329 - You may be beginning to wonder if I've developed an obsession with the ceilings at York Minster, but I couldn't resist including this one in the South Transept, partly because of the background story.
The roof of the South Transept has only existed in it's current form since 1988. A major fire on the night of 9th July 1984 (thought to have been caused by a lightening strike) had destroyed the previous roof, though strenuous efforts by the fire brigade prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the Minster.
A massive effort was needed to rebuild the roof and this magnificent ceiling. Oak from 200 trees was required to rebuild, and several of the great estates, including royal estates, provided the required trees.
All but six of the original sixty-eight roof bosses in this ceiling were destroyed in the fire, so new ones were created, including six designed by children in a competition held by the BBC television programme 'Blue Peter'. So that's how one of the roof bosses came to have an image of astronaut Neil Armstrong!
A wonderful shot of a wonderful Gothic ceiling, even if recently restored. Shot straight up, so were you on your back looking up? I have done that at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in NYC. People looked at me a bit funny when I was on the floor, not on a pew!
i really like these lines. I like the idea of you looking up and then laying on the floor to take a photo, it's the sort of thing i would do (or on the sidewalk, or in some leaves or kneel in a puddle....)
A great shot and a great explanation. Beautiful restoration have been done.
The only sadness is the chop down of the 200 oaks . But I suppose they are replanted.
Marvelous shot of these ceilings along with the history. It is hard to understand how these buildings were originally built in the time they were built.
Thank you all for your encouraging comments, and for the two favs.
I love the mixture of old and new in this shot.
The minster has so many beautiful views I could easily fill a project with shots of it. On a clear day the central tower provides a magnificent panorama over the city, but sadly the weather wasn't really good enough to justify me climbing up all those steps!
In this instance I didn't lie on the floor. There were so many visitors in there, it would have been dangerous, especially since the area below this ceiling was where lots of children's activities were taking place!
The only sadness is the chop down of the 200 oaks . But I suppose they are replanted.
Thank you all for your encouraging comments, and for the two favs.
I love the mixture of old and new in this shot.
The minster has so many beautiful views I could easily fill a project with shots of it. On a clear day the central tower provides a magnificent panorama over the city, but sadly the weather wasn't really good enough to justify me climbing up all those steps!
In this instance I didn't lie on the floor. There were so many visitors in there, it would have been dangerous, especially since the area below this ceiling was where lots of children's activities were taking place!
Thank you Kristin - the work done on rebuilding this area after the fire is wonderful!