I love to visit places where you feel like you can reach out and touch the past. York’s amazing history is literally around every corner, from historic churches to the walls that ring the city centre. Clifford’s Tower was haunted with gory tales, while the Minster, sited on Roman ruins, has seen hundreds of years of history. It was fascinating to explore!
Clifford’s Tower
Clifford’s Tower stands sentinel on a grassy hill to the south of the city centre. While the current stone version is old enough, built in the 13th century, there has been a tower here since the time of William the Conqueror. Now it offers beautiful views over the city, as well as stories of its grisly past.
The now empty interior of the Tower, with the Minster visible in the background
So the reason there’s been a couple of Clifford’s Towers? One of the bloodiest stories I heard about the city’s history was how, in 1190, 150 Jews living peacefully in the town sought sanctuary in the Tower, at that time made of wood. The town was surrounded by a mob for several days before a rabbi urged those inside to commit suicide rather than face the angry crowds. Many inside did so, and the tower was set alight. Those who chose to try to escape were caught by the mob and murdered anyway. So awful.
The girls on the steeply winding stair
I definitely could have handed a sword
The centre of York is famous for its Snickelways, small lanes that cut through the heart of the town. Some are barely wide enough for a person, while others featured particular shops, like the butchers counters that lined the Snickelway above.
York Minster
One of the largest Gothic churches of its kind in northern Europe, York Minster occupies a site rich in history. The Romans built a large fortress here when they occupied the city around 71 AD, and you can now see walls and relics from the time in the Undercroft beneath the Minster. The Christian history begins in 627, when a small chapel was built on the site. The present huge building was begun in the 13th century. While the Gothic touches are many and beautiful, what it is most famous for is the amount of incredible stained glass, some of which dates back to when the Minster was first built. The 23m tall Great East Window, depicting Biblical and religious scenes, is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world, and is truly breathtaking.
The Great East Window
York Minster is one of those places where you get a sore neck from gazing at all the beauty around, but you’re too mesmerised to care. We slowly traced our way around the exterior before admiring the stunning nave.
Incredible, huh?!
We rounded off our fascinating visit by venturing into the vast Undercroft. Here there is everything from preserved chapel stones to the aforementioned examples of Roman relics found and roads excavated. There’s also a demonstration of the huge lengths to which the Minster’s conservation team have had to go to keep the current building standing – a little disturbing when you’re standing right below all that stone!
The red dots on the wall mark the original Norman church walls
I was intrigued by this carved stone, called the Doomstone, which survives from the original Norman minster of the 12th century. It depicts lost souls being pushed into a cauldron by devils and demons – pretty creepy! I can imagine it being used in place of a book to vividly illustrate the fate that awaits sinners – it definitely would have put me off.
York’s Walls
I’m sure it won’t surprise you when I tell you that the walls that ring York’s centre are another example of later architects following the example of the Romans. In this case, the Roman walls survived until the 9th century, when invading Vikings buried them under earthen mounds. The existing walls were built in the 13th and 14th century, and are both a great way of seeing different parts of the city, and also a completely free attraction! We explored the southern expanse after our Fountains Abbey adventure, although we didn’t last long before popping into the Phoenix pub to enjoy their beautiful beer garden.
Our next outing on the walls was not quite so sunny, but we did love the views of the Minster – it was great to get a different perspective. The walls are easy to access as there are various ‘bars’ or gates as access points to the city where there are stairs up on to the walls.
For more info on Clifford’s Tower and York Minster, click the links
While York is a thoroughly modern city, it embraces and seems to treasure its past too. Where have you visited that you’ve felt history all around?
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