The Queen: Inside York Minster as tearful residents gather to hear its bells toll and queues form to sign condolence book

The Church of England’s guidance was for churches, chapels and cathedrals to ring their bells for an hour.

From Helmsley to Harrogate, muffled bells were rung in cities, towns, and villages as many people of Yorkshire stopped to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.

The death of the Sovereign is one of the rare occasions when fully muffled bells are sounded.

At York Minster, which has stood over the city for hundreds of years, the Great Peter bell tolled as many stood outside with heads bowed.

Inside the cathedral, more gathered for a service of Holy Communion and prayed.

The Minster, normally full of tourists, was instead a refuge for hundreds who gathered together in silent prayer and contemplation. Some lit candles, while others stood to view a gallery of photographs of the Queen’s many visits to York.

Many were tearful as they stood in reflection - and queues to sign a condolence book stretched halfway down the nave.

Speaking through tears, Mark Robinson, 61, from York, said: “She wasn’t someone who was famous for amazing abilities. She was famous because she was given a job she didn’t want on the day her father died. She had very limited choices but she chose to give her life in service.

“No one I know has ever done that in such a public way before.

“And so it’s a human life that all of us have watched, all our lives. She lived a remarkable life of service which says so much about what we can be as people.

“There’s so many people here today knowing we have lost something very special.”

Schoolboy Ben Chlebo, 16, was among those leaving flowers. He said: “It was a shock. We’re all big fans of the monarchy in my family, and we’ve grown up with her.

“She was a cultural icon. We will never have someone like her again, with a legacy like hers. She lived through the Second World War. Just a fabulous woman. I laid flowers because I just wanted to do something.

“It’s very quiet and sombre here. We saw it coming - but it was still a shock, gutting when we found out last night.”

The St George’s Cross flag flew at half mast from the North West Tower and flowers were laid in Dean’s Park.

Ahead of the service, acting Dean Revd Canon Michael Smith said: “This week, York Minster will help the people of the city and the region to pay their respects, to say farewell and to give thanks for the life of an extraordinary human being.

“For more than 70 years, the late Queen Elizabeth II dedicated her long life to service on behalf of the citizens of her country, the Commonwealth and to the world. Her reassuring, calm and intelligent presence through seven momentous decades of history, turmoil and change is all that many of us have ever known.”

Great Peter joined a cacophony of bells across the city where the old saying is there’s a church for every Sunday. At St Olave’s in the Museum Gardens the bells tolled quietly as a bride smiled for photographs, her wedding day also soundtracked by the mourning sounds of a Gun Salute.