York…

That would be old (and I do mean OLD) York, not New York. I knew it was old, but I was thinking medieval-wise. No, it’s old Roman-wise. In fact, here’s a historical tidbit that I was definitely not aware of prior to being in York: Constantine (the great) was proclaimed emperor of Rome, in 306 AD (or CE, whichever you choose), while posted at Eboracum – later to be named York! This made Eboracum the capital of the Roman Empire during that time period. Wild stuff, man! So, yeah, York has been around a few years. And, other than William the Conqueror’s massive snit (where he decided to decimate the population of Yorkshire because he was mad at them for revolting against him) in 1069, York has remained remarkably unscathed. Which means there are LOADS of really old buildings and city walls and wonky streets and…all kinds of cool stuff!

Let us begin with York Minster. It is a cathedral, so it is also called York Cathedral (clever naming convention, no?) and it is one of the largest of it’s kind in Northern Europe. The first recorded church on the site was in 627, and there have been many structures built, burned down, built, demolished, built, damaged in war and built again. The majority of the current structure was constructed in the 1200s. The archbishop at that time, Walter de Gray, wanted a building comparable to the cathedral at Canterbury – so it’s a pretty impressive building. The time of the English Reformation brought a lot of damage to many historical aspects of the interior – don’t even get me going there – although Oliver Cromwell (grrrr) was kept from causing additional damage during the English Civil War by one of his own commanders. It’s also pretty awesome that you are able to climb up (inside, of course) one of the towers. The stairs are very tight and circular, as all good medieval stairs are, and there are 275 of them. I did it, but that knee that needs to be replaced? Yeah, it was not happy during or after. The view though. Wow.

Statue of Constantine just outside York Minster

The front of York Minster – managing to not show the extensive scaffolding on the right side😊Because there is always scaffolding…

Interesting to view the cathedral from this vantage – this is on the way up the tower. So amazing to see flying buttresses up close!

The tomb of Archbishop Walter de Gray (d. 1255)

The place we stayed during our time in York was about 20 minutes by bus from the city center, so we got to know the #6 bus very well. And we learned that using the old city walls to get from one side of town to the other was very efficient! That was a pretty interesting concept for our modern brains.

The base of the wall is Roman, with a medieval wall built on it. The metal bits are modern😜

Bootham Bar – one of the gates into the medieval city core. The base is 11th century with the upper structure being 14th century build. This also sits directly on top of the main Roman entrance into the city (or fort as it was then).

Standing on the wall looking down at the remains of one of the Roman towers

The walls of York are the most complete example of medieval city walls still standing in England. Even the Scots couldn’t get past them (and they tried). There were, and still are, four entrances to the city. Some of the gates (actually they’re called bars. I’ll get to that in a moment) have had significant work done through the centuries, but a lot of the really old still stands. Monk Bar has its portcullis still!

So, in York a street is a Gate, a gate is a Bar and a bar is a Pub. Gotta love old language!

One of the most famous streets in York is called the Shambles. It is has a lot of very old buildings, is still very narrow and looks exactly how you would imagine a medieval street to look – minus the horsey doo-doo laying about and chamber pots being emptied into the gutters. It is claimed to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies. Maybe it is. Enterprising businesses certainly are banking on this – my favorite store name was The Shop That Must Not Be Named.

This is the real deal medieval wonkiness. Only the nice smooth sidewalk are a modern addition (okay the plumbing and electricity are modern too)

Excellent job capitalizing on the books/movies! It was full of licensed merchandise too – and Harry Potter merchandise is pretty cool!

Now I’m just going to share a bunch of photos from around the city. Love York…really love that place.

Looking at York Minster from the city walls

Yep, that is a Baskin and Robbins sign. Not as old as some things in York, but definitely an antique!

We were able to attend the final show of Ralph Fiennes self directed (one man) play Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

That little window is a medieval toilet. It is a fact that Henry VIII used said toilet. Don’t you feel special to know that?

This is the oldest house standing in York. It was built in 1316!

This is a hamburger stand – great burgers, super cute!

I loved this walkway from the street to a hotel that was tucked away.

The River Foss flowing right through town

A Roman column found in the oldest part of York Minster

A very clear picture of Roman lower half and Medieval upper on this tower. The wall to the right is Roman.

The ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey. It must have been a beautiful place.

The York Museum had a temporary exhibit of artefacts from the reign of Richard III. This is a very famous painting of him.

Our three weeks in York really flew by. We didn’t travel much, just a couple of day trips that I’ll detail next. We enjoyed our time there and hope to return again one day!

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