Talbot Court
Talbot Court is a gated courtyard off Low Petergate. Access is flanked on one side by 62 Low Petergate, currently a restaurant but previously York College for Girls. On the …
Judge’s Court
This alleyway off Coney Street leads into a courtyard and, beyond, a four-storey Georgian building. Between 1720 and 1806 it provided lodgings to Britain’s most senior judges before they set out to …
York Castle
York Castle was originally a large fortified complex, comprising the keep of Clifford’s Tower, prisons and various other buildings. Its first incarnation was as a wooden structure, rapidly assembled following …
The Shambles
The Shambles is known for the number of butchers that used to trade from it. Shambles takes its name from ‘shammels’, an Anglo-Saxon word relating to the flesh benches or …
Bedern
An ancient lane, off Goodramgate, leading to Bedern Chapel and Hall and, via Bartle Garth, to St Saviourgate. A bridge, now destroyed, would have connected Bedern to the Minster precinct.
The …
Lund’s Court (formerly Mad Alice Lane)
Mad Alice haunts this snickelway. Beaten remorselessly by her husband, she finally attacked and killed him. The murder caused her to go insane, and she was hanged at York Castle …
Ye Olde Starre Inne, Stonegate
Believed to be the oldest licensed premises in the York, it consists of a 17th century building sitting on a 10th century cellar. The pub is accessed via a short …
Fishergate Postern Tower
This tower was built between 1504 and 1507, replacing an earlier structure called Talkan Tower. Next to the tower is a small postern gate – a discreet entrance to the …
St Mary’s Abbey walls
The walls along Marygate were built in 1266 as part of the defences for St Mary’s abbey, covering more than four hundred and fifty meters in total. The walls that stretch …
St Mary’s Tower
This tower is part of the defences that surrounded St Mary’s Abbey, rather than York’s main walls. The tower was built in the early 14th century but was badly damaged …
Lendal Tower
This imposing tower was part of the medieval city’s river defences. A chain could be slung across the river from here to prevent water-borne attacks. It dates from about 1300, …
Barker Tower
Dating from the 14th century, this round tower, along with Lendal Tower on the bank opposite, would have controlled river-based access to the city. A chain was slung across the …