And so to York's main attraction, The Minster. It began to be built in 1220 under the direction of Archbishop Walter de Gray and took 252 years to complete, finishing in 1472. It stands 184ft high and is Britains largest Gothic cathedral and a local bye-law states that "no building in York shall stand higher than it", it's correct name is The Cathedral and Metro Political Church of St. Peter in York.

There have been three major fires in the minster altogether. The first was started on purpose by a man who claimed God had told him to do it. The second 11 years later was caused by accident when a careless workman left a candle burning.

The third fire is certainly the most curious, it happened on the night of the 9th of July 1984 when the cause was blamed on lightening but there was no storm that night and no fault could be found with any of the electrics. However the day before the fire the Bishop of Durham, who had been concecrated in the Minster, appeared on television and denounced the virgin birth so divine retribution has been blamed.

An interesting fact is that since the first fire the Minster has been the only church apart from the Vatican to have it's own police force. On the same spot as the minster originally stood the Roman headquarters. There was also in 627 a small wooden church constructed which was later made into a larger stone version this was destroyed when the Normans burnt the city in 1069 and replaced by a Norman church the remains of which were discovered during excavations to stenghten the central tower between 1969-72. During this time a Roman column was also found which was placed outside for all to see.

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