An Introduction to Howden Minster: 2009
An Introduction to Howden Minster:
A Free History for Visitors: 2009
The western end of Howden Minster serves as the parish church for the town of Howden and surrounding villages. It continues in use for regular acts of Christian worship and to support the community, education and the arts. The eastern end is ruinous, in the care of English Heritage, a government department. Currently, there is no public access inside the ruins.
What is a minster? The term minster refers back to the Middle Ages and the meaning changes in different parts of England. North of the Wash, minsters were bishops' churches rather than monasteries or parish churches and were run by a college of canons. Some minsters (e.g. York, Lincoln and Lichfield) were also cathedrals; the others were what today we might call pro-cathedrals or outstations to support the bishop's ministry in huge dioceses away from the cathedral city. Of those, some (e.g. Ripon and Southwell) became cathedrals in the 19th century; others (e.g. Beverley and Howden) now simply serve as parish churches. They are all architecturally cathedral shaped rather than parish church shaped. Although some bishops are now re-designating some city churches (e.g. Doncaster and Rotherham) as minsters as part of a new strategy, they have little in common with the medieval minsters.
Howden's earliest reliable references go back to 956 AD. An earlier unsubstantiated legend tells of St Osana, an Anglo-Saxon princess, reputedly buried here. There was a 10th century link to Peterborough Abbey (now a cathedral).
The church in Howden became a minster because the Prince Bishops of Durham had an important palace here (of which the present Bishop's Manor is only a fragment), from which they ruled Howdenshire for half a millennium (500 years) from the Norman Conquest to the Reformation. We are a hundred miles away from Durham Cathedral here and so the minster was established by Bishop Antony de Bec to provide an imposing religious and ceremonial building as well as the canons (senior clergy) to help him administer his diocese. It was useful to have a base well away from the Scottish border in times of trouble, especially as Bishop de Bec was one of King Edward I's chief military commanders in his Scottish Wars.
The present church was rebuilt in the latest style in the 13th century. It was one of the first churches in the north in what is known as the decorated or geometric style (where all the abstract design has been drawn with a pair of compasses) and with the slim and elegant pillars seen here. The arrangement of the nave arcading here was bold and innovative, merging the traditional triforium and clerestory (upper windows) into one. Stylistic detail suggests that some of the masons (or their sons) from Notre Dame de Paris, who went on to work on the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey under King Henry III, then came north to build Howden Minster. The first senior canon at our new minster was John of Howden, who had been confessor to the queen, and was a noted poet in Latin and Norman French. This John of Howden was locally regarded as a saint, and after his death in 1275 his tomb became an important place of pilgrimage. He is remembered here each year on 2 May.
In the early 15th century, Howden was a favourite residence of Bishop Walter Skirlaw, an East Riding man, who made the final additions to the medieval minster: the chapter house and the top stage of the tower. His successor as bishop was Thomas, Cardinal Langley. The cardinal was the most high-ranking person ever to reside at Howden. He was Lord Chancellor (chief minster) to three kings including Henry V (of Shakespeare and Agincourt fame). He added a fine new brick gatehouse to his Howden Palace, still standing in the minster rectory garden. The cardinal's time, perhaps, saw Howden's greatest splendours.
Howden's great days came to an end in the 16th century. In 1536, Howden Minster was at the heart of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the most serious Catholic rebellion against Henry VIII. The rebel leader was Robert Aske, a Howdenshire lawyer, who raised an army of over 30,000 men, but the rebellion failed due to treachery and betrayal. The Reformation removed the canons and most of the revenues from Howden. The shrine of St John of Howden was broken up and pilgrimage ceased. The prince bishops withdrew to Durham, abandoning their palace to decay and ruin. The townsfolk continued to use the nave of the minster as their parish church, as they still do today, but the glorious days of cardinals and kings in Howden were done.
In the 17th century came the Civil War; parliamentarian troops marching from Hull through Howden in 1644, on the way to attack Wressle Castle (four miles west, and now in private ownership), caused serious damage to the choir. They broke up the organ and used the pipes as whistles on the march. In 1696, the choir roof finally collapsed in a storm. The draining of the marshes, and the coming of the canals to Goole, (carrying produce from the industrial towns of the West Riding to deep water and the North Sea), changed the local landscape beyond all recognition. Howden went into eclipse.
Catastrophe struck Howden Minster in 1929, when drunks forced their way into the tower and started a major fire that gutted much of the interior. After the fire, the building was restored as if the building actually stopped under the tower. In the cardinal's day, the choir stalls would have been east of the screen, not coming back west into the nave, and the floor would have been level rather than raised. There would have been a clear walkway from the north door to the south door under the lantern tower. The famous Yorkshire wood carver, Mousy Thompson of Kilburn, made the fine choir stalls and much of the other minster furnishings, as seen on Look North. Children love to hunt for the 30+ Thompson mice hidden around the Minster. Archbishop William Temple came to rededicate the restored minster in 1932.
The Great West Window contains some very fine 19th century glass by the Belgian stained glass worker, J B Capronnier. His masterwork is in Cologne Cathedral, the medieval shrine of the three kings; hence the subject matter here. Two fine 20th century windows are at the end of each transept: the south window commemorates those who fell in the 1st World War; the north window commemorates the present queen's coronation, depicting figures from the history of the town.
A modern flying cap, symbolising the flames of Pentecost, was added to the font in the 1950s. A new side chapel, dedicated to St William of York, was established in the north transept in 1979 using part of the stone high altar from the ruined east end of the medieval minster as its new free-standing altar. It is regularly used for weekday services. In 2001, the upper Grammar School (disused since 1925) was reordered and dedicated as the Chapel of the Resurrection. It is now used for private prayer and meditation as well as being the song school for the modern choir, echoing once more to children's voices.
Some very rare medieval statues survive to this day in Howden Minster. Most of them show signs of weathering. The statue now venerated as representing Mary, the Mother of the Lord has been carefully protected from wind, rain, snow, war and vandalism across the centuries. Some art historians hold the opinion that this was originally carved to represent a different saint. A modern series of abstract sculpture by John Maine R.A. was installed outside the minster 2002 -2008. Funded by various civic amenity bodies, they run from the West Front, and down the north side along Churchside, Their drum shape and patterning echo our ancient link to Durham Cathedral. We hope to replace two of the badly eroded west front statues (possibly of Saints Peter & Paul) with specially commissioned 21st century figures.
The West Front of the minster has been substantially restored during 2006/7. Architecturally, the West Front was so important that it became the model for that of the 19th century Roman Catholic Cathedral at Salford (Manchester), at an 80% scale. Phase II of the current restoration along the south side began early this year and is expected to finish by the autumn of 2009. This involves English Heritage's largest grant in the North, but the financial support of local people and visitors is still essential. At the same time, we are working towards a spiritual renewal and regeneration appropriate for the 21st century.
Like most historic churches in England, Howden Minster is part of the Church of England within the world-wide Anglican Communion. The Church of England is one of the churches that broke away from Rome in the 16th century, yet still stresses continuity with the church of the middle ages. The Anglican Communion today is usually strongest in those countries where English is the main language. The member churches usually refer to themselves as Anglican, but in Scotland and the USA the term Episcopalian is preferred. The Porvoo Agreement was signed with the Baltic Lutheran Churches in 1995, leading to full sacramental hospitality. We are in a covenanted relationship with the Methodist and United Reformed Churches.
Rev’d James Little BA (York), Dip Theol.
Team Rector in the Howden Team January 2009