All Saints North Street

From the outside, its main feature is an impressive tower with a tall octagonal spire. Notice too a small hermitage (rebuilt in the 1920s) attached to the west end where a female hermit lived in the early 15th century.

All Saints took its current form in the 14th century, and by the 1470s the roof and beautifully decorated ceiling with brightly painted angels bearing emblems and musical instruments were in place.

There is a 15th century oak stall with a fine carving of a pelican, a Christian symbol of atonement, feeding her young with her own blood.

Worth the visit alone is the fine 15th century stained glass, which gives remarkable insight into the clothing and customs of the day; in one, you can see a man wearing medieval spectacles.

The north aisle contains two famous windows. Corporal Acts of Mercy shows a wealthy man (possibly the merchant Nicholas Blackburn, a mayor of York) visiting the sick, clothing the naked and feeding the hungry.

The other, dating from 1410, is the Pricke of Conscience window, an apocalyptic vision of Doom, the last 15 days of the world. Based on a popular contemporary poem, it shows rising seas and monsters, the earth on fire, men hiding in hole and the dreadful spectacle of a couple lying on a bed with a spear wielding, skeletal figure of Death standing beside them as horrified figures look on. It is a distressing scene of medieval guilt and the fear of everlasting punishment.

But the windows are also an aesthetic marvel, with clear, vibrant colours and detailed rendering of very expressive faces, making them a moving and uplifting sight to behold.