YORK MINSTER, NAVE WEST c. 1885

Yesterday I posted the West entrance to the Minster and this is the view of the Nave within. The nave was built from c. 1291 to c. 1350 in the Decorated Gothic architectural style and is one of the widest Gothic naves in Europe. Look at that West Window! To the top of the arch you can see the tracery detail of the 'Heart of Yorkshire'.

"Like any stained glass window the glass of the Great West Window requires re-leading and cleaning approximately every 120 years or so. The West Window which dates from c.1338-39 has therefore been dismantled, re-leaded and reorganised on a number of occasions.

The overall glazing scheme was designed to reflect the hierarchy and legitimacy of the medieval Church.

The two panels immediately under the point of the heart show, to the left, the Coronation of the Virgin, and to the right, Christ in Majesty. The first full row of panels beneath illustrate the principal events in the life of Christ (Annunciation, Nativity, Resurrection and Ascension).

Until 1746, the middle row of panels contained the twelve apostles. In that year a figure of a deacon saint was inserted replacing an original panel of two apostles, the second figure in from the right.

The bottom row of panels depicts previous Archbishops of York. The window was intended to work on two different levels; firstly it illustrated the order and structure of the Church. Secondly it linked the donor of the window, Archbishop Melton, to his predecessors by virtue of the doctrine of apostolic succession. The living Melton could claim his authority from St Peter, traditionally the first Pope.

Recent observation of the glass during the 1980’s, when it had to be removed to replace the window tracery, revealed it to be in excellent condition. This must raise the question as to why William Peckitt did so much to interfere with the glazing in the mid eighteenth century."

http://www.yorkminster.org/geisha/assets/files/fact-sheet-the-principal-windows.pdf

Another detail within this photo postcard can be seen at the top right about two o'clock: a Mystery Object! This strange object high on the north side of the nave may be an arm from which something was lifted up eg a giant font cover?

This is a Frith Series Card numbered 18408 and the photo would probably date to around 1885. This card has a really nice Jugendstil typeface POST CARD to its reverse.

Francis Frith (British, 1822–1898) was an English photographer noted for his studies of the Middle East and for establishing the largest photographic publishing firm in the 19th century. He was a founder-member of the Liverpool Photographic Society and he exhibited portraits and landscapes to much critical acclaim. He set up his own publishing firm in Reigate in 1859 and he specialized in picturesque scenes for the rising tourist market. Many of the images of York date from c. 1885 but were popular twenty years later when the Millers were in York on their world trip.