York Minster is rumoured to be the most haunted building in the whole of Yorkshire.
York Minster's Most Famous Ghost
It is famously haunted by arsonist Jonathan Martin, who set fire to the Minster on the 1st of February, 1829, also known as Candlemas eve, after a mental breakdown.
From a young age, Jonathan was taught that if he sinned or lied, God would punish him. Therefore, when bad things happened to him, he believed that is was interference from God. Jonathan was also known to have vivid dreams throughout his life of hell and the judgement of God.
According to documents published by York Minster, Jonathan often worried he wasn’t a good Christian and that God would not forgive him for his sins. He was also very opinionated regarding the prayers and readings in the Church of England, which lead him to attend a Methodist Church instead, in which services were left formal. Eventually he was expelled from the Church for being too outspoken and critical of the church leaders. He was thrown out of multiple other churches following this for similar reasons. Eventually, he was banned from entering churches completely, and instead wrote a book on his life, of which he sold 14000 copies.
In December 1828, Martin moved to York and wrote five separate warnings to the clergy of York after believing that God was going to punish the priests for being greedy and unspiritual. Not long after, Jonathan had a vivid dream of smoke pouring from the top of the Minster. He awoke with the belief that God was telling him to burn the Minster down as an act of warning to the clergy for going to plays, playing cards, attending balls and drinking wine.
Arson at York Minster
On Candlemas Eve (1st February 1829), Martin visited the Minster for the service. According to his trial statement, Martin said “I’ll have thee down tonight; thou shalt buzz no more", in reference to the organ. He then proceeded to hide behind a tomb inside the Minster until the end of the service. After the service, once the building had been closed, Jonathan Martin proceeded to climb up and vault over the gate into the Quire using a handmade rope ladder. He piled up various objects, mainly paper, although not including Bibles, lit a candle, and set everything to flames.
His escape was crafty and clever; Jonathan used the rope tying skills he learned in the navy to get himself out of the building, attaching rope to a machine inside the building and climbing out of a window.
Alert of the fire was raised at around 7am. Eventually, the roof of the building collapsed which prevented the fire from spreading even further. Unfortunately, 21 monuments were damaged, and the 14th century oak roof was completely destroyed, alongside over 60 carved seats, the pulpit (a raised stand for preaching), and the organ.
Witnesses at his trial testified that Jonathan Martin was an “insane" man (please note that the word "insane" was quoted at the trial), although some said he appeared to be a clear thinking and pleasant person.
Eventually, he was sent to an asylum in Lambeth where he died on 26th May 1838, his last words being “It was not me, but my God did it”.
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