Medieval York
York is, in our opinion, a truly gorgeous medieval city. William the Conqueror built two castles in York, one on each side of the River Ouse, in 1068. While one of the castles was destroyed in short order during a subsequent battle, it was quickly rebuilt. Clifford’s Tower still remains standing to this day, though the other castle at Baile Hill is long gone. Both castles were motte and bailey style, and the mound from Baile Hill remains today. It was right next to where we were staying and our girls loved to run up on this hill every time we walked the walls.
Over the medieval years, the wooden Viking walls were replaced with stone walls. Most of the walls remaining today were from the 13th and 14th centuries. There are four main bars (gates) into York city centre, and each had its own towers and barbican. The barbican extended out from the wall and provided an extra layer of protection. They were important defensive buildings and basically all medieval era walled towns had them. However, most of these barbicans have long since been destroyed, including three in York. There are also towers at the ends of the walls where they stop at the former fishpond and rivers.
These various walls, towers, and barbicans were built in stages over the medieval era. During various battles, sieges, etc sections of them were damaged or destroyed and rebuilt as needed. The walls were in disrepair and were going to be torn down at one point in the early 1800s. They were seen to be hampering the growth of the city. The demolition of one stretch of the wall and three barbicans occurred at this time. However, this was a controversial plan that caused a public outcry.
Eventually, it was decided to save the walls, though they did not rebuild the demolished section. Most of the walls remain intact, though. They repaired the remaining walls and widened the walking surface in many areas so that they could be used by the Victorians for their promenades. Since then, walking the walls has been a favourite of locals and tourists alike. And we are no exception to that! We LOVE walking the walls and would walk the walls around the entire town centre several times a week. It’s one of my favourite things to do in York. It would take almost exactly 1 hour to do the full walking loop, assuming it wasn’t too packed with people.
Thankfully, the barbican at Walmgate Bar had not yet been torn down when the demolition plans were scrapped. This remains the only barbican in England and one of only a few in Europe. It is the only fully intact medieval barbican in the world, according to the coffee shop that is now operating in the barbican, Gatehouse Coffee. This coffee shop is hands down the family favourite in York! You can even sit out on the walls to drink and socialize.
Micklegate Bar was historically always the most important entrance into the City. It faced the main road that led down south towards London and was the entrance that the royals would always use to enter the City. It is still a beautiful bar with a lovely little museum inside that gives a ton of information on the walls, bars, and other interesting historical info. We made a couple of trips here, once when there was a very informative guide to impart tons of additional knowledge.
We were disappointed that the Monk’s Bar museum for Richard III shut down in 2020 and is now gone forever. We had really hoped to show this one to the girls. King Richard III was from the House of York, which gave this museum an extra dose of authenticity and interest to us.
York, like most medieval towns, was deeply religious. There are gorgeous medieval churches everywhere, but the most impressive of all is York Minster Cathedral. The current cathedral is mainly from the 13th to 15th centuries, though there have been churches on this site for hundreds of years before. This cathedral is stunning, and we attended church services there regularly during our stay in York. We had meant to climb to the top of the Minster with the girls, but it unfortunately didn’t work out. Sometimes it wasn’t possible due to the weather, and other times they didn’t have the tower open for climbing.
Near the York Minster are the gorgeous Museum Gardens. There was an old hospital that has fallen to ruins, as well as the impressive St Mary’s Abbey and grounds. Unfortunately, during the reformation, the abbey was almost entirely destroyed by King Henry VIII and only a few ruins remain. But those that do remain are beautiful and it’s easy to imagine what an impressive and vast building this would once have been! We love walking through these gardens and love having the ruins as a backdrop. In fact, we love these gardens so much that when we got married in York in 2011, most of our wedding photos were taken in these gardens.
Inside the town centre, everywhere you look is another cute cobblestone street or medieval building. There are tons of churches, but also pubs, shops, and houses. The Shambles is a super cute medieval street with tons of cute little shops. Originally a butcher’s street, you can still see remnants of that history. The windows for the main-level shops on this street are all large and most have a wide plank at the bottom of the window opening where the butchers would have exhibited their wares. This street would have been bloody and smelly back in the day, but is such a cute, quaint, and very busy little shopping street today!
Many of the old towers have become cafes, and there are so many old pubs that are hundreds of years old. One of our favourite cafes, the Old York Tea Shop is in a building dating from early 1300s. It’s amazing to sit and sip a cup of tea in a building and think about all the people who have passed through it before you over the past 700 years. That’s a level of history and ambiance you just won’t get in Canada! Similarly, when we got married in a medieval building (the Barley Hall) that served many purposes, including the home of a mayor, it was hard not to think about the immense history here and how we were adding our own small piece of history to the magnificent building. No need for any fancy decorations in a building that is stunning and atmospheric!
It’s hard not to romanticize the medieval era when you see the remnants of it today, especially all the exquisite craftsmanship and work that people undertook in the past. We made sure to let the girls know just how difficult life would have been back then. They were horrified at the thought of having chamber pots and everyone emptying them out the windows into the streets. While you can read all the books in the world about medieval times, it just doesn’t compare to walking around and seeing and interacting with these medieval remnants of the past. The girls learned so much about the medieval era and definitely gained an appreciation for their modern-day comforts like indoor plumbing!
