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From Roman times to the present day the site on which York Minster stands has been at the very centre of England's religious and political life.

This short history of York Minster is intended to introduce our visitors to some of the stories behind the development, construction and traditions of this extraordinary cathedral and the people who helped make it what it is.

The various time periods covered by this history are listed in the menu to the left of your screen, simply click on any of these to access that particular article. We hope you enjoy these page and welcome any comments you may have at info@yorkminster.org

In the Beginning During the Roman occupation of Britain York was a thriving, well-defended settlement containing the army headquarters from which the Romans administered the north of England. These military headquarters were the first buildings on the Minster site.

No-one knows when Christianity first arrived in the city but by 306 when Constantine The Great was proclaimed Emperor in York it is probable there was a small Christian community among those who proclaimed him. In 312 he issued a general edict of toleration for the Christian Church. However, by the year 314 York already had its own bishop, implying that the Christian community had been meeting there for some time, probably since long before their faith was officially tolerated.

The history of north-eastern England between 400 and 600 AD is obscure but York itself survived with its fortifications kept up and even strengthened. However, it seems that the organised Christian community disappeared during the pagan invasions that followed Roman withdrawal in the 5th century. In 625 Christianity returned to York when Bishop Paulinus accompanied Ethelburga, a Christian princess from Kent in southern England, who came north to marry Edwin, the pagan king of Northumbria. Edwin accepted Christianity two years later and was baptised, along with his court, by Paulinus in a church built especially for the occasion - this building is traditionally regarded as the first York Minster. Bede records that the church was built in a hurry ('citato opere'), that it was made of wood, and that it was small. Before Edwin's death in 632/3 work began on a larger stone church designed to enclose the earlier wooden building. Edwin died before his stone church was completed and it was finished by his successor Oswald, dedicated to Saint Peter as the cathedral in York has been ever since.

A period of instability followed with York vulnerable to attack from Penda of Mercia and the Britons of North Wales. We know that the city was overrun at least twice and probably three times between the death of Oswald in 641/2 and the Battle of the Winwaed in 654/5. In about 670 St. Wilfred took over the see of York and found the structure of Edwin's church fairly lamentable 'The ridge of the roof owing to its age let the water through, the windows were unglazed and the birds flew in and out, building their nests, while the neglected walls were disgusting to behold, owing to all the filth caused by the rain and the birds.'.

Saint Wilfred set to work renewing the roof and covering it with lead, whitewashing the interior walls and installing glass windows.