King by King: The Choir Screen at York Minster

Written by: Cheryl

On:

Updated:

The Kings' Screen (the choir screen separating the choir from the nave) at York Minster Cathedral features fifteen kings ranging from William the Conqueror to Henry IV. Let's take it king by king! Here's a brief photo guide to the kings from left to right.
3 comments. Add to the discussion!
Subscribe Me!

As medieval cathedral choir screens go, I think the York Minster Kings Screen is definitely the most memorable.  As I was initially writing the post about things to do in York, I realized I’d taken at least one photograph of every king on the York Minster choir screen. Here’s a post devoted specifically to them, with a photo gallery and a description of each king. We also have another post about things to do and see at York Minster.

Medieval cathedrals commonly have a choir screen (sometimes called a rood screen) separating the nave from the choir area. To our modern ears “screen” may sound like a flimsy partition, but in a medieval cathedral, the choir screen is commonly made of stone or metal and is ornate.

York Minster’s choir screen is the most memorable choir screen that I’ve seen.

The screen includes fifteen expressive carved stone kings ranging from William the Conqueror to Henry VI: seven to the left and eight to the right.

Henry V originally commissioned this fifteenth-century rood screen.

However, he died before its completion. William Hindly, the master mason at York Minster at that time, completed the screen during the reign of Henry VI.

According to this post, the statue of Henry IV has a fascinating history. The original was destroyed in the late 15th century as people had taken to coming to the cathedral to worship the statue, praying and lighting candles to it — unwelcome behavior to the archbishop! Finally, in 1810, a new figure replaced the old.

The Kings of the York Minster Kings’ Screen

Below the big photo of the entire screen (which is, unfortunately, blurry) are individual photos of the kings in order from left to right. You can click on a single picture to open the lightbox to navigate through the images or to read more information about each king.

York Minster Kings Screen York Minster Choir Screen

King by King: The Kings of the York Minster Choir Screen

Here are the kings of the York Minster choir screen from left to right.  You may click on the name to open a single image, or you can jump down to the gallery, which has more information about each king.

  1. William the Conqueror (1066-1087)
  2. William Rufus (William II) (1087-1100)
  3. Henry I (Primus) (1100-1135)
  4. Stephen (1135-1154)
  5. Henry II (1154-1189)
  6. Richard I (the Lionheart) (1189-1199)
  7. John Lackland (1199-1216)
  8. Henry III (1217-1272)
  9. Edward I (1272-1307)
  10. Edward II (1307-1327)
  11. Edward III (1327-1377)
  12. Richard II (1377-1399)
  13. Henry IV (1399-1413)
  14. Henry V (1413-1422)
  15. Henry VI (1421-1471)
Photo of author

Written by: Cheryl

Currently: doing this blog, photographing, cycling, and building a bike.
You might also be interested in:
Duncansby Stacks in Scotland North Coast 500

Scotland’s North Coast 500: An Ongoing Interactive Map (and a list of posts related to our adventure)

This is an ongoing post with a Scotland's North Coast 500 map and a post list. That is, we are gradually adding markers and posts as we write about our adventure.
A collection of flyers from the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is a Blast !

Every August (with the exception of the pandemic, of course), brings the Edinburgh International Festival and, with it, the Fringe Festival. Here's why we want to go back, if just for the Fringe.
Santiago de Compostela

48 Hours in Santiago de Compostela: See, Do, Eat

Santiago de Compostela is a fascinating town with a rich history visited each year by the many pilgrims who come to walk the Camino de Santiago.
Here are the best things to do if you have 48 hours to spend in this Spanish town.
Subscribe to comment notifications
Notify of
guest

3 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedback
View all comments

Subscribe by Email

Want to keep up with our crunchy granola-like mixture of variable content? Subscribe here, and we'll send you a weekly digest of new stuff from our site, a monthly newsletter of upcoming events from our calendar, and occasional multi-content newsletters.
If you'd like to subscribe to other, specific, content areas, you can do that here.
You can unsubscribe at any time you wish from a link in the footer of email newsletters that we send.
Item added to cart.
0 items - $0.00

New Report

Close