Howden
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The historic market town of Howden is situated in the East Riding of Yorkshire, set close to the River Ouse and lies around 17 miles (27 km) to the south-east of the city of York.
Howden's characterful cobbled streets are lined with handsome Georgian buildings, and the impressive medieval church of Howden Minster, with its chapter house and ruined choir. A grammar school founded in 1265 stands next to the minster and closeby is a manor house founded by the powerful Prince Bishops of Durham.
Howden is an ancient settlement. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the town refer to the Saxon king Edgar, granting Howden Manor to his wife, Ethelfleda in 959. In 1080, William the Conqueror gave the town, including its church, which was later to became the minster, to the Bishop of Durham, who in turn gave the church to the the monks of Durham.
In 1191, Prince John spent Christmas at Howden. Nine years later, John, then King of England, having succeeded his brother Richard the Lionheart, granted Howden the right to hold an annual fair.
The influential Prince Bishops of Durham often stayed at Howden while travelling to London and built a manor, sometimes called Howden Bishop's Palace, near to the Minster. Most of the manor is now gone, however the banqueting hall, with its large Norman gateway, still survives.The hall (pictured above right) is privately owned and not open to the public, but can be viewed from the outside.
The town is full of charm and character, with Georgian and Victorian houses and narrow lanes and hidden alleyways close to historic Market Place. There is a varied choice of shops and restaurants in the Market Place and Bridge Gate, together with many cafes, pubs and bars. The Grammar School dates to the sixteenth century and remained in use until 1925, it was one of the first endowed schools in East Yorkshire.
Nearby Burnby Hall Gardens have been described as "a jewel in Yorkshire's Crown" and have been awarded the prestigious Yorkshire in Bloom Gold Award for five consecutive years.
Howden Minster
Howden Minster, once one of the largest churches in the north of England, has its origins in the eighth century. The Saxon princess St Osana is believed to buried there. The present church was begun after Howden was used by the Prince Bishops of Durham as a centre of administration.
Work began on the Minster in 1228, although it was not completed until the fifteenth century when the chapter house and top of the tower was added by Bishop Walter de Skirlaw.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Howden became a centre for pilgrims due to John of Howden's alleged miracles in the latter part of the thirteenth century.
John of Howden had acquired a reputation as a poet in Norman French and Latin writing on religious and lyrical subjects, and had been the confessor of Queen Eleanor of Provence, the wife of King Henry III. Visitors to his tomb included Kings Edward I, Edward II and Henry V .
Although the minster was not destroyed in Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, the choir or chancel was allowed to fall into ruin, and only the nave was used for services.
In 1548, King Edward VI dissolved the Collegiate churches, including Howden. During the reign of his sister, Elizabeth I, the revenues of the Manor of Howden were given to local landowners, who neglected to repair the choir of the church, which over time fell into ruin. During the Civil War Parliamentarians troops en-route to besiege Wressle Castle, used the building as a stable. They damaged the interior, destroying the organ, much of the wooden structures, and some of the stonework. In September 1696 the roof of the choir fell in. It was not until 1748 that the site was cleared. The ruins are now in the care of English Heritage.
The nave of the monastic church now serves as the parish church of Howden. The interior contains the medieval memorials in the Saltmarshe Chantry, including the effigies of Sir John Metham (d. 1311) and his wife Sybell (d.1335). In the chantry is the tomb of Sir Peter Saltmarshe (d. 1338).
Towns and Villages of Yorkshire