The museum has several ‘through the ages’ room settings including a Victorian parlour, an 1850s Moorland cottage, Jacobean and Georgian dining rooms, a 1940s kitchen and a 1950s front room. Elsewhere are displays of historic toys, fashion, armour, weapons, tools, printing presses, cooking utensils, farming equipment and much more…

Victorian Street, York Castle Museum

York Castle has been a site of justice and incarceration for almost 1,000 years.  William the Conqueror built the first castle in 1068 and we know from written references that it had a prison.  The site of the museum is still a seat of justice today; the 18th Century Courthouse is now York Crown Court. It still has holding cells and people accused of serious crimes are still tried there.

The York Gaol is now a tourist attraction which had a £200,000 refurbishment in 2009. Many of the authentic cells are still there. The cells are split in to two separate areas. The first area gives you an authentic feel of what the cells would have been like for those imprisoned there in the 18^th & 19^th century, including sounds of keys, chains and prisoners. The latest audio visual equipment allows visitors to see past characters of the jail including the most famous of all prisoners, Dick Turpin. The second area of the jail focuses on the fate of those who left the prison, whether released, transported or executed.

Dick Turpin's Cell, York Castle Museum

Duration – 1-3 hours

Facilities – Shop, Cafe, Toilets,

Disabled Access

The main entrance area is fully accessible. The museum is divided in half, with both halves arranged over three floors, linked by several staircases. There are handrails on all the stairs and seating is available around the museum. The ground floor is fully accessible on one side of the building, which includes York Castle Prison and The Sixties exhibitions.  The Victorian Street, which takes up the other side of the ground floor, is accessible via a wheelchair ramp up a short staircase. Unfortunately the upper floors of the museum are not yet accessible to wheelchair users. For this reason, there is no admission charge for each wheelchair user, plus their carer.

Price – Adults £8; Concessions £7; Children under 16 Free. Tickets are valid for a whole year from date of purchase.

York Museums Trust Pass – This ticket covers entry to both York Castle Museum and the all-new Yorkshire Museum, plus 10 per cent discount with all purchases over £5 in both museum shops, plus York Art Gallery shop.

Adult – £12
Concessions – £10
Children – FREE (see above)

Opening Hours – Open daily from 9.30am until 5pm, except 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

Proximity to Minster – 1.2km, 15 minutes

Anybody who has seen York Minster first-hand can’t help but be bowled over by its sheer magnificence.

The site of the Minster has been a place of worship since around 627AD. After being repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the building we know today began construction somewhere around 1230 AD and reached completion in 1472 AD. This meant that stonemasons and workers starting out on the initial venture did so in the knowledge that they would never see their work completed. The plan view of York Minster reveals the cruciform to which many Christian churches were built. The building consists of a nave, a chapter house, a transept, an east wing, a crypt, and three towers. It is also host to some of the finest stained-glass windows in the world, some dating back to the twelfth century.

One of the UK’s Seven Wonders

It is the largest consecrated Gothic space in Europe and is one of England’s most popular attractions, voted one of the UK’s ‘Seven Wonders’ by visitors in 2002. More than two million people pass through annually from all over the world….and no wonder. York Minster is truly awe inspiring. Here are some facts about its dimensions: Length – 525 feet (160 meters) Width – 249 feet (76 meters) Height to vault – 88.5 feet (27 meters) West Towers – Nearly 184 feet each (56 meters) Central (Lantern) Tower – 233 feet (71 meters).

What is a Minster?

A minster is a collegial church, established as a community, to spread Christianity and Christian learning. York Minster is also a cathedral, & the seat of the Archbishop of York, which is the second highest position in the Anglican Church after the Archbishop of Canterbury. The proclamation of Constantine as Emperor may well have taken place in a Roman basilica that lies beneath York Minster. The basilica, part of the long established Roman settlement, was only discovered, along with the foundations of the Norman church, in 1967 during works to shore up the foundations of York Minster’s Lantern Tower. These early finds are exhibited in the Undercroft.

Here’s a nice introductory video to York, including a fascinating preview of York Minster

The Central Tower

The Central Tower, also known as the Lantern Tower, is by far the tallest structure in York and was an incredible feat of 15th century engineering. Built between 1407 and 1433, it stands at more than 230 feet – the height of a 23-story building, and weighs 16,000 metric tonnes – the weight of 40 jumbo jets! The tower is open to visitors, though you need to be fit to climb the 275 steps to the roof. On the way up, check out the fine stonemasonry, including the pinnacles, gargoyles and carvings.

However, the route up to the top is very steep and enclosed, so if you suffer from claustrophobia or vertigo it is probably not for you. Those that do make it to the top are rewarded with spectacular 360 degree views of the city and the surrounding farmland of the Vale of York. On a clear day you can see for miles….to the south-west you can see the power stations of Drax, Ferrybridge and Eggborough. To the South-East you may be able to make out the towers of the Humber Bridge, one of the world’s longest suspension bridges. To the North-East you can see the Yorkshire Wolds and the White Horse, and to the North-West you can see the Pennines & Dales.

Sinking tower

The Central tower weighs 16,000 tonnes – about the same as 40 jumbo jets! In the 1960’s it was found that the foundations of the central tower were actually sinking due to the colossal weight. The highly respected & influential conservational architect, Sir Bernard Feilden, resolved the problem by inserting new reinforced foundations under the original ones. http://www.sal.org.uk/obituaries/bernardfeildan

The West Towers

The two bell towers that greet visitors as they approach the Minster from the river hold the bells that can be heard across the city every quarter of an hour during the day. The largest bell is called Great Peter and weighs over 10 tons. Great Peter is the one that strikes the hour, rather like Big Ben in London. The two towers hold 35 bells in total, which are not only used for timekeeping but also ceremonial bell-ringing. This includes every Sundays before Church Services, Tuesday evenings when the bell ringers practice, and any other special occasions.   York Minster became the first cathedral in England to have a carillon of bells with the arrival of a further twenty-four small bells on 4 April 2008. These are added to the existing “Nelson Chime” that is chimed to announce Evensong around 5 pm each day, giving a carillon of 35 bells in total (3 chromatic octaves). Before Evensong each evening, hymn tunes are played on a baton keyboard connected with the bells, but occasionally anything from Beethoven to the Beatles may be heard.* Click here for more information about the new bells.  

Minster Fire (1984)

There have been a number of fires at York Minster throughout its turbulent life, completely obliterating various sections. Perhaps the most famous of these was in 1984 when the roof of the south transept was destroyed by a bolt of lightning, three days after the consecration of the new Bishop of Durham, Dr. David Jenkins. He had been widely reported in the press as saying the resurrection was a ‘conjuring trick with bones’, which had lead to accusations of harbouring heretical views. The bolt of lightning was seen by some as a divine show of disapproval!

On a stormy night in July 1984, the Minster was struck by a bolt of lightning, sparking a fire in the roof. The fire quickly spread, ripping through the medieval timber in the roof, destroying much of the South Transept. The damage was widespread – after the fire you could stand in the nave and look up to see the sky. The repairs were extremely time consuming and expensive, requiring specialist skills for the reconstruction, stonework, plastering and glazing. At the time it was big news, capturing international attention, which helped fundraising efforts.

The BBC’s ‘Blue Peter’ Restoration Campaign

As the roof neared completion in 1986, the BBC children’s TV program Blue Peter ran a competition to design some of the new ceiling bosses (elaborately carved lumps of oak that decorate the joints of the vaults in the ceiling). The children were asked to design a boss that depicted a significant event of the 20th century.

Six designs were chosen in the end, including:

Neil Armstrong landing on the moon

Henry VIII’s Mary Rose battleship being raised from the seabed

…and the Ethiopian famine in Africa

On 4^th November 1988 the new ceiling was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth II. When you visit the Minster see if you can spot the Blue Peter bosses – you may need to use the mirrors provided to avoid straining your neck, as it’s a long way up! For more pictures of the fire – click here.

 Stained Glass

York Minster’s collection of Medieval stained glass windows is among the finest and rarest in the world. Most of the important windows, including the Great East Window and the Five Sisters still have their original Medieval stained glass. Some of it dates from as early as 1270. Probably the best known window is the Rose Window which was put together in the mid 13th century but completed in the 15th century to commemorate the end of the War of the Roses and honour the Tudor dynasty. It was severely damaged in the 1984 Minster fire – the 73 panels, containing 7,000 pieces of stained glass had cracked into about 40,000 pieces. Miraculously it was all still in place.

It took about 4 years for craftsmen to restore each individual piece of the window to its former glory. The Great East Window, at the Eastern end of the Nave, is the largest example of medieval stained glass anywhere in the world, standing 76-foot (23 m) high.

It is currently hidden beneath about 16 miles of scaffolding for cleaning. Cleaning these priceless pieces of glass is no simple task. It is a painstaking job undertaken by specialist craftsmen. Rather like a giant jigsaw puzzle, each window has to be taken apart, with each piece of glass being cleaned individually. Cleaning the Great East Window alone is estimated to cost over £6 million and will take about 15 years to complete. In total there are 128 stained glass windows in the Minster, containing approximately 2 million individual pieces of glass.  

Astronomical Clock

The astronomical clock is a memorial to the airmen operating from bases in Yorkshire and surrounding areas during World War 2. It was installed in the North Transept in 1955.

Chapter House

The Chapter House is an octagonal building adjoining the Minster, which is used as a meeting place for the Dean and Chapter of York. The Dean is a senior Anglican priest appointed by the Archbishop of York to take care of the day-to-day running of the Minster. Built in 1286, the Chapter House is one of the oldest parts of the cathedral and is well worth a visit. It contains some of the Minster’s oldest stained glass, and some very interesting carvings of local characters of the time.

Maintaining the Minster

Centuries of wind and rain, weathering and erosion have taken their toll on the outer structure, requiring a multi-million pound scheme to put right 600 years worth of wear and tear to the east front. Up until recently, it was free to enter York Minster, with the preservation and running costs covered by grants & donations. Unfortunately the toll of centuries of erosion and the need to cater for approximately 2 million visitors a year became too costly without other revenue. Neither the UK government nor the Anglican Church contributes toward the maintenance.

So in 2003 York Minster began to charge non-worshippers an entrance fee. Unsurprisingly for a building of that size and age, the maintenance & operating costs are huge. The building costs £10,000 per day, or £415 per hour, or £7 per minute to operate and maintain. More often than not, various parts of the building are covered in scaffolding to repair the crumbling masonry. The Minster is built from limestone, which although rather attractive, corrodes very easily. The ongoing erosion and wear and tear requires a full time staff of 150 craftsmen just to maintain the building in its current state, including carpenters, carvers, stonemasons, and glaziers.

Locals & regular visitors to York have become accustomed to seeing various parts of the Minster covered in scaffolding, but for the Millennium, all of the scaffolding was removed for a short while. For many people it was the first time in their lifetime that they had seen the building in all its glory. Unfortunately it is unlikely this will occur again for several more decades. Since the Millennium, craftsmen have embarked on a huge multi-million pound project to restore the East Front and the Great West window. It is estimated that this will not be completed for at least a decade. For more pictures of the maintenance work click here.  

Christmas at the Minster

York Minster is the only Cathedral in the UK that puts mistletoe as well as holly on its high altar at Christmas. This ancient use of mistletoe, connected with Britain’s Druid past, is linked to York. In the North of England, mistletoe grows on lime, poplar, apple and hawthorn trees. Druids believed it had the power to ward off evil spirits. They also used it as a sign of friendship – hence the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Because of mistletoe’s connection with the Druids, the early church associated it with sinners and evil and banned mistletoe for use and display in churches. But for some reason Mistletoe has remained as a tradition at Christmas in York. For a while it was incorporated into a service of repentance and pardon. York Minster held a winter Mistletoe Service when York’s miscreants and evil doers were invited to seek forgiveness. Holding up a branch of mistletoe, the priest would declare, “public and universal liberty, pardon and freedom of all sorts of inferior and wicked people at the minster gates, and the gates of the city, towards the four quarters of heaven.” Today, the Mistletoe Service is no longer offered in quite that way. But a sprig of mistletoe still decorates the high altar during the holiday season as a reminder of ancient customs and the spirit of forgiveness.  

Visitor Information

In August 2012 the Olympic Games come to London for what will be an unforgettable experience.

Along with lots of excitement and an incredible atmosphere, the Games will bring thousands of visitors to London. Unfortunately this means fully booked hotels, premium prices* and a very busy transport system.

Why not avoid the hassle and base yourself in York?

At only just over 2 hours from London, with one change between York and the Olympic Park its an easier and cheaper way to enjoy the games and avoid the crowds.

* Staying in London is likely to cost over £500 per night for standard accommodation during the games.

Book Your Olympics Accommodation

Plan and book early to avoid disappointment….

Click here to find accommodation

Book Your Travel to London

An express East Coast mainline service runs every 20 minutes direct from York to Kings Cross/St.Pancras in London. From there all you need to do is walk across to another platform to catch the Olympic Javelin Train direct to the Olympic Park in Stratford. Total journey time approximately 2.5 hours.

The Olympic Javelin Train is the planned high speed mode of transport for the millions of expected UK Olympic games spectators, and was announced by the UK Olympic commitee as part of London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.  This high speed Javelin Train will be a central part of plans to provide exemplary transport services for the potential 800,000 spectators per day expected to attend the London Olympics. With approximately 7.7 million tickets available for sale and an estimated 1.5 million spectators also expected to watch the 11 day long Paralympic Games, a clean and efficient Olympic travel and transport service is seen as essential to ensure the smooth running of the games.

The high speed Olympic travel service is planned to run between St Pancras station and Ebbsfleet international, via Stratford International situated in the Olympic Park. The Olympic Javelin train service will be run by Southeastern railways.
A frequent “Javelin” train will run from King’s Cross station to the Stratford International in seven minutes, carrying up to 25,000 passengers per hour from Central London stations to the Olympic Park. There are plans to carry up to 1200 passengers on each journey of the 6 carriage Javelin Trains.

If you’re a 2012 Games event ticket holder, you can buy train tickets in advance of everyone else to take you to your Games venue. 2012 Games Train Tickets can be bought for travel between 18 July 2012 and 14 September 2012 inclusive from every station on the National Rail network to London and all co-Host Cities ensuring you can get to all the 2012 Games ticketed events, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

The York Model Railway Show has been held every Easter for many years and the show has become one of railway modelling’s traditional events.  Now recognised as the best Model Railway show in the North of England, the event doesn’t just appeal to enthusiasts but to anyone.
For full information on the event click here…

The fifth Literature Festival returns to York from 29th March to 1st April 2012.

The festival includes talks, book signings, storytelling, poetry and cinema.

Highlights include:

• York Walk – A Guided Stroll Through Literary York
• Neil Hanson – Escape From Germany: The Greatest POW Break-out of the First World War
• York Amnesty International Presents Ayo Akinfe – Fuelling The Delta Fires
• Poetry from Ian McMillan & Andrew McMillan
• Yorkshire Voices – in Association with York Poetry Society: Oz Hardwick, Pat Borthwick & Ian Duhig
• Telltale Tent: Bringing Stories to Life. Inspire your children with storytelling and drama!
• Tony Benn & Roy Bailey: The Writing on The Wall – Another chance to see a uniquely powerful show. Tony Benn, Politician, Writer, Broadcaster and campaigner, and Roy Bailey, folk singer, perform their moving history of dissent in words and music.
• The Dickens Enigma – John Bowen discusses the life and work of Charles Dickens for the bicentenary of the Victorian novelist’s birth.
• Pennine Poets – Andrew Boobier, Josie Walsh, Pauline Kirk and Julia Deakin. Followed by ‘open
  mic’ for local writers.
• Andrew Motion, acclaimed poet, biographer and ex-Poet Laureate reads from his new book, Silver, a sequel to the classic Treasure Island.

Schedule of Events

For the full schedule of events, click here

To get regular bulletins on York Literature Festival and related events in the York area, please send your full name and email to: info@yorkliteraturefestival co.uk with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject heading.

The 27th annual JORVIK Viking Festival will take place at various sites across York during this week. A full breakdown of over 80 activities can be found on the Jorvik Viking Centre website or by clicking here.

The Festival Highlights include…

The Vikings’ Song – A Quest for Freedom

Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th – 19.00 – Joseph Rowntree Theatre

A fantastic chance to see a unique performance! Adapted from children’s author Peter Ward’s Viking Trilogy with an eclectic mix of music composed by Early Music specialist Michael Fields, combined with a dynamic young cast from York St John University and authentic reproductions of Viking instruments, this Viking musical promises to be an exciting addition to the 27th annual Jorvik Viking Festival.

Martin Simpson Trio & Enkelit

Tuesday 14th – 19.30 – National Centre for Early Music

We’re very pleased to welcome this multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winner back to the National Centre for Early music for an evening of sensational folk music, accompanied by Andy Cutting on melodeon and Andy Seward on double bass. Supported by the magical voices of Enkelit, this promises to be an event to remember! Having performed at NCEM to a sell-out audience, Martin is sure to be a popular addition to the 2012 Viking festival.

York Minster Viking Wedding

Wednesday 15th – 19.30 – York Minster

Following the hugely successful Fit for a King event at York Minster in 2011, we return to this richly historical venue to witness a Viking wedding followed by musical celebration including contributions from the fantastic Sarah Dean & Soundsphere. Don’t miss this unique opportunity for a special experience in a magnificent setting!

Jorvik Japes with Jeremy Strong

Thursday 16th – 14.00 – National Centre for Early Music

Join the brilliant Jeremy Strong, author of the famous ‘Viking at School’ and ‘Viking in my bed’ books for children, for an exclusive treat! Meet a host of Viking characters and the man himself before enjoying a Viking-themed afternoon tea time! With a bonus chance to get your books signed, this is an event not to be missed!

Black Tie Viking Banquet with Special Guest Dr Alice Roberts

Friday 17th – 19.30 – National Centre for Early Music

An exclusive addition to this year’s Festival; visitors will be welcomed to a unique event at an historic venue by a torchlit Viking War band, before enjoying an evening of revelry, authentic Viking feast, music and song followed by our special celebrity guest speaker to entertain and delight!

Festival of Fire Finale!

Saturday 18th – Doors open 17.00 – York Knavesmire

This is a finale event not to be missed!

See the magnificent torchlit procession! Behold the spectacular longship burning when it receives the body of a fallen warrior! Marvel at manifestations of Norse mythology engulfed in flames! And wonder at the fire juggling and the amazing Festival firework display!

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