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York has had a Christian presence from the 300s. The first church on the site was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. Moves toward a more substantial building began in the 630sCenturies: 6th century 7th century 8th century Decades: 580s 590s 600s 610s 620s 630s 640s 650s 660s 670s 680s Years: 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 Events: 632 death of Muhammad and transfer of authority in Islam to first caliph. around 633. A stone structure was completed in 637Events Arabs conquer Jerusalem Battle of al-Qadisiyah: Arabs defeat Persian army, take Persian capital of Ctesiphon Battle of Mag Rath: Dalriada influence in Ulster greatly reduced Births Deaths 637. by Oswald and was dedicated to Saint PeterSaint Peter (died c. 67) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. His original name was Simon "Hearkening; listening", Standard Hebrew imon Tiberian Hebrew imon , but he was given the nickname of Peter which means rock in Greek. The church soon fell into disrepair and was dilapidated by 670Events On the death of his brother Clotaire, Childeric II becomes king of all of the Frankish kingdoms Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy. The city of Kairouan in what is now Tunisia is founded. Horyu-ji, the Buddhist temple, burns down. The Kingdom of Khot when Saint Wilfred ascended to the see of York; he put in place efforts to repair and renew the structure. The attached school and library were established and by the 8th century7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. Sometime this century, Beowulf is proba were some of the most substantial in northern Europe.
In 741Events June 18 Constantine V succeeds Leo III as emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Pope Zacharias succeeds Pope Gregory III. Carloman, Pippin the Short and Grifo succeed their father Charles Martel as Mayor of the Palace. York Minster church is burned. the church was destroyed in a fire, it was rebuilt as a more impressive structure, containing thirty altarsAn altar ( Hebrew mizbe'ah from a word meaning "to slay") is any structure on which sacrifices known as the korbanot or incense offerings are offered for religious purposes. Altars in the Hebrew Bible Altars in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of eart. The church and the entire area then passed through the hands of numerous invaders, and its history is obscure until the 10th century. There was a series of Benedictine archbishops, including Saint Oswald, Wulfstan, and Ealdred, who travelled to Westminster to crown William in 1066. Ealdred died in 1069 and was buried in the church.
The church was damaged in 1069, but the first Norman archbishop, arriving in 1070, organised repairs. The Danes destroyed the church in 1075, but it was again rebuilt from 1080. Built in the Norman style, it was 365 feet long and rendered in white and red lines. The new structure was damaged by fire in 1137 but was soon repaired. The choir and crypt were remodelled in 1154, and a new chapel was built, all in the Norman style.
The Reformation led to the first Protestant archbishop, the looting of much of the cathedral's treasures, and the loss of much of the church lands. Under Elizabeth I there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Catholicism from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows, and altars. In the English Civil War the city was besieged and fell to the forces of Cromwell in 1644, but Thomas Fairfax prevented any further damage to the cathedral.
Following the easing of religious tensions there was some work to restore the cathedral. From 1730 to 1736 the whole floor of the Minster was relaid in patterned marble, and from 1802 there was a major restoration. However, in 1829 an arson attack inflicted heavy damage on the east arm, and an accidental fire in 1840 left the nave, south west tower, and south aisle roofless, blackened shells. The cathedral slumped deeply into debt, and in the 1850s services were suspended, but from 1858 Augustus Duncome worked successfully to revive the cathedral.
During the 20th century there was more concerted preservation work, especially following a 1967 survey that revealed the building was close to collapse. £2,000,000 was raised and spent by 1972 to reinforce and strengthen the building foundations and roof. A fire in 1984 destroyed the roof in the south transept, and around £2.5 million was spent on repairs. Restoration work was completed in 1988, and included new roof bosses to designs which had won a competition organised by BBC Television's Blue Peter programme.