Back and Forth Across the Pond

There is so much to appreciate at York Minster. It may not offer that warm hug feeling that some of my other favorites churches possess, but it remains near the top of of my list. The minster's formal name is Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St. Peter in York. York Minster is a lot easier on the tongue. It was designed to be the greatest cathedral in the kingdom, and took over 250 years to complete. Construction ran from 1220 to 1472. The first church built on the site dated back to 627, and the first Archbishop of York was recognized by the pope in 732. The remains of the Basilica, the ceremonial center of the Roman fort, were found beneath the Minster building. A stone Anglo Saxon church existed on the site from 866, but it was ransacked by William the Conqueror's forces in 1069. William appointed his own archbishop, Thomas, who then completed his own Norman cathedral on the site by the beginning of the 12th century. There is much to see in York Minster. I hope enjo...

We were up bright and early Monday morning to catch the train to York. We splurged on first-class seats on a Virgin East Coast train, so we traveled in comfort and arrived fed and ready for our day. York, like London, was hot that first day. It was also busy. But nowhere near as busy as London. We slogged our bags up and over a bridge to get to our hotel. It was way too early to check in, so we just left our bags and headed out into the city. Our path took us through Mickelgate, where we stumbled upon this lovely church, Holy Trinity Mickelgate. Since we had nowhere specific we needed to be until the afternoon, we decided to pop inside and have a look around. One of the lovely stained-glass windows. Holy Trinity has a long history: It was founded prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 and is listed as one of the five major churches in the north (along with York Minster) in the Domesday Book. Although it is now a Church of England, it was re-founded in 1089 as a Benedictine prio...