Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in
England, most famously
York Minster in
York,
Westminster in
London and
Southwell Minster in
Southwell. The term
minster is first found in royal foundation charters of the 7th century. Although it corresponds to the Latin
monasterium or
monastery, it then designated any settlement of clergy living a communal life and endowed by
charter with the obligation of maintaining the
daily office of prayer. Widespread in 10th-century
Anglo-Saxon England, minsters declined in importance with the systematic introduction of
parishes and
parish churches from the 11th century onwards. It continued as a title of dignity in later medieval England, for instances where a
cathedral,
monastery,
collegiate church or
parish church had originated with an Anglo-Saxon foundation. Eventually a minster came to refer more generally to "any large or important church, especially a collegiate or cathedral church". In the 21st century, the
Church of England has designated additional minsters by bestowing the status on existing parish churches.