‘The whole past, the whole time’: Untimely Matter and the Playing Spaces of York

Abstract

In 1967, a survey of York Minster revealed that parts of the cathedral, in particular the central tower, were on the verge of collapse. A major restoration project, lasting five years and costing over £2,000,000, was undertaken. A serendipitous result of the refortification of the central tower was the discovery of Roman ruins beneath the cathedral’s Norman foundations. Today visitors ‘journey through time from the first to the twentieth century’ as they descend from the south transept of the Minster into the undercroft, where the archaeological results of the restoration are on display.¹ In one space, visitors see the substantial remains of the Roman fortress (second century); part of the west wall of the Norman transept (c. 1070) made of reused Roman stone; the foundations of the west wall of the Gothic south transept (c. 1220) as well as the modern concrete collar (c. 1970). Above them, of course, is the magnificent structure of the Gothic cathedral — itself a polychronic construction with features representing three distinct architectural styles.²