Huw and Tanya were off to work; Huw facing the possibility of having nothing to do if the rain returned in earnest. We packed up and made up a picnic lunch before pulling their door shut and strolling over to the Minster.
A free tour was about to begin so we joined it. The volunteer who took the tour was incredibly knowledgeable and obviously loved the Minster and having a role to play in explaining it to visitors. The building was started in 1220 and finished in 1472. Since then the windows and other sections have been restored but it is still a colossal commitment to a project to have it continue in its first stage for 252 years. The largest medieval gothic church in Northern Europe, it is really beautiful and has wonderful detailed stained glass windows. For the first time we understood that church windows were a mix of religious and secular subjects and often included the donor of the window or benefactors of the church. One window showed the stages in the process of casting bells and is documentary evidence of the crafts of the time when the window was made. Restoration of the windows due to deterioration of the lead requires sections to be taken down every two hundred years or so. In the past it was not possible to have two colours of glass in one piece so every change of colour required a lead joining line to be inserted. In taking out the lead to replace it, the glass sometimes broke, needing more lead joiners to hold it all together each time. Some windows end up looking as if they are covered in chicken wire, there are so many small pieces of glass being held together by lead. The faces and lines that seem to be drawn on were made in a process that involved painting the details on and then semi melting the piece of glass so that the paint went into the surface of the glass. Later methods had the detail only on the surface where it deteriorated more quickly. In the past whole streets were devoted to stained glass making, with those working for the Minster being at the pinnacle of the profession.The Minster originally had a missionary role, with missionaries going out into deepest, darkest regions of Yorkshire to enlighten the villagers. In its early days the Minster was a vast, empty space, without seating and was also a place of weekly secular activity, where the market and dancing were held. One of the official jobs was that of ‘Dog Chaser’, with duties also including the chasing out of rowdy boys engaged in football games. Somewhere near the North Transept, Rohan and Keith peeled off to ascend the tower. The climb up the very narrow spiral staircase where even a small back pack made progress difficult, was not for the unfit or those broad of girth. They were rewarded with magnificent views of York in every direction for miles around, and of the top of the Minster, in particular close up views of the flying buttresses from various angles.
Meanwhile, having heard the story of the lady who dreamt that she walked through one of the windows and saw a garden and the unsung nursing sisters of the war, and who then raised funds to have the window restored in honour of the nurses as well as making a record of all their names in carved wooden cupboards, I was admiring the Chapter House, where the dean and canons have met weekly since the thirteenth century. A remarkable round room off to one side, it has two huge tree trunks holding up the ceiling and is surrounded by carvings that include pigs, monkeys, other beasts and the ‘Green Man’ from pagan times. Next we were in the quire, where the singers sit in with the congregation. The entry is decorated with sculptures of the kings of England – an amazingly big project, but not out of place given the scale of the building. The Minster is a wonderful place, with many interesting historical items and tombs – well worth a visit with a guide and plenty of time.We climbed up onto the walls at the site of the North Western gate of the Roman fortress, built in 300 AD. As we walked around we could see the moat ditch and some amazingly well tended, enormous gardens belonging to the buildings near the Minster that back onto the walls. Outside the walls was a different vista entirely, with suburbia, albeit old to our eyes, fanning out with little room for greenery.
The Monk Bar, featuring the Richard III Museum was an absolute delight. The question as to whether Richard III (originally regent to his nephew when his brother, Edward IV, died), killed his nephews in the tower, had them killed or was entirely innocent of the crime, is the basis of all the displays. Documentary background information was displayed along with imaginative material, such as newspaper front pages in tabloid style, with headlines such as ‘Where are the princes, Richard?’ and ‘Tricky Dicky in murder quiz’. There was an audio re-enactment of the trial and all the displays raise questions and give evidence for each side of the case. The boys’ mother, Queen Elizabeth Woodville, was said not to have been the true wife of the king, to have colluded with traitors and to be a conniving power seeker. At this point, with the legitimacy of the boy heir in question, Richard III is made king. The princes in the tower disappear and are possibly murdered or exiled or something unknown. Richard is killed in battle and Henry Tudor becomes Henry VII. Later there are two attempts by ‘pretenders’ to take back the throne, as the rightful heirs claiming to be the princes who escaped. What a story and what a lot of ins and outs there are when it is presented from so many different points of view and in such an interesting way. Move over, ‘Days of Our Lives’, you have nothing on the English monarchy in terms of odd couplings, dangerous alliances, surprise appearances and extreme personalities.
After a ramble through The Shambles, the market provided a port in the storm, and then we checked out the Roman Baths. They were found when a pub wanted to extend its cellar, and are quite extensive. Some ancient tiles bear the marks of hob nails from people walking over them before they were fired. After that we only had time for a bit of shopping and money changing investigations before meeting up with Rohan again at the Model Railway Museum. An amazing amount of time and effort had been put into the displays which showed different landscapes and city scenes along with the trains. Soon we were off on a real train, passing through the very landscapes we had just admired, whizzing past sheep and houses and heading back to Barnsley.
Maureen picked us up and we went home to a house full of the wonderful people we had met during our visit, all come over to say goodbye. Michael joined us and Maureen produced another feast for everyone. We had spent a very interesting two weeks here, with the people really making our stay very special, and with Maureen and Dean being fantastic hosts. Seeing Rohan and Kerry nearly every day had been wonderful, and we could see why Rohan feels so at home and happy here.
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