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Walking Tour of York
1. York City Art Gallery
• The city of York was founded in 71 AD by
the Romans who declared the city to be
the capital of Britannia Inferior and named
it ‘Iba Accum’, the place of the Yew tree.
• Before the Romans, there were no people
living here, although there were many
attractive qualities for settlers; for
example, a good river connection to the
North Sea via the River Ouse, which flows
through the city. There were also large rock
deposits left by the last ice age that
provided strong foundations for the
Romans to build on. The ancient city had
theatres, forums, baths and a large burial
ground that now sits right by the train
station!
• If you stand with your back to the gallery
and look to the left, you can see Bootham
Bar, the largest of a series of gates that
surround the city. The gate used to house
market stalls (booths)
• The 3 statues on top of the gate represent
the Lord Mayor of York, a master mason
and a knight. You’ll also see the Stewart
dynasty's coat of arms as well as two coats
of arms representing the city of York.
• The statue outside of the gallery is of
William Etty, an artist whose work is in the
gallery. Etty was born in York in 1787 and
was famous for his nude paintings.
(To continue, head towards Kings Manor,
taking a pathway left of the building. You will
be walking along an ancient part of the city’s
wall. Soon you will see the Museum Gardens.
Pass the remains of a tower and when you
reach the T-junction in the path, this will be
Point 2.)
2. Museum Gardens and MultiAngular Tower
• The tower dates from 300 AD but it has been modified extensively over
the years. The crossbow slits, for example, were added in the 13th century.
• There are many Roman coffins on display near the tower which were
discovered when the train station was built. Historians believe the bodies
were Roman nobles because they were buried with precious objects such
as golden jewellery.
(To continue, take the
pathway on your right
as you face the tower,
heading towards and
out of the gate leading
to Museum Street.
Cross the street and
continue down a
narrow street called
Lendal. Walk for about
200 metres until you
reach St. Helen’s
Square. This is Point 3.)
3. St. Helen’s Square
• The red and white building in
the square is York Mansion
house. It was built in 1726 and is
the official residence of the Lord
Mayor of York.
• Near the square is Bettys Tea
Rooms, a famous tearoom in
Yorkshire; a great place for tea
and cake.
• Another building in the square is
St. Helen’s Church, which is
about 1000 years’old. The
building has a rare lantern
tower, and small fires were lit in
the tower to draw attention to
the church.
(To continue, head for Stone Gate, a narrow street to the left of the church. Follow the
medieval street for about 100m and on the right should be Mulberry Hall. This is Point 4.)
4. Mulberry Hall
• Mulberry Hall was built in 1434 and is an old Merchants house.
• Directly opposite is a plaque about Guy Fawkes, the infamous Briton who
tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. He was born and grew
up in York.
• Stonegate was an important Roman road and you can still see some of the
coaching inns (where travellers on the road stayed for one night) here
today, including Ye Old Starre Inne which was built in 1644.
• Stonegate also features many alleyways, known locally as ‘snickelways’.
(To continue, go along Stonegate
until it emerges onto Minster Yard,
just outside the southern door of
York Minster. This is Point 5.)
5. York Minster
(Follow the path around to
the right of the Cathedral.
Continue around to the
left. Shortly, you will pass
Chapter House Street on
your right. Continue down
the road just a little bit
more in order to get to the
entrance to Treasurers
House.)
• This gothic cathedral, one of the largest
in the country, was built between 1220
and 1472. It took more than 250 years
to build!
• Inside are many religious artworks, such
as sculptures, statues, and stained glass
windows, some of which date back to
the 12th century.
• The 23 metre tall great east window is
the largest medieval stained glass
window in the world. More than 2
million individual pieces of glass were
used to make the windows of the
cathedral.
• To the right of the Minster is a statue of
Constantine the Great, who was the
Roman Emperor here in York. There is
also notice a large column which is part
of the remains of the Roman Fortress.
Constantine
6. Treasurer’s House
• This beautiful house was the
home of all the treasurers in York
during medieval times; the
treausurs was responsible for the
finances of the Abbey. The house
was used in this way until 1547.
After that, it was privately owned
as residence until 1930s.
• The houseis the most famous
haunted house in York, with
many ghost sightings over the
years.
• In 1953, Harry Dale, a young
apprentice plumber, was working
in the cellars of the building
when he saw the ghost of a
horse emerge from the stone
wall. The horse had a rider and a
soldier convoy following it. All
were dressed in Roman clothing
and armour.
(Retrace your steps, through the gate
and out into the square ahead of you.
You’ll soon see a black and white
beamed building on your left. This is
Point 7.)
7. St. William’s College
• This building was built as a home for priests in 1461, and today it is still owned
by the minster.
• St. William became archbishop of York in 1154, after an 11 year wait. The
reason for the long wait was because the Pope did not like William. He
deliberately delayed Williams succession for as long as possible.
(Stand with your back to the college and turn left. At the end of college street,
bare right onto Goodramgate. After about 100 metres, you will notice a row of
extremely old houses on the left, and just past this, the entrance to Holy Trinity
Church. This is Point 8.)
8. Holy Trinity Church
• If you can, try and get a look inside. The amazing stained glass windows were
created in the 15th century and the amazing box pews in the 17th century.
• There is no electric lighting or heating in the building, and the walls and floors
all have unusual angles.
• This church was mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1066, although most of
what you see here dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. The ancient houses
in front of the church are called ‘Our Lady’s Row’ and are the oldest surviving
houses in the city.
(When you are ready to move on, return to Goodramgate and continue in the
same direction. After about 100 metres, bare left into King’s Square. Cross the
square and then turn right into Newgate. Almost immediately on your left will
be The Shambles. This is Point 9.)
9. The Shambles
• The Shambles is York’s most famous street. This street was built in the 14th
century, and shows you how medieval York would have looked like.
• The reasons for the overhanging houses were
1. Create more space on the upper floors
2. To avoid paying too much tax; the amount of tax you paid depended on
the ground floor surface area.
• This was the street which inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter films. It
wasn’t possible to film on the street due to its narrowness, so the art
department recreated the set to look very similar to The Shambles.
To continue the tour,
carry on along Shambles.
Just before you reach the
end, you’ll notice a small
alleyway on the left. It’s
easy to miss so be
careful! Go through the
alleyway and you will
come out at Point 10.)
*DON’T MISS THE
ALLEYWAY!*
10. Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate
• This word means ‘What a Street’ and it is the shortest street in York; 32
metres long.
• This is the most modern part of the city, and the buildings are therefore much
newer.
(To continue the tour, turn right and then immediately right again into
Pavement. Follow the road, that goes in a curve to the left, until you reach the
entrance to Coppergate Walk. This is Point 11.)
11. Coppergate Walk/ Jorvik
Centre
• This is the nearest point on the tour to the
Jorvik Viking Centre; York’s busiest tourist
attraction.
• It is well known that York was once home to
many Vikings. Jorvik was its Viking name.
(To carry on with the tour,
retrace your steps to
Parliament street, turn left. At
the end of Parliament Street,
you will reach St. Sampson's
Square and Point 12.)
• This Viking history was brought into focus in the
1970s when the area was being cleared for a
new shopping centre. Completely unexpectedly,
archaeologists found the remains of 10th
Century buildings surrounded by wet spongy
layers of earth. This earth had the perfect
conditions to preserve ancient objects.
• During the following 6 years, 36,000 layers of
earth were studied, and an amazing 40,000
historical objects were found.
Down here
12. St. Sampson’s Square
• This square is a place where markets are held, and is also a popular
meeting place with pavement cafes, pubs, ice cream and hot dog stalls.
(To continue to
the last part of
the tour, carry on
in the same
direction to Blake
Street. You will
come across a
large columned
building that has
been converted
into a restaurant.
This is Point 13.)
13. York Assembly Rooms
• The York Assembly Rooms is an 18th-century assembly rooms building and
was originally used as a place for high class social gatherings in the city.
• This building, now a restaurant, was designed by Richard Boyle, the third
Earl of Burlington and was built between 1730 and 1735.
• The building is on Blake Street and is a Grade I listed building which means
it cannot be changed in any way. It is one of the earliest neo-classical
buildings in Europe and one of the most important pieces of architecture
of the early 18th century.
(This is the last part of the tour. To get back to where you started, follow the
road along until you see the familiar sight of the York City art Gallery.)