York Minster Travel Information

York Minster
A profile of York Minster, highlighting history, architecture, and visitor information.

York Minster Virtual Tour The Exterior The Chapter House The Nave The Choir The Undercroft Photo Gallery

York Minster - The Quire

The Quire (Choir) of York Minster is a delight to the eye. The Quire Screen is one of the most intricately carved in all the UK, with depictions of famous churchmen set within niches facing the nave. Before passing through the Screen, look up, where the huge organ is poised above the screen. Recently refurbished, it boasts an astonishing 5,300 individual pipes.

Pass through the arched door of the screen into the Quire. This is where the cathedra, or throne of the Archbishop of York, is located, along with stalls for the canons. Look up again, high above the stalls, to see the marvellous vaulted ceiling. Closer at hand, the capitals of the Quire columns are decorated with a variety of fanciful carved heads. Some of these heads are shown in the photos below.

The stalls are wonderfully carved (see photos below). Look for the plaques on the wall of the stalls. They depict the insignia of various saints, and were originally designed to protect the woodwork from the hair oil used by the canons! That woodwork is not original, as the stalls had to be replaced following a fire in 1829.

click on an image to see a large version

Photo Gallery - York Minster Quire

The Quire Screen	Doorway arch, the Quire Screen	Carvings on the Quire Screen
The lovely vaulted ceiling of the Quire	Looking through the Quire to the East Window	The Quire
The Quire	The Quire, showing some of the stalls with crests on the upper level.	Carved head on the column capitals of the Quire
Carved head (2)	Carved head (3)	Carved head (4)

York Minster

Images are © Dean and Chapter of York: reproduced by kind permission

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