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The Crypt. The plan draws your attention to the main features of the crypt which lies below the choir. Over the last 160 years archaeological work has exposed the remains of the late l2th-century crypt, the eastern apse of the late llth-century cathedral and part of the Roman fortress.
The crypt was originally the area below a platform built to raise the High Altar above the ground level of the Norman cathedral. The Eastern Crypt (A) is late l4th-century but appears older than this because the ribs of the vaults and the column capitals came from the earlier crypt. The Western Crypt (B) and the area now containing the treasury (entrance through The Foundations museum) were excavated after the 1829 fire. This area had been filled when the present eastern arm of the Minster was rebuilt in the late l4th century.1. The Doomstone.The Doomstone is a l2th-century carved slab possibly from the west front of the Norman cathedral. The carving shows a scene from the Last Judgement of wicked souls being pitched into hell by devils.
2. The Capitals.The Decorative Capitals were originally made for the l2th-century crypt. One capital has been used as a column base.
3. The Paintings.The Paintings above the Altars ( 1979) are by Graeme Willson and depict Edwin, King of Northumbria, St Hilda of Whitby and St Paulinus.
4. Sculpture of St Anne and the Virgin Mary.Sculpture of St Anne and the Virgin Mary. This mid l5th-century carving which shows the Virgin being taught to read by her mother is of Derbyshire stone and retains some of its original paint. It was given by the Friends ofYork Minster in 1953.
5. The Virgin.The York Virgin is one of the Minster's most important treasures. It was discovered after the 1829 fire having been used as rubble in the l4th-century east wall of the Minster. This exquisite work is Romanesque, probably of the l2th century, and shows Byzantine influence in the drapery and posture.
6. Roman Column Base.Roman Column Base and Late llth-Century Apse. In the small chamber betow floor level, in its original position, is a 4th-century column base from a colonnade in the house of the commanding oflicer of the Roman legion. Part of the curved foundations of the eastern apse of the 11 th-century Norman cathedral can be seen here. The red studs on the tloor of the crypt mark the inner and outer edges of this apse wall.
7. The Stone Trough.Stone Trough or Lavatorium. It is possible that the crypt was used as the medieval treasury and this trough was used to rinse the ceremonial vessels. Decorating the entrance to the drain shaft is a carving of a man with a small animal.
8. The Font.The Font, mid l5th-century, came from the chapel of the Vicars Choral in Bedern. Its cover, designed by Sir Ninian Comper in 1947, commemorates the baptism of King Edwin by Bishop Pauli~us in 627 in the first Saxon cathedral. This is the only font in the Minster.
9. The Column Bases.l2th-Century Column Bases which originally carried the columns now in the eastern crypt.
10. The Piers.Massive Piers decorated in a similar manner to those in the nave of Durham Cathedral, supported the Norman choir. They show some of the finest masoncraft in the Minster and several masons' marks can be seen on their surfaces.
11. The Shrine.The Shrine of St William of York (Archbishop d.1154) contains a Roman coflin with a medieval lid in which are bones believed to be those of St William. The coffin was moved frorn the nave during the 1967-72 excavations to its present position. The small altar was given at this time by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds. The mosaic floor represents the River Ouse at York, the scene of St William's most famous miracle. This was made in 1980 by students of York College of Arts and Technology.
12. The Mosaic of St William.The Mosaic of St William wearing his mitre and carrying a cross has been designed and made by Graeme Wilson. The figure stands between two pillars of the same design as those of the Crypt.
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