14 September 2016 Willow House Caravan Park, York

We chose to spend the day sightseeing in the city of York rather than exploring other attractions further afield. This was because we had business matters to attend to which required visits to the Post Office, library for administration matters and such. So this morning we caught the bus in from the Park & Ride, this time taking note of where we had parked. 

After attending to our errands, we found our way through to the Shambles, narrow lanes lined with leaning medieval timber framed buildings, which in truth we have seen many times now on our travels. However coming from the New World at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, one really cannot get enough of this antiquity. We wound our way through the markets, buying a couple of apples for our lunch, shamefully New Zealand imported fruit, hardly epitomising the environmental friendly values one might think local street markets to aspire to.

Soon we came to a little kiosk at the doorway of the Jorvik Viking Centre, the sight of recent disaster. Just last December the city was struck by flood and the underground exhibition areas of this museum were spoiled as floodwaters seeped in and contaminated the whole area with sewerage. Work began at once to save what they could and today, the attraction, titled Jorvik on Tour, is spread around the city and the curators are positive that next spring will see the reopening of a more improved museum. The Minster plays host to some of the exhibits; these we saw on Monday. 

We purchased a “passport” which gave us access to all the exhibition centres, the first and nearest of which was that in the York St Mary’s Church which itself has a lot of history. The church itself dates back as far as 1020, although the bulk of the building only from the early 13^th century, with 14^th and 15^th century modifications and alterations. It has the tallest steeple in York at 47 metres high.

Clifford's Tower

But today we were more interested in the exhibition centred around a replica Viking boat, loaded with the sort of goods that would have been traded in and from the city during the 200 year period of Norse settlement at York. There were about half a dozen staff wearing period costume ready and willing to answer our questions and to explain various facets of life of the time. We enjoyed the exhibition very much but were glad to escape just as the first school trip of the British new school year arrived.

We continued through the city until we reached the site of York Castle, little of which is left. However the remains of the Norman keep perched high on an earth hill are open to the public, and free for English Heritage members. Clifford’s Tower, named for the caretaker sheriffs that lived here for a couple of hundred years, is accessed by a set of steep steps and offers wonderful views over the city. The original motte and bailey castle on the site was erected by William the Conqueror. The present tower, usually described as “the Great Tower”, was built between 1245 and 1262 by order of King Henry III. It was encircled by a moat fed from the River Foss although by 1800, the moat was no longer in existence. The tower was incorporated into the confines of the new “York County prison” begun in 1826 and demolished in 1935. The grassed centre of the castle area known as the “Eye of York”, adjacent to our lunch spot, is a legacy from the days when the castle belonged to the Crown. County elections and royal proclamations were issued from the precincts. This was transferred to York City Council in 1988 for the princely sum of £1.

Looking down into the tower

The tower contained two floors linked by spiral staircases in the thickness of the walls, and though some of the internal walls and the roof have been lost, fireplaces, windows, arrow slits and original latrines can still be seen. The tower was probably intended to contain rooms on the upper floor for the kings and queen, however the court rarely visited York; the tower was routinely used for the storage of valuables. The plan of Clifford’s Tower is very unusual in England, and closely resembles a French castle, which Henry III may have admired. Documents for the building works mention Henry of Reynes, a Frenchman, who may have designed the tower; he was later employed again by Henry III to build the new Westminster Abbey.

Views from the tower

The castle was erected principally to deal with threats by northern rebellion and by invasion from Scandinavia. The first wooden buildings of the castle were almost immediately burned down by the Danes, and needed to be rebuilt. By 1070, the Normans had won control of the area and their second castle survived for over one hundred years.

However the tower is remembered for a far more shameful event in history. In March 1190, there were riots against the Jewish community of York. Many Jews took shelter inside the wooden tower, but came under heavy attack from the citizens and several local knights. Rather than be captured and killed, around one hundred and fifty Jews, including men, women and chldern, set fire to the tower and committed suicide, those who survived were later massacred by the rioters.

Even in the Middle Ages, the buildings of York Castle were neglected and by the 16^th century, Clifford’s Tower was in ruins. However, it was too famous, and infamous, a landmark to be demolished. During the 17^th century, it was repaired to carry cannon on the roof, for the defence of the city during the English Civil War. After the war, it remained a garrison of between forty and sixty soldiers. In April 1684, during a ceremonial gun salute, the tower caught fire, burning down the wooden roof and interior walls.

The approach to Micklegate

From here we walked toward the River Ouse and walked along the river bank, past riverside cafes and bars, up to the Ouse Bridge, and on up to Micklegate where we found a long intact section of the Roman wall and the story of Henry VII, the first Tudor king set out over three floors of the gate tower. This is another part of the Jorvik story, although hardly Scandinavian; Henry living from 1457 through to 1509. The exhibition concentrates on the sixty years of power and conflict between him and his predecessor, Richard III, who fought it out in the Battle of Bosworth Field, although that statement, in isolation, unfairly simplifies the whole business. Richard’s story is told from the other side across the city in another Jorvik exhibition which we intend to seek out in the next day or two.

Along the wall toward the Minster

We returned to the Park & Ride bus stop along the wall, descending to cross the river once more, this time on the Lendal Bridge, the site of a former rope-ferry crossing. It was still only mid-afternoon, but the hours walking in the sunshine had tired us and we were happy to return via Tesco for more provisions, namely an apple pie which we have become rather addicted to. The temperatures had been a little less than the day before, but still giving the illusion of an extended summer.