Howden Minster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Howden Minster |
|
|---|---|
| Minster Church of St Peter and St Paul | |
Howden Minster, East Riding of Yorkshire
|
|
| 53°44′43″N 0°52′02″W / 53.745300°N 0.867200°W | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Peter and St Paul |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Howden Minster |
| Deanery | Howden |
| Archdeaconry | East Riding |
| Diocese | York |
| Province | York |
Howden Minster (also known as the Minster Church of St Peter and St Paul, Howden) is a very old and important Church of England church in Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It's one of the biggest churches in the area. The church is dedicated to two important saints, St Peter and St Paul. It's so special that it's listed as a Grade I building, which means it's historically very important. This listing also includes its Chapter House, a special meeting room.
History of Howden Minster
There has been a church in Howden for a very long time, even before the Normans came to England in 1066. These early churches were always built on the same spot. The only parts left from those first churches are some old stone carvings on the east wall of the north transept (a part of the church that sticks out like an arm).
From Monks to Bishops
Around 1086, the bishops of Durham took control of the Howden area. This was good for the town! The bishops helped Howden get a weekly market and four big fairs each year. The church became very wealthy. Because of its wealth, it became a "collegiate" church in 1265 or 1267. This meant it had a group of priests, called canons, who lived and worked there. They were responsible for daily worship. This system continued until the English Reformation in the 1500s. During the Reformation, many church groups like this were closed down, and Howden Minster lost its canons.
Building the Great Church
Soon after it became a collegiate church, work began to rebuild it. This wasn't paid for by a bishop, but by one of the first canons, John of Howden. He was a chaplain (a kind of priest) to Queen Eleanor of Provence.
First, a choir (the part of the church where the main altar is) was built. Then came the crossing (where the main parts of the church meet) and the transepts (the "arms" of the church). These parts are still standing today. John of Howden died in 1272 and was buried in the choir he helped build.
After a short break, the nave (the main part of the church where people sit) was extended. A south porch was added, and the front of the church (the west front) was finished around 1308. During this time, they decided to add a clerestory (a row of windows high up) above the nave. This was an idea they had later, which you can tell because the roofline above the crossing was originally lower. All this work was finished by about 1311.
A Grand New Choir and Tower
Soon after, Canon John's choir was thought to be too small. So, a much grander choir was built. This new choir had aisles and a clerestory from the start. It was built with stone and brick vaults (arched ceilings) and had a magnificent east front. This work probably started around 1320 and was finished by about 1335.
Next, a chapter house (a meeting room for the canons) was started. It was an octagonal (eight-sided) building. Work stopped for a while but started again in 1380. The most impressive part of the outside of the church is the 41-meter (135-foot) tall crossing tower. This was paid for by Walter Skirlaw, who was the bishop of Durham from 1388 to 1405. When he died, the tower wasn't finished, so he left money to complete it. The top part of the tower was added in the late 1400s. Around 1500, a grammar school was built next to the south nave aisle.
After the Reformation
When the Reformation happened, the group of canons was dissolved, and Howden Minster became a regular parish church. Over the years, parts of the church were not looked after properly. In 1696, the choir's arched ceilings fell down. The choir was then walled off, and the eastern part of the church became a ruin. The chapter house ceiling also collapsed in 1750.
The nave and tower were repaired between 1852 and 1855. The grammar school was also fixed in 1863. A fire damaged the tower and crossing in 1929, leading to more repairs that finished in 1932. Recently, work has been done to stop the ruined east end from decaying further.
Today, the ruins are looked after by English Heritage, an organization that protects historic places. They are kept as a "safe ruin," meaning they are stable but still look like ruins. The chapter house got a new roof in 1984. The parts of the Minster still used as Howden's parish church are usually open to visitors from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. However, you can only see the choir ruins from the outside.
Architecture and Furnishings
Early Construction (1265–1311)
The parts of the church that remain from John of Howden's first building phase include the transepts, the crossing, and the first section of the nave aisle walls. The transepts are simple, with one main level and wooden roofs. The pillars are shaped like four-leaf clovers. This pillar shape was used in all later building work at Howden Minster.
Large windows with decorative stone patterns, called tracery, are found throughout these early parts. The patterns are geometric, which was popular in the 1260s. Some of these designs were copied from Lincoln Cathedral, a very important church. These geometric designs were then used in other major churches in Yorkshire, like Selby Abbey and York Minster.
You can easily see where John of Howden's work ended and the next phase began because the window tracery patterns change. The aisle windows have three lights (sections of glass) and different patterns above them. These designs suggest the nave was built from 1280 onwards. The nave is six sections long, and its arches are taller than those in the transept. A clerestory (upper windows) was added later in the nave, even though it wasn't planned at first.
The west front (the main entrance side) was likely built between 1308 and 1311. This is suggested by the coat of arms of Antony Bek, Bishop of Durham, which was in a stained glass window there. The design of the west front, with its strong towers, was common in northern England and similar to Ely and Lincoln Cathedrals. The details, like the decorative carvings and window patterns, are similar to those found at York Minster around 1300. This means the west front was probably finished by about 1310.
The large central window on the west front has four lights. Above these are complex patterns of trefoils (three-lobed shapes) and quatrefoils (four-lobed shapes). The aisle windows have three lights and a circular window above, filled with alternating rounded and pointed trefoils. Decorative stone patterns also appear next to the west door and on the buttresses (supports) of the nave.
Rebuilding the Choir (Early 14th Century)
Even though the church was fully rebuilt by 1311, the choir was soon considered too small. So, stonemasons returned to build a much larger and grander eastern part of the church. This part is now mostly in ruins, but you can still see how beautiful it must have been. The new choir was designed with two levels (arches and a high clerestory), aisles, and stone vaulted ceilings. It was planned to be as long as the nave, making the whole church 78 meters (255 feet) long, one of the biggest in the area.
The master mason (the main builder) used some of the same design elements from the earlier parts of the church, suggesting the choir was started soon after the nave was finished. The east front again followed the style of Lincoln Cathedral. Decorative details were inspired by the nave of York Minster. Gables (triangular parts of a wall) were added over the windows on the south aisle and the east front. The buttresses (supports) are similar to those at York Minster and have detailed decorations.
Inside, the choir's main difference from the nave was the shape of the pillars, which had leafy carvings on their tops. The clerestory had large windows with a passage inside the wall. The stone vaults were made of stone ribs with brick filling, which was unusual for England at that time.
This choir design is very similar to the choir of Selby Abbey, which was being built at the same time, only eleven miles away. The east fronts of both churches are also similar. However, while Selby's east front is plain, Howden's is highly decorated, even in its ruined state. The great east window has seven lights and was once filled with complex tracery patterns. These patterns are very similar to the east window at Selby Abbey. The use of brick for the vault filling was rare then. It's interesting that Hull Minster, not far away, also used brick for its transepts around the same time.
Chapter House and Later Additions
After the vaults were finished, the builders started on a chapter house next to the south choir aisle. Only the lower parts, like the entrance and seats, were built before 1350. The upper parts were built later, starting in 1380, after Henry de Snaith left money for its completion. Bishop Skirlaw also helped with the chapter house and paid for the first part of the tall crossing tower. When he died in 1405, he left money to finish it. The tower is like a "stone cage" with very tall windows. A shorter second stage was added later in the 1400s, bringing the tower to its full height of 41 meters (135 feet). The top of the tower has a battlement (a wall with gaps for defense), which was a common symbol in medieval churches.
Howden Minster didn't have many other big changes after the 1400s. The south transept chapel was updated and contains old monuments to important families. A grammar school was added to the south nave aisle around 1500. It has interesting windows and a tiny fan vault (a type of arched ceiling) in its staircase.
Inside the Church: Furnishings
A beautiful stone screen, called a pulpitum, was put in the church in the 1400s. It had four statues. This screen now serves as the reredos (a decorative screen behind the altar). Two other stone screens were put at the entrances to the chancel aisles. These have niches (small hollows) that now hold sculptures from the east front. Another interesting item is the old octagonal (eight-sided) font (a basin for baptisms), which dates from 1320–1350. The only medieval stained glass that remains is in the south porch, and it's from the 1300s.
St John of Howden
John of Howden was one of the first canons (priests) at Howden Minster. After he died, local people treated him like a saint, even though he was never officially made one by the church. Important visitors, including Kings Edward I, Edward II, and Henry V, came to the Minster to see his tomb.
John of Howden was known as a poet who wrote in Norman French and Latin. He wrote about religious and lyrical topics. He was also a clerk or confessor (a spiritual advisor) to Queen Eleanor of Provence, the wife of King Henry III. He was the one who paid for the rebuilding of the choir of the minster. He died in 1275 and was buried in a special shrine in the choir. His tomb was still there until the 1500s. His feast day (a day to remember him) is May 2nd.
See also
