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York Minster - Chapter House & Vestibule:
This plan draws your attention to some of the main features of the building.
Source: The York Minster information desk. For further information contact the Visitors Department: *01904 639347 (*44 plus telephone number if outside the UK) Fax: 01904 613049.
The Chapter House & Vestibule
The Chapter House was probably built during the 1270s and 1280s.
The name of the master mason who designed this remarkable building is unknown but he was probably an Englishman familiar with contemporary English court style and French Gothic architecture.
The inspiration for this beautiful building may have come from John le Romeyn who before becoming Archbishop of York had been a professor in Paris.
The design of the vault was altered after the building was begun and instead of being stone and supported by the usual central column, a unique timber roof structure was constructed which is, in effect, a Gothic dome. Around the walls are 44 stalls embellished with Purbeck marble shafts and 284 stone capitals and pendants carved in the form of foliage, heads, scenes and animals.
The building is connected to the cathedral by the vestibule, which was built some years later and also decorated with many fine carvings. Both Chapter House and Vestibule contain much of the original l3th-century painted glass.
A major restoration of the Chapter House was undertaken in 1844-45 by the architect Sidney Smirke who was responsible for removing most of the remaining traces of medieval painting and gilding and installing the cast-iron heating grills and Minton tile floor. Under his direction about a fifth of the sculpture was restored by George Peter White and the ceiling painted with its present design.
The Chapter House is still used for its original purpose, as the meeting place for the Dean & Chapter, the governing body of the Cathedral now consisting of 30 canons. Over the centuries sovereigns held court, ecclesiastical enquiries determined the fate of heretics and coins were minted here. Today it is a popular venue for exhibitions.
1. Statue of the Virgin and Child. The face of`this beautiful l3th-century Virgin and the head of the Child were restored in 1902. The originals were probably destroyed during the l6th century.
Under the Virgin's feet are a lion and a dragon fighting. This is a reference to Psalm 91, v 13, ". the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet", and is symbolic of Good overcoming Evil.
2. The martyrdom of St Bartholemew.
This gruesome little carving shows the saint being flayed alive. Bartholemew is tied upside down while a man on the right peels away his skin with a knife.
3. l3th-century doors.These beautiful l3th-century doors are enriched with a tree of life design in wrought iron. They were made by highly-skilled smiths using dies and punches to stamp the decoration on to the metalwork. They were originally painted and gilded.
4. The Virgin and Infant Jesus.This tiny carving of the Virgin suckling the infant Jesus was presumably overlooked by the l6th and l7th-century iconoclasts when they set out to destroy or deface images of the Virgin Mary.
5. The windows.The windows, although considerably restored, contain the original late l3th to early l4th-century glass, except for that in the window facing the entrance. The glass in this window is l5th and early l6th century and shows scenes from the life of Christ and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. In the parish church of St Michael-le-Belfrey are four panels of glass belonging to the same series.
6. Wooden Panelling.The original wooden panelling of the ceiling wa.s taken down in 1797 and replaced by the present lath and plaster infill. This new cieling painted with a design of foliage and heraldry by Thoma Willement in 1844-45 was restored in 1976. The central boss of the vault depicts the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).
7. Vestibule Entrance.Above the entrance to the Vestibule are thirteen empty niches. These once held small statues of Christ and the Apostles which are said to have been made of silver and were probably removed at the Reformation.
8. A Loving Couple..A `Loving Couple', one of the capitals at the back of this stall, forms a charming and ingenious variation on the foliage used extensively elsewhere.
9. The Flower of Flowers. UT ROSA FLOS FLORUM SIC EST DOMUS ISTA DOMORUM "As the rose is the flower of flowers, so is this the house of houses".
This inscription just inside the entrance also appears in the floor tiles of the Chapter House at Westminster Abbey which was built some thirty years earlier.
10. Carved Animals.On the capital to the right of the door you can see seven different animals beautifully carved.
11.The Bosses.The bosses in the blind arcading are superb. Several show faces surrounded by foliage or birds. Those on the west wall have been undercut so skilfully by the carvers that they are completely hollow.
12.Vestibule Exit.As you leave the Vestibule, the second window on the right, with four lights, dates from around 1300 and is exceptionally fine and well preserved. It shows eight figures of kings and queens, believed to be Edward I, his wife Eleanor of Castile and their immediate predecessors.
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