The first recorded church on the site was a wooden structure built in 627 to baptize Edwin of Northumbria. A Norman cathedral was begun in 1080. Gothic construction began in 1220 under Walter de Gray, and the cathedral was consecrated in 1472. The north and south transepts are Early English, the nave and Chapter House are Decorated, and the east arm and central tower are Perpendicular.
The minster is 524.5 feet (159.9 m) long, and the central tower is 235 feet (72 m) high. The Great East Window, about 77 by 32 feet (23 by 9.8 m), is made of over 300 panels. John Thornton was commissioned to make it in 1405, and a restoration ended in 2018.
On July 9, 1984, a fire broke out in the south transept, and firefighters deliberately collapsed its roof to save the rest of the building. Repairs finished in 1988 and cost £2.25 million.
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