A Tudor Weekend Away in York
The ancient city of York is the capital city and crowning jewel of North Yorkshire. It is one of the ‘must visit’ destinations in the North of England, with its history stretching back to the Roman conquest when the Romans founded the walled city of Eboracum as its northern capital. York can boast of being among a select handful of English cities to have most of its medieval walls still intact, and within those walls, wonky medieval buildings and higgledy-piggledy streets abound. The treasure trove of historic buildings makes the city deserving of at least two days of sightseeing if you are to cover all the major historic sites at anything less than break-neck speed.
York Minster and The Site of Archbishop’s Lodgings
One of the most awe-inspiring sights to enjoy during any visit to York is to walk along Duncombe Place and see the west front of the Minster towering majestically over all that it surveys. If it is a sunny day, the white stone makes this venerable building gleam in the sunshine, and its beauty will take your breath away.
Needless to say, The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York, more commonly known as ‘York Minster’, has been the focus of city life since its foundation in the seventh century when it became an important place of Anglo-Saxon worship. Some of the earliest parts of the church can be seen in the Undercroft Museum, including the remains of the Roman barracks upon which the Minster was built.
The interiors are as splendid as its exteriors. None more so than the relatively recently restored Rose Window (constructed in 1515), which illuminates the south transept. The window was severely damaged in 1984 when a fire, which occurred as a result of a lightning strike, destroyed the roof of the transept and shattered the window into 40,000 pieces. Skilled craftsmen replaced the roof and restored the window over a period of four years, and now its staggering proportions, casting multiple pools of coloured light upon the stone floor beneath, can be enjoyed once more.
York Minster. Images © The Tudor Travel Guide.
The history of the Minster is too extensive to cover in full here. However, let’s draw out some of the Tudor highlights.
The Minster and the now lost Archbishop’s Palace, once sited to its north (now the site of Dean’s Park), played centre stage during Henry VII’s visit to York in 1486. During his week-long stay in the city, the King celebrated a chapter of the Order of the Garter, with religious celebrations and feasting held in both the palace and the church. The actual service to create the two new Knights of the Garter was held in the Chapter House, which still survives.
And while we are speaking of Henry VII, the grave of Thomas Rotherham, the Archbishop of York who welcomed the King to the Minster, can be found at the far east end of the Minster church. It is almost hidden from view, a simple stone tablet laid into the floor is the only marker to recognise his final resting place.
Henry’s eldest daughter, Margaret, also passed through the city, albeit briefly, on her way to become the Scots Queen in 1503. She also lodged at the Archbishop’s Palace, possibly in a range of buildings adjacent to the west end of the Minster. Sadly, this gatehouse range has since been completely lost to time.
Then, in 1541, Henry VIII came to York to subjugate its citizens following the uprising that became known as ‘The Pilgrimage of Grace’. Katherine Howard was with the King during the progress, a progress which, retrospectively, would be infamous as being synonymous with the Queen’s adulterous behaviour.
While in the city, the pair lodged at The King’s Manor. Unfortunately, no substantial records survive of the visit. Still, it is unthinkable that Henry was not welcomed at the Minster doors and led inside to hear Mass and a ‘Te Deum’ in celebration of his arrival – even though, in truth, the citizens of York were far from enamoured with this King who was ‘neither sparing man in his anger nor woman in his lust’.
If you would like more information about visiting the Minster, you can check out their website here.
The King’s Manor & Abbey Gardens
Close to the Minster, just outside the original city walls, lies The King’s Manor. It is now home to the Centre for Medieval Studies for the University of York.
James I of England and VI of Scotland would rest at the manor on his journey down to London following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. However, from a Tudor perspective, the most important association is with the aforementioned visit of Henry VIII and Katherine Howard in 1541. The royal couple stayed in the city for nine days, awaiting the arrival of Henry’s nephew, James V of Scotland.
By the time of that progress, the once-powerful Abbey of St Mary’s, where the royal couple would stay for the duration of their visit, was already in decline. It had been closed as part of the Dissolution in November 1539, and by 1541, the church was being gradually demolished. However, in amongst the desolation, the medieval abbot’s lodging was saved by royal decree; henceforth, it was to be known as The King’s Manor and, as such, became the property of the Crown and the headquarters of The King’s Council of the North. They formally took possession on 17 December 1539.
The King’s Manor. Images © The Tudor Travel Guide.
Extensive alterations were required for the visit of the royal couple. To complete this work, a staggering £400 was spent to ‘repair and beautify’ the building. Given this equates roughly to somewhere in the region of £225,000 in today’s money, the results must have been impressive. However, closer inspection of the records indicates that what exactly constituted ‘The King’s Manor’ in the mid-sixteenth century is blurred. One account suggests that the ‘frater’ of the old abbey was used as ‘the king’s hall’, while the ‘dorter’ served as the queen’s lodging was used during this progress you house the royal couple. If so, these latter buildings would have once stood where the York Museum Gardens now provides a picturesque place for the citizens of York and visitors alike to relax amongst the remaining ruins of the abbey.
The Yorkshire Museum is also in the same park. I urge you to visit if only to see a precious medieval jewel and a personal favourite of mine: the Middleham Jewel, discovered near Middleham Castle, the childhood home of Richard III. If you are intrigued enough to want to know more about this jewel, you can read more about it on my blog here.
York’s Medieval Walls and Gates
York can boast the most complete medieval walls in England. However, at the turn of the nineteenth century, they came within a hair’s breadth of being entirely torn down. This was at a time when many other major cities, like London, were dismantling this vestige of the medieval age. However, fierce local opposition resulted in the City Corporation eventually backing down. Unfortunately, this was not before all but one of the barbicans (at Walmgate Bar) had been torn down, along with three postern gates, five towers and 300 yards of the wall itself.
Nevertheless, I’d guess that around 70- 80% of the city’s walls and all four of its medieval gates or ‘bars’ survive: Bootham Bar, Monk Bar, Walmgate Bar and Micklegate Bar. These latter stately structures once controlled access into and out of the city, with Walmgate and Micklegate Bars being particularly pertinent to our Tudor adventures in time.
Micklegate stood on the south side of the City and was the traditional gate through which monarchs were received when they visited York. It was certainly where Henry VII entered the city during his 1486 visit when children lined the street to cheer the newly crowned King of England. It is possibly because of its royal associations that this gate that was also used to display the heads of executed traitors. Notable amongst these was Richard, Duke of York, and his son, Edmund, father and brother to Kings Edward IV and Richard III.
York’s medieval walls, Micklegate and a view of the city walls and York Minster.
Images © The Tudor Travel Guide.
If the gate looks to be a strange blend of architectural styles, with a squat, square lower half surmounted by tall rounded turrets, then that is because it is; the base is earlier, constructed in the 1100s, while the upper part is dated to the 1300s when the height was raised from two to four storeys.
The whole thing has been restored in recent years. The stone was cleaned, and the royal coat of arms and those of the city flanking it were repainted. So, now you can once more enjoy Micklegate at its striking best.
When Henry VIII came to York in 1541, the usual royal entry via Micklegate was planned, as was the tradition. However, the belligerent King seemed to purposefully wrong-foot the dignitaries of York by choosing instead to take the submission of the citizen of York at Fairford Cross before processing to Walmgate to enter the city from the east. Both the gate and its barbican survive. Charmingly, you can now climb the gatehouse to enjoy a cuppa at The Gatehouse Cafe, which has splendid views of the Barbican, described by some as one of the best preserved in Europe.
It is possible to walk the walls in York, which takes about two hours to complete. In Spring, daffodils festoon the steep banks adjacent to them, making for a pretty sight. However, one of the best things about walking the walls is the views they afford, such as looking over the city’s rooftops, particularly near Monk Bar. This stretch faces the north side of the Minster and is my absolute favourite view of this majestic medieval landmark. Be sure to have your camera in hand!
The Merchant Adventurer’s Hall
If you choose to follow in the footsteps of Henry VIII and Katherine Howard and enter York via Walmgate Bar, you will find yourself walking down Walmgate, one of the principal streets leading east to west across the city centre. On the left-hand side, just after crossing the River Foss, you will encounter an unobtrusive but nevertheless deliciously intriguing entrance to an alleyway. If you head down this passage, you will soon encounter perhaps the most spectacular secular building in York: The Merchant Adventurers Hall.
This grand dame of history was built in the first half of the fourteenth century, and at the time, it was the largest secular building in England. It is an astonishing survivor of time and is still used by York’s Guild of Merchant Adventurers. It has everything you would want from a medieval / Tudor building: timber frames, wattle and daub, wonky wooden floors and an impressive great hall.
But firstly, what is a ‘Merchant Adventurer’ and why were they so wealthy? According to the Merchant Adventurer’s Hall website, ‘they were someone who risked or ‘adventured’ his or her own money in overseas trade bringing back goods and wealth to York.’ Thus, these good citizens of York were the equivalent to modern-day entrepreneurs, and their rewards lay in the accumulation of wealth and the elevated status that came along with it.
Merchant Adventurer’s Hall. Image © The Tudor Travel Guide.
Although today, the hall is open to the public as a museum, it is incredible to think that its functions remain virtually unchanged from when it was founded in 1357 as a religious fraternity, with the scope of the fraternity broadened in the early fifteenth century when its members (who were mostly mercers) established a trading association, or guild, to conduct business and to network.
The building is divided into three main areas, all of which you can visit; on the ground floor, there is the undercroft, which was used to house and care for the sick and destitute up until 1900. Leading directly off this area is a relatively plain chapel, which ministered to the spiritual needs of the merchants and residents of the almshouse. Then finally, on the first floor is an enormous Great Hall, where meetings of the Guild were, and still are, held.
While the building is medieval, such guilds and merchant adventurers’ halls prospered in cities throughout Tudor England – and this one is a fine example of one that has survived. In addition, it was due to the efforts of several notable Tudor members from the York Guild that the Guild acquired their Royal Charter in 1581. It was at this point that the Guild’s name changed to The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York.
Storyboards, sited around the visitor trail, tell the story of the Guild and its fabulous hall. Along the way, be sure to look out for the wonderful collection of early etchings of the city of York, displayed on the ground floor at the foot of the grand staircase. These give the visitor a tantalising insight into the appearance of medieval York before industrialisation had a chance to touch the city.
For urgent rest and refreshment, there is a cafe onsite. If you want to find out more about visiting the Merchant Adventurer’s Hall, you can do so via their website.
Barley Hall
Barley Hall is a beautifully executed recreation of a wealthy merchant’s house of the late fifteenth century, circa 1483. At this time, it was owned by William Snawsell, a supporter of Richard III. However, before that, the building had originally been a townhouse for the prior and monks of Nostell Priory, near Wakefield, used when they visited the city
Over the years, ownership of Barley Hall, as it has now come to be known, changed many times, and, over the centuries, the building was progressively subdivided to form ever smaller tenements. By the 1980s, the building was almost entirely lost when it was declared dangerously unsafe and earmarked for demolition. Thankfully, as part of this process, the historical significance of the site was identified, and the York Archaeological Trust ultimately bought it.
Their aim was to reconstruct a wealthy merchant’s townhouse as it would have looked in 1483, at the end of the medieval period and at the dawn of the Tudor age. This makes it of interest to any Tudor time traveller.
Barley Hall has been beautifully restored and boasts stunning high ceilings, exposed timber frames, and interesting exhibitions. The centrepiece has to be the miniature Great Hall (originally constructed circa 1430), which abounds with colour and the fabrics associated with the period. Other recreated rooms you can visit include the buttery, pantry, Steward’s office (storeroom), an upstairs parlour and several bedchambers. I love the vibe of the building. Thankfully, whenever I have visited, there has been space enough to enjoy it away from the crowds that bustle through the streets of York during holiday periods.
You will find Barley Hall nestled among the medieval snickleways of York, close to the ancient thoroughfare of Stonegate. There is a lovely little coffee house (Barley Hall Coffee Shop) adjacent to the hall, which I can heartily recommend. You can find out more information about visiting Barley Hall by checking out their website.
Clifford’s Tower
To finish, I want to bring your attention to Clifford’s Tower. This incredibly photogenic medieval tower is under the guardianship of English Heritage. What you see today is all that remains of a far grander, medieval motte, part of York’s castle complex, which was at its zenith during the medieval period.
By the sixteenth century, York Castle was already falling into disrepair. However, this did not stop Henry VIII from having Robert Aske, the leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace, executed on a specially constructed scaffold, sited outside Clifford’s Tower on 12 July 1537.
Very recently, extensive work was done on the Tower to construct a series of staircases and viewing platforms, allowing visitors to ‘climb’ the Tower and see the full height of the structure at close quarters. To find out more, visit the English Heritage website.
Clifford’s Tower.
My Favourite Cafes & Restaurants:
Bettys is a perennial favourite. It serves fabulous, top-quality food and pastries, but beware of the queues and be prepared to pay for the privilege!
The Barley Hall Coffee Shop is cute, and in the summer, tables are arranged in the adjacent courtyard, aptly named ‘Coffee Yard’, which is directly outside the entrance to Barley Hall. There is nothing ostentatious here, but it is inviting and a good place to escape the crowds at nearby Stonegate.
The Vintage Rose and Crumbs Cupcakery on College Street: A very popular stretch of street to stop and enjoy tea and cake. Again, at their best in the summer, when tables line the pavement with fabulous views of the east end of the Minster.
Ambiente Tapas on Goodramgatte: I love tapas, and this small, welcoming restaurant is an excellent place to enjoy good food. It is just a few minutes’ walk from the Minster and close to Monk Bar.
The York Pass
Remember that if you plan to spend time in York and the surrounding area, visiting several different sites, you might want to consider buying a York Pass. This pass gives free entry to all of the venues listed here, as well as many more, including River Cruises and open-top bus tours (which I can recommend doing first to give you an overview of the city before diving in and exploring select locations in more detail). The website lists the attractions included and their usual price, so it would be quite straightforward to determine whether this would save you money.
Useful Links
York Minster
The King’s Manor & Abbey Gardens
Merchant Adventurer’s Hall
Barley Hall
Clifford’s Tower
York Pass
