Christmas trees behind we made our way to the Quire where most of the sung services, including the Evensong service take place. The first thing that you notice is the quality of the woodwork, The stalls were built between 1361 and the 1420s, though much of the original structure was destroyed in a fire started deliberately in 1829. This is where the Archbishop of York would sit along with all his canons, the names of which can be clearly seen above each seat. The beautiful vaulted ceiling is another marvel. On leaving the Quire we headed under the stairs and into the Crypt. This is the earliest part of the present Minster, and its architectural style is late Norman from the time of Archbishops Thomas and Roger and well worth a visit. After leaving the Crypt we made our way up the stairs to the East end and the magnificent newly restored 15th century East Window, the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the country. 

On leaving the East end we made our way to the South Quire Transept where considerable work is being undertaken. Story boards and display panels show lots of information about the St Cuthbert window.  It is one of the largest surviving narrative windows in Europe and tells the story of the life and miracles of St. Cuthbert, an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop of Lindisfarne. The window is thought to date back to around 1440 and is the only surviving whole stained-glass window dedicated to the life of the saint. The window has undergone major conservation and restoration projects in the last two decades and in 2021 all 152 panels of stained glass were removed from the window for cleaning and repair work undertaken by conservators at York Glaziers Trust. The restoration work started in March 2021 and is expected to take 5 years to complete.

On leaving the South Transept we had planned on having a look around the gift shop prior to leaving the Minster but unfortunately on this occasion the shop was closed, so this was a good excuse to return for another visit later in the New Year.