| York Town Guide |
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City Walls | |
Bootham Bar
| The first City Walls to be built around York were built by the Romans in the 1st century. The Normans then built the first stone walls around the city shortly after William the Conqueror came to the throne in 1066. Some of the Norman's work can still be seen but the remains that you see today date mainly from around the 13th century. Although parts are missing, much of the medieval City Walls have survived, and they are considered to be one of the best-preserved examples of medieval fortifications in the whole of Europe. There are several areas where you can walk along the top of the wall, getting excellent views of the city as you go. A good place to start is Monk Bar, which is close to York Minster. This is one of the best preserved of the medieval "bars" or gateways that are interspersed along the wall. It dates from the 14th century and in the 16th century was used as a prison. Today, in the upper part of the Bar, there is a small museum about Richard III, the King who allegedly murdered the "princes in the tower". From Monk Bar you can follow the walls round to Bootham Bar (pictured above), which is built on the site of a much older Roman gateway to the city. Today the portcullis of Bootham Bar is always raised, but you can imagine the imposing site it must have once been. Further round you can cross the River Ouse between Lendal and Barker Tower on the other side. At one time you had to pay a toll to cross the river, and a chain was hung between the two towers so that boats couldn't avoid paying the toll, but nowadays you can pass across for free. The walls continue round past York's railway station, with the National Railway Museum nearby, to Micklegate Bar on the south-eastern edge of the walls. This is considered by many to be the most important gate for it was the southern entry point to York and is where the monarch would traditionally enter the city. Most famously, Micklegate Bar is where the heads of traitors were displayed including that of the Duke of York in 1460. The last heads to be displayed here were those of the Jacobite rebels of 1745. Today you can visit the Micklegate Bar Museum for more information about the Walls and their history. If you follow the southern portion of the walls around further you will come to Walmgate Bar. This is the best preserved of York's gateways and is significant for the fact that it is the only city gate in England with an intact barbican - a defensive extended gateway designed to keep intruders at bay. The total length of the surviving parts of the walls is around 2 ½ miles, and they take you almost continually around the city, the only significant piece that is missing being on the eastern edge. |
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