1. York City Art Gallery You should now be outside the York
City Art Gallery, one of the citys most famous land marks. The city
of York was founded in 71 AD by the Romans who declared the city to
be the capital of Britannia Inferior and named it Iba Accum, the
place of the Yew tree. Before the romans, there was no settlement
here, although there were many attractive qualities for settlers;
qualities such as good river connection to the north sea via the
river Ouse, which flows right through the city. There were also
large rock deposits left by the last ice age that provided strong
foundations for the romans to build on. The ancient city had
theatres, forums, baths and even a large burial ground that now
sits right by the train station! If you now stand with your back to
the gallery and look to the left, you will see Bootham Bar, the
largest of a series of gates that surround the city. Bootham Bar
acted as a former entrance. The gate also used to house market
stalls, or booths, hence its name. The 3 statues on top of the gate
represent the Lord Mayor of York, a master mason and a knight.
Youll also see the Stewart dynasty's coat of arms as well as two
coats of arms representing the city of York. The statue outside of
the gallery is of William Etty, an artist who heavily features
within the gallery. Etty was born in York in 1787 and was famous
for his nude paintings. The red brick building to the left of the
gallery as you face it is the King's Manor, which acted as the
lodging house of St. Marys Abbey. To continue your tour, head
towards Kings Manor, taking a pathway left of the building. You
will be walking along an ancient part of the citys wall. Soon you
shall be in the Museum Gardens. Pass the remains of a tower and
when you reach the T-junction in the path, this will be Audio Point
2.
Slide 4
2. Museum Gardens and Multi-Angular Tower The tower itself
dates from 300 AD but it has been modified extensively over the
years. The crossbow slits, for example, were added it the 13 th
century. There are a number of Roman coffins on display near the
tower which were discovered nearby when the train station was
built. The corpses were believed to be Roman nobles as they were
buried with precious artefacts such as golden jewellery. The museum
is very close by to this point which is well worth a visit if
theres time. To continue the tour, take the pathway on your right
as you face the tower, heading towards and out of the gate leading
to Museum Street. Cross the street and continue down a narrow
street called Lendal. Walk for about 200 metres until you reach St.
Helens Square. This is audio point 3
Slide 5
3. St. Helens Square This historic square is dominated by the
impressive red and white building. This is York Mansion house.
Built in 1726, before Londons Mansion house, it is the official
residence of the Lord Mayor of York. The building was damaged by
bombs in WW2 and has since been heavily refurbished. Near the
square is Bettys Tea Rooms, a famous restaurant chain in York. One
more feature of the square is St. Helens Church, which dates back a
1000 years or so. The building also has a rare lantern tower, which
wouldve housed small fires to draw attention to the church. To
continue the tour, you need to head for Stone gate, a narrow street
to the left of the church. Follow the medieval street for about
100m and on the right should be Mulberry Hall. This is Audio Point
4.
Slide 6
4. Mulberry Hall Mulberry Hall is an old merchants house,
dating form 1434, that has been converted into a modern retailer.
Directly opposite is a plaque about Guy Fawkes, the infamous Briton
that tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605, because he
was born and raised in York. Stonegate was once a very important
road in Roman times and you can still see some of the coaching inns
here today, including Ye Old Starre Inne, dating from 1644.
Stonegate also features many alleyways, known locally as
snickelways. To continue the tour, continue along Stonegate until
it emerges onto Minster Yard, just outside the southern door of
York Minster. This is audio point 5.
Slide 7
5. York Minster This magnificent gothic cathedral, one of the
largest in the country, was built between 1220 1472. The cathedral
was built to rival the Canterbury Cathedral and it took over 250
years to complete! Inside are many religious artworks, such as
sculptures, statue and stained glass windows, some of which date
back to the 12 th century. The 76 foot tall great east window,
created by John Thornton, is the largest medieval stain glass
window in the world. More than 2 millions individual pieces of
glass make up the windows of the cathedral. There are two more
points of interest. Just to the right of the Minster is a statue of
Constantine the Great, who was the roman emperor here in York. You
will also notice a large column. This part of the remains of the
Roman Fortress. Follow the path around to the right of the
Cathedral. Continue around to the left. Shortly, you will pass
Chapter House Street on your right. Continue o down the road just a
little bit more in order to get to the entrance to Treasurers
House. Constantine
Slide 8
6. Treasurers House This beautiful house was the home of all
the treasurers in York during medieval times. The house was used in
this way until 1547. After that, it was privately owned as
residence until 1930s. It bears little resemblance to the original
building now after much reconstruction. As well as being an
impressive house in it's own right, this building is the most
famous haunted house in York, having had many ghost sightings over
the years. In 1953, Harry Dale, a young apprentice plumber, was
working in the cellars of the building when he saw the ghost of a
horse emerge from the stone wall. The horse reputably had a rider
and a soldier convoy following it. All were dressed in Roman
clothing and armour. Retrace your steps, through the gate and out
into the square ahead of you. Youll soon see a black and white
beamed building on your left. This is audio point 7.
Slide 9
7. St. Williams College Dating from 1461, this building was
built as a home for priests and even today, is still owned by the
minster. St. William became archbishop of York in 1154, after an 11
year wait. The reason for the long wait was due to the Pope not
liking William. He deliberately delayed Williams succession for as
long as possible out of spite. When ready, stand with your back to
the college and turn left. At the end of college street, bare right
onto Goodramgate. After about 100 metres, you will notice on the
left a row of extremely old houses, and just past this, the
entrance to Holy Trinity Church. This is audio point 8.
Slide 10
8. Holy Trinity Church If you can, try and get a look inside.
The astonishing array of stained glass windows date from the 15 th
century and the amazing box pews form the 17 th century. There is
no electric lighting or heating within the building and the walls
and floors all have unusual angles. This church was actually
mentioned in the doomsday book of 1066 although most of what you
see here dates from the 13 th and 14 th centuries. The ancient
houses in front of the church are known as Our Ladys Row and are
considered to be the oldest surviving houses in the city. When you
are ready to move on, return to Goodramgate and continue in the
same direction. After about 100 metres, bare left into Kings
Square. Cross the square and then turn right into Newgate. Almost
immediately on your left will be The Shambles. This is Audio Point
9.
Slide 11
9. The Shambles The shambles is Yorks most famous street. This
street, which features the famous overhanging houses, dating from
the 14 th century, gives the best impression of how medieval York
wouldve looked. The 2 extra reasons for the overhanging houses was
to 1. create more space on the upper floors and 2. to avoid paying
too much tax as it was largely based on the ground floor surface
area. This was the very street that inspired the art department in
Harry Potter to create Diagon Alley. They based the look of the
Diagon Alley on this street they couldnt film on the street due to
the narrowness of the alleyway - It wouldve been impossible to film
here as the cameras are so large. To continue the tour, carry on
along Shambles, just before you reach the end, youll notice a small
alleyway on the left. Its easy to miss so be careful! Go through
the alleyway and you will come out at Audio Point 10. *DONT MISS
THE ALLEYWAY!*
Slide 12
10. Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate This word literally means What a
Street and this street is actually the shortest street in York,
spanning just 32 metres. This is the more recent part of the city
and the buildings are therefore much more new. To continue the
tour, turn right and then immediately right again into Pavement.
Follow the road, that goes in a curve to the left, until you reach
the entrance to Coppergate Walk. This is Audio Point 11.
Slide 13
11. Coppergate Walk/ Jorvik Centre This is the nearest point on
the tour to the Jorvik Viking Centre, probably Yorks busiest
tourist attraction. It is well known that York was once home to
many Vikings. Jorvik was it Viking name. This Viking history was
brought into focus in the 1970s when the area was excavated for a
new shopping centre. Completely unexpectedly, archaeologists
unearthed the remains of 10 th century buildings surrounded by wet
spongy layers of earth. This earth had the perfect conditions to
preserve ancient artefacts. Over 6 years, and 36,000 layers of
earth, an amazing 40,000 historical objects were recovered. To
carry on with the tour, retrace your steps to Parliament street,
turn left. At the end of Parliament Street, you will reach St.
Sampson's Square and audio point 12. Down here
Slide 14
12. St. Sampsons Square This whole area has, for many centuries
and still to this day, been a place where markets are held. To
continue to the last part of the tour, carry on in the same
direction to Blake Street. You will come across a large columned
building that has been converted into a restaurant. This is audio
point 13.
Slide 15
13. York Assembly Rooms The York Assembly Rooms is an
18th-century assembly rooms building and was originally used as a
place for high class social gatherings in the city. This building,
now a restaurant, was designed by Richard Boyle, the third Earl of
Burlington and was built between 1730 and 1735. The building is
situated on Blake Street and is a Grade I listed building. It is
one of the earliest neo-classical buildings in Europe and one of
the most influential pieces of architecture of the early 18th
century. This is the last part of the tour. To get back o where you
started, follow the road along until you see the familiar sight of
the York City art Gallery.
