785 
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the three farthest windows of the upper tier, all concur to 
render it eminently magnificent. 
With the splendid exterior, its interior perfectly corre¬ 
sponds. The cross aisle exhibits a superb specimen of the 
style of architecture which prevailed in the latter years of the 
reign of Henry III. The circular arch, inclosing others of 
the pointed form, is still seen in the upper part. The an¬ 
gular pillars, supporting the larger arches, are encompassed 
by slender columns a little detached; and the rich leafy 
capitals of all the columns, unite to form a foliated wreath 
around their heads. The windows are long, narrow, and 
pointed, consisting of one light, or divided into several by 
unramified mullions, and variously decorated on the sides 
by slight freestone or marble shafts. Between the upper 
arches appear the quatre-feuille and cinque-feuille orna¬ 
ments, subsequently transferred to the windows, and there 
forming the first step towards the exquisite tracery displayed 
in the nave and the choir. The windows in the southern 
end are arranged in three tiers; the uppermost composed of 
two concentric circles of small arches, and admired as a fine 
piece of masonry ; the three windows of the second tier ex¬ 
hibiting the archbishops St. William and St. Wilfrid, and 
between them the two apostles Peter and Paul, with their 
characteristic insignia; and the four figures of the lowermost 
tier, (Abraham, Solomon, Moses, and Peter,) forming an 
honourable memorial of the talents of a native artist, the late 
Mr. Peckett, of York. At the northern end, the windows 
are disposed in two tiers, the lower of which, a single win¬ 
dow of exquisite beauty, is divided into five lancet-shaped 
lights, each about 50 feet high, and 5 in breadth. These are 
usually called the Five Sisters, from a tradition that five 
maiden sisters incurred the expense of putting them up. 
Their coloured glass represents rich embroidery or needle¬ 
work ; and a small border of clear glass, running round the 
margin of each, adds greatly to their effect. The tall and 
slender columns also, which stand before them in small 
clusters, give an air of singular grace and lightness to their 
appearance. 
The screen, which separates the nave from the choir, is a 
very curious piece of workmanship; but its history is un¬ 
known. Its extremely florid style of decoration, however, 
marks an age later than that in which the chief part of the 
choir was completed, and may with great probability be 
referred to the reign of Henry VI., whose statue occupies the 
last niche in the royal series, reaching downward from Wil¬ 
liam I. The original statue of this monarch was taken down, 
according to tradition, on account of the adoration paid to 
it by the people; and the niche remained empty till the 
reign of James I. whose effigy, on his first visit to York, it 
was thought proper to place in the vacancy. This has been 
recently removed to Ripon Minster. In the architecture of 
the choir, a signal variation from that of the nave is percep¬ 
tible. The roofing displays more tracery; an elegant fes¬ 
toon-work descends from the capitals of the pillars, from 
which the vaulting springs; and the whole exhibits an ap¬ 
proach to the florid style which prevailed before the end of 
the 15th century. The crypt below t.he altar is a fine imi¬ 
tation of Saxon architecture, which had long been disused 
when this part of the edifice was founded. But the eastern 
window is unrivalled in magnitude and in beauty, upwards 
of 200 compartments being filled with representations of 
the Supreme Being, of monarchs, mitred priests, and saints, 
and of most of the principal events recorded in Scripture. 
Its glazing was begun at the expense of the dean and 
chapter, in the year 1405, by John Thornton of Coventry, 
who contracted to receive four shillings per week for his 
work, and to finish it in three years. He was also to receive, 
':i addition, one hundred shillings per annum, with ten 
pounds more if he executed the work well. In 1804, the 
earl of Carlisle presented to the cathedral a fine painted 
window, originally brought from the church of St. Nicholas, 
at Rouen in Normandy. Its subject is the meeting of the 
Virgin Mary with Elizabeth. 
The chapter-house is a magnificent structure, and singular 
Vol. XXIV. No. 1672. 
R K. 
in its kind. Its form is an octagon of 63 feet in diameter, 
and nearly 68 feet in height, estimated to the centre knot in 
the roof. Of this vast area, the roof is supported by a single 
pin, geometrically placed in the centre. The stalls for the 
chapter, ranged round the sides, are highly finished in stone; 
and the curiously wrought canopies are supported by elegant 
columns of the finest marble. The entrance from the north 
transept is in the form of a mason’s square. The alternate 
sides are adorned with windows rich in figured glass, and 
reaching to the roof. 
The vestry contains several antiquities, viz., silver chalices, 
found in the graves of archbishops; a wooden head, sup¬ 
posed to be part of the effigy of archbishop Rotheram, who 
died of the plague in 1500; several ancient rings; a pastoral 
staff of silver, given by Catherine, queen dowager of Eng¬ 
land, to her confessor, on his nomination to the see in 1687, 
and wrested from him by the earl of Derby, on his way to 
the cathedral; a chair, of the date of the heptarchy, in 
which several Saxon kings were crowned, &c. But the most 
important relic is a large horn, made of an elephant’s tooth, 
by which the church of York holds several lands of great 
value, bestowed about A.D. 1036. Stripped of its golden 
chain and other decorations, and taken away (if not at the 
reformation), during the civil wars under Charles I., it was 
subsequently restored by Henry, son of Thomas lord Fair¬ 
fax, and now bears a Latin inscription, commemorating his 
generosity. 
The library, originally founded by archbishop Egbert in 
740, was subsequently much increased by Alfred, and is 
highly commended by the learned Alcuin, both in his epistle 
to the church of England, and in a letter to the emperor 
Charlemagne. It was totally consumed by fire in the year 
1069. A second met with the same fate, little more than a 
century afterwards. The present library originated about 
A.D. 1628, from the liberal donation of the books of arch¬ 
bishop Tobias Matthew (made by his widow), consisting of 
above 3000 volumes. It has since been increased by the 
liberality of lord Fairfax, archbishop Dolben, and the Rev. 
Mam. Fothergill; and, among other curious works, contains 
a beautiful copy, on vellum, of Rasmus’ second edition of 
the New Testament, (two vols. folio, 1519) with some speci¬ 
mens from the press of Caxton, one of which is the first edi¬ 
tion of “ the Chorte and the Birde.” 
The chapter of York, in addition to the archbishop, in¬ 
cludes a dean, four archdeacons, a precentor, a chancellor, a 
subdean, twenty-nine prebendaries, a succentor, five vicars 
choral, &c. 
Besides the cathedral, York contains 20 parish churches 
within the walls, and three (St. Olave, St. Maurice, and St. 
Lawrence) in the suburbs: of these, a small number claim 
to be particularly noticed. The church of All Saints, in 
North-street, divided by pillars into two spacious aisles, has 
some well preserved painted glass in the windows, and a 
fine spire. Rs southern wall appears to be very antique, 
being composed of gritstone and pebble, intermixed with 
Roman brick. St. Mary’s, in Castlegate, is chiefly distin¬ 
guished by its lofty spire. All Saints, (or All Hallows) in 
the Pavement, is an ancient rectory, seated on the highest 
ground in the city, and belonging, previously to the conquest, 
to the prior and convent of Durham. Its northern side is 
almost wholly built out of the ruins of the old E/ioracutn. 
Its tower is esteemed an exquisite piece of Gothic architec¬ 
ture: the top is finished in the lantern form; and tradition 
reports, that of yore a large lamp flamed there throughout 
the night, ; « a mark for travellers crossing the vast forest of 
Galtres, which extended from near Bootham bar, as far as 
Craike castle, to the north of the city. The hook, or the 
pulley by which it was suspended, still remains within the 
steeple. St. Denys, in Watergate, is principally remarkable 
for a large blue marble, bearing two effigies, with a brass 
inscription around it, now totally defaced. As the palace 
of the earls of Northumberland stood on the northern side 
of the fabric, this marble is supposed to cover the body of 
one of that family, probably earl Henry, who fell among the 
8 M Lancastrian 
