We name churches after all sorts of things (e.g., Our Lady of the Artificial Lakes) but here's a lovely church named because it was on the first paved street in York. (Our Lady of the Asphalt?) Churches have been on this site at least since the Saxon days, long before there was pavement here. To some extent, its name is ironic as it has lost part of its building to street expansion over the years.
All Saints is a mixed historical bag as its entrance plaque tells us, including the 14th century church and west windows, 10th century grave cover, 15th century ceiling, 17th century pulpit, and 19th century kempe windows. Hidden from view are the bodies of 39 Lord Mayors.
Here's a shot of the interior with its 17th century pulpit where Methodist John Wesley, among others, preached. Above and below are a glimpse of the windows. These may be by the famous Victorian stain glass artist Charles Eamer Kempe.
York had over 45 churches in the year 1300 and twenty have survived to this day, including two named All Saints -- hence the designation of Pavement for this building. Be grateful we've only discussed three of these churches in these pages.
And a couple views of the 15th century octagonal bell tower used during the middle ages to hold a lantern to guide those traveling in the forest to the North of York.
Thanks for staying with us! What did we miss? Lots. York is a town with great history and the most significant gap in these pages is the 200 years of Viking rule. Their Jorvik was a huge jewel in the necklace of trading towns the Vikings established from Scandinavia to the Middle East. York has excavated some of this (whenever someone remodels within the walls, they inevitably stumble into more of it. Besides, York is a "wet" town for archeology which means that wood and leather are often found preserved.) The town got serious about its Viking past (867 to 1067AD) around 1971. Today, it sports a high-tech Viking museum; unfortunately, photographs are not allowed. If you go there, be sure to see it. If you do, you may want to check out this article to augment your experience.