My first day in yorkshire last year I visited the City of York. I started at the Micklegate Bar which is on the york city walls. This is a museum of a very bizarre kind, it has the heads of various people on poles inside (I am not sure why as I thought they were displayed on the exterior) I was guided into a long dark corridor and when I got to the end a light came on model of a civil war soldier appeared brandishing a sword which made me jump slightly. I retreated, and was told by the museum curator who pushed the button to make it all happen I had been quite brave as grown men have been known to run screaming out of the room.
I walked along part of the city walls, through the Shambles, which is a street of very old shops, on to York Minster. I liked York Minster, I think it was much admired by Charlotte Bronte, and it has a large stained glass window in there which is original and quite spectacular even though it is faded.
Also visited Cliffords Tower. As a member of English Heritage I could get into this for free, there was not much to see although it does have a very dark and oppressive atmosphere.
You keep visiting my favourite places! York Minster is awesome - especially the chapter house. My writing group spent an afternoon there erm...writing! Great for atmosphere!Oh and John Thornton's 15th century Great East Window - the largest example of mediaeval stained glass in the world!
ReplyDeleteClifford's Tower has atmosphere of a different kind - In 1536, political leader Robert Aske was hanged in chains to die above Clifford's Tower on the orders of King Henry VIII, following the failure of Aske's 'Pilgrimage of Grace' protest against the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It always makes me shudder when I go in!
And Micklegate Bar where the Duke of York's head along with that of his son the Earl of Rutland and the Kingmaker's father - the Earl of Salisbury were placed after they lost the battle of Wakefield in 1460.
Actually you could probably write a blog just about York!
:-)
I walked along York City walls as well, found them quite impressive. The only place I think I didn't visit was the Jorvik Viking Centre, someone told me it wasn't very good, although I am interested in the vikings.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the re-vamped Jorvik. It is a bit 'theme park' but I was always impressed by the fact that the buildings are built into the post holes of the actual historic buildings - so the streets are as the Vikings would have seen them.
ReplyDelete:-)