York - ancient walled city (Part 2)
In my last post I talked about the medieval city of York, which was founded by the Romans, and is one of Europe’s few walled cities.
One of the most fascinating streets in York is the medieval street known as The Shambles, with its overhanging timber-built shops. The Shambles gets its name from the fact that it was once a street of butcher’s shops, back in the days when people were perhaps less aware of the existence of germs, and so they used to throw waste out into the streets. The resulting mess was a right shambles, hence the name. Nowadays however, instead of raw meat and rats, you will see fashionable bistros and upmarket art and souvenir shops. The street itself is narrow, and hence pedestrianised, but the overhang of the houses makes it even more narrow at the top where at one point it is possible for two people to shake hands across the street itself from two opposite bedroom windows.
One of York’s finest shopping streets, also pedestrianised, is the lovely Stonegate with its interesting shops, tea houses and restaurants.
You can see some great vistas of York with a walk all around the city walls. One of the great things about York is the fact that people still live within the city walls, and as you walk them you can see beautifully neat terraced houses and gardens.
The old gatehouses of the walls are known as “bars” – take a look at the fascinating Micklegate Bar, and Bootham Bar.
Outside Micklegate Bar is an old Roman Catholic convent known as The Bar Convent, which has an intricately decorated chapel with a hidden dome, being built back in the days when Roman Catholicism was hardly tolerated in a largely Protestant England. This chapel is the secret I hinted at in my last post, and still has a hiding place for priests. The convent is occasionally open to the public, and is worth seeing not only for its chapel, but also for its colourfully tiled courtyard. Once a school, then a museum, the Bar Convent is now a bed and breakfast establishment, and is still run by nuns.
York is a major tourist centre, and has a good range of hotels from four star to more budget-priced establishments.
Filed under: Architecture, Museums, Ancient historic sites, Religious Sights, Historic Sights, England
