The Anglo-Saxon scholar Alcuin describes how he and the then Archbishop of York – Eanbald – built a church in honour of the previous Archbishop – Ælberht. Dedicated to Holy Wisdom (Alma Sophia), it was of ‘wondrous design’:
This lofty building, supported by strong columns,
Themselves bolstering curving arches, gleams
Inside with fine inlaid ceilings and windows.
It shines in its beauty, surrounded by many a chapel
With many galleries in its various quarters,
And thirty altars decorated with different finery.
Constructed between 767 and 780, the church has not been precisely located so far, although it has been suggested that the Minster’s current chapter house may reflect Alma Sophia’s plan. Unfortunately, nothing of this impressive ecclesiastical building remains.
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