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I took these pictures standing towards the Eastern end of the nave of York Minster. For most of the year, the nave is filled with pews, but every January they are removed for a few weeks to give visitors the chance to see the spectacular floor - I'm delighted to have been able to photograph it at this time. The floor patterns, of course, are very distorted in my picture, but it still gives a fair idea of what you'd see if you were there in person.

Another interesting feature of this picture is that it was photographed in January, so the sun was relatively low. This has produced some extreme areas of light and shade, and means there's a huge difference in the appearances of the stained glass windows as you move around the picture. I had planned to correct these afterwards (and, in particular, to darken the windows at the left and the centre of the picture) but on reflection I think they quite nicely emphasise the fact that the picture is a fully circular view.

I have licensed the sale of this picture exclusively to the Dean and Chapter of York, so it's only available for purchase in York Minster's gift shop. The picture is reproduced here by their kind permission.

The centre of the picture shows the Great West Window, in the the area directly underneath the Minster's famous twin towers. This window dates from 1338 and is known as the "Heart of Yorkshire" because of the heart shape near the top of it. Moving across to the right is the area containing the Our Father (Pater Noster) chapel, window n28 (just visible) and window n26 (above the group of people). In common with the Bellfounders' Window, this has an actual depiction of the donor offering the window. The Bellfounders' Window is next, dating from the 14th century and depicting the craft of bellfounding. Next to that is the beautiful wooden pulpit, commemorating Archbishops Temple and Lang. Further along is the entrance to the 13th century North Transept, and after that (and continuing at the left edge of the picture) are the spectacular choir and organ. (My apologies for having chopped them in half.)

To the right of the choir is the south transept, which is nowadays the main entrance to the Minster and also contains the entrances to the tower, undercroft, treasury and crypt. To the right of this is window s30, followed by the Mauley Window, commemorating the family of Archdeacon Stephen de Mauley, who donated the window. The window is shown being repaired, having blown out in the storms in January 2007. Further along, just before the Great West Window, is window s34, depicting St. William crossing the Ouse Bridge.

Photographed on: Saturday 27th January 2007, around 11:30am

Images are (c) Dean and Chapter of York. Available for purchase in the Minster Shop, York Minster.