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.
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.
