St Mary the Virgin
Hull, Yorkshire
St Mary the Virgin, Lowgate, Hull, is an ancient church dating back to the early 14th century, although it is believed a chapel may have existed on the same site before this.
A visit to Hull Minster is like stepping back through the ages in a city that has more than meets the eye.
With royal origins, walls built inside separating townsfolk from soldiers, strong connections to great people like Andrew Marvell and William Wilberforce, stained glass windows of national significance, and surviving both Zeppelin raids and Nazi bombings during the first and second world wars respectively, Hull Minster has an amazing story to tell.
At present, we are undertaking a £4.5m transformation project to not only create space and upgrade facilities but to curate and share over 700 years of heritage.
Built around 1285 Hull Minster is one of the Hull’s last Grade I listed buildings. The church was built with the close patronage of Edward I, as he developed Kingston upon Hull, an outstanding example of an Edwardian planned town exhibiting bastide type features. Window traceries at Hull Minster were inspired by Louis IX's Sainte Chapelle in Paris and the church itself furnished a model for other major churches in the Perpendicular period.
Above all, it's remarkably unified structure makes quite extraordinary use of light, that most noteworthy characteristic of the Perpendicular style.
Other elements which make Minster unique are; two ‘arts and crafts’ windows designed by the world renowned Walter Crane, the 6th largest organ in the country built in the 18th century, unique hand carved oak pew ends from medieval and Victorian times, Robert ‘Mousey’ Thompson furniture containing his trademark mice, and a beautifully carved coralloid marble font dating back to around 1380, used by the slave abolitionist William Wilberforce.