During the summer spent child minding, one activity that was quite successful was to give the nine and eleven year old boys a book of old pictures of their town, some plastic cameras with old fashioned film in them, and see if they could recognize where the photographer stood one hundred years ago and take the same photograph again. What it revealed was, first one boy was far more interested in taking photographs than the other, and secondly how our towns and villages are now so cluttered with vehicles, moving and parked, and unsightly street furniture - road signs, bollards, traffic lights and such, that many lovely old buildings are quite obscured. So I am going to take you on my walk across the City of York and back again, to see what there is to see. This is not a tourist trail, this is how I get across York to see my other little family of grandchildren. So, come with me, it is about a 45 - 50 minute brisk walk, and see what I see. Ancient and modern, vehicles and people, but this is what York is like today. York Railway station is just outside the city walls, there was an early station inside the walls, but it outgrew the space. Coming out of the station I take account of the weather, I have been known to take a taxi. But when I walk (most of the time), the Station hotel is on my left. Most railway companies built hotels for their passengers next to their stations, and this huge hotel was opened in 1878. Through the walls into the city I cross Lendal Bridge over the River Ouse. Early in the morning there are crews rowing up and down the river. Lendal Tower is at the end of Lendal bridge, some ancient history of York, and here I cross the road onto the street called Lendal, pass by the Judge's Lodging, now a smart hotel. The judges who sat at the York Assizes travelled round on a Circuit, and in each Assize city they would have an official lodging to keep them from being intimidated or prejudiced in the cases they were to hear. It is usually very early in the morning, just after eight o'clock, but Appletons are open, yum. This is where I stop and buy some bacon for mine and small child's breakfast. Past the Post Office I turn across St Helen's Square. Early in the morning St Helen's Square is chock-a-block with delivery vans, so you cannot usually see the beautiful St Helen's Church, named after Helen the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. And opposite St Helen's Church is that great York institution, Betty's Tea Room, yes I thought it should have an apostrophe. There are often queues outside waiting to get in, it is so popular. Down Davygate and across St Sampson's Square I nip down an alleyway next to St Sampson's church to the market. If I have time, I stop here to get something for lunch, and if I am to cook an evening meal there are two wet fish stalls and a butcher's stall as well. I do like shopping in markets, you can see and smell and choose, it is not all wrapped in plastic. After crossing the market I come into the Shambles, where traditionally butchers would have their shops, now there are lots of touristy shops, but one butcher still there, and then onto Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate. This is the Stonebow, and is just about the ugliest building in York. For a while it was shrouded in hoardings and scaffolding and I really hoped they were pulling it down, but no, the scaffolding has come down and it is still there. Behind this monstrosity is St Savioursgate, with beautiful old buildings, and this hides them ... anyway, there is a bus at the bus stop so I must run. If this is a number 6 I could catch it, but it takes the same amount of time on the bus as it does to walk, so if the bus has just gone, and there is only one every twenty minutes, then I keep on walking. The next landmark is St Anthony's Hall on Peaseholme Green. It doesn't look much with the brick built upper floor. I used to go into this building when it was the Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, to look at ancient documents, but the Borthwick has now moved to the campus of York University at Heslington and is in a horrible tower block. St Anthony's Hall dates back to the mid 15th century and the lower floor was used as a hospital for poor people, this is hospital as in offering hospitality , not as an infirmary. Later it was used as a Blue Coat [charity] school, and currently is the home of the Guild of Quilters. At Layerthorpe I leave the ancient city behind, go round onto Foss Islands Road and walk alongside the River Foss, York's second river. Crossing the road I am then in the semi - industrial region, supermarkets, workshops, businesses, dual carriage ways, cross another road and just twenty minutes to go. I can time myself on this walk to the minute. The last twenty minutes walk is down a cycle path which was once the Derwent Valley Light Railway track. The DVLR brought agricultural produce from the East Riding into the city of York to a station at Layerthorpe, it never became part of the nationalised railway system but continued to carry goods until 1981. Now a cycle path and footpath I think it should be renamed Dog **** Alley - you know what I mean ! Then I arrive at a modern housing estate, still being built. New houses are being built all around York. My return journey is slightly different because when we are in Greenwich Mean Time it is dark when I leave the grandchildren and do not walk down the railway cycle path. I cut across acres of mid twentieth century brick streets, you know the sort of thing, identical houses with tiny gardens, large privet hedges, no garages so cars strewn halfway across pavements, until I get to the Hull Road. On the run up to Christmas some of the exterior house decorations are quite amazing. Hull Road leads out of York in the direction of the University, so this is fast food and laundrette country. On this little row you can wash you clothes and get a take-away from almost every continent. From this point onward back to the city housing stock is dominated by student accommodation, old houses in multi-occupancy and new blocks of student flats just being built. This is where the new money goes, investing in blocks of student accommodation. For years this lovely Georgian house had trees growing out of the roof, windows smashed, overgrown front garden, door boarded up, a total ruin. Such a shame, then about a year ago hoardings were put around it and it was rescued. It is now part of the growing student accommodation on this side of York. Samuel Tuke was the grandson of William Tuke who founded the York Retreat which opened in 1796 and was pioneering in humane and compassionate treatment of those with mental illnesses. Opposite Tuke House the spire of St Lawrence's Church peers over the trees. The present church replaces an ancient foundation, and the tower of the church was used as a look-out during the siege of York in 1644. During the Civil War fighting the church was ruined. The present church is a late Victorian Gothic design, with a spire added later, but still retaining some of the older memorials in the churchyard. After St Lawrence's Church Hull Road becomes Lawrence Street and a very, very busy crossing to Walmgate Bar. This is the only one of York's Bars which has still has a Barbican, the walls which protected the gateway. The archway that lets vehicles through was not there originally of course. This takes me through onto the street called Walmgate and the picture on the right shows the other side of the Bar. I am now back inside the walled City of York. You can see the spire of St Lawrence's church peeping over the wall. Walmgate is a very long street with a wide variety of architectural styles. Old timber framed houses, Georgian and Victorian shops, modern twentieth century housing, nineteen sixties row of shops and a very modern back-packer's hostel. The church of St Denys is half way down Walmgate, it has had several rebuilds but is on the site of a Saxon Church and the burial place of Henry Percy 3rd Earl of Northumberland killed at Towton. Opposite St Denys's, hidden in Foundry Yard, a plaque says that this is the site of the Yorkshire Rebellion in 1489, Oh we do like to rebel in Yorkshire - and the site of the Palace of the Earl of Northumberland, which was demolished in the Peasants' Revolt of 1489. The Plaque goes on to tell that another Henry Percy, the 4th Earl, was murdered here by the rebels who were opposing the taxation imposed by King Henry VII to pay for a war against France. Onwards down Walmgate, and across to Piccadilly. Here I cross the River Foss again and right beside the river is the Merchant Adventurer's Hall. This dates from mid 14th century and belonged to the Mercers of York. In the medieval period it also offered hospitality to the sick and poor and had a chapel. It remains in use as a Guild Hall. This handsome church is called All Saints, Pavement. Pavement is the name of a short street which intersects Piccadilly and Parliament Street and where Coppergate and High Ousegate meet, and indicates that when most of York was mud, this street was paved. The Lantern Tower would have held a light to guide travellers into the city. The chancel was demolished when wider roads were needed. Next a dash up Parliament Street, where, according to the time of year, there is a fun fair or food market or Viking festival or Christmas market. I am now retracing my steps from my morning walk, back up Davygate to St Helen's Square. With St Helen's church behind me the handsome Mansion House, recently refurbished, gives the square an elegant atmosphere. This is the official residence of the Lord Mayor, and was built in 1725. Sometimes there are buskers here, or street theatre artists. I look forward to a particular baritone who sings light opera, and, if time permits, will stop and listen. Then over Lendal Bridge again, this is the view down stream. The Guildhall is on the left, this is directly behind the Mansion House and has river frontage, and dates from 1448. It was badly bombed during the Second World War, but thankfully was rebuilt to its original design. On the opposite bank is a huge tower, a nineteen sixties attempt at increasing the number of tourist beds in the city, it was built as the Viking Hotel. It now has another name , the Radisson Park Inn, but I've not seen anything less like an Inn ..... Back over Lendal Bridge I go through the City Walls where George Leeman stands isolated amidst lanes of traffic from four directions. George Leeman was born in York in 1809 and became the city's Liberal M.P., he was chair of the railway company that came to York, and had fingers in the pies of Yorkshire Banks, Rosedale ironworks and Middlesbrough steelworks and then had Leeman Road named after himself. Championing railways it seems sad that he is now marooned amongst a road network for the internal combustion engine. Opposite the railway station a pause to consider the cholera burial ground, outside the city walls, and the 185 people who died from that horrible disease in 1832. A dash into the railway station. This is NOT how it looks when I get there early evening. There can be a couple of hundred people on this concourse, all looking at the information boards. Have I got time to buy a cup of tea ? Usually I have to get something to take away the taste of exhaust fumes from all the vehicles, then summon the strength to get over the bridge to platform ten. My journey has not finished yet ....
But this is one view of York, and I love it.
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AuthorThis is where you can share creativity with me. I believe that everyone has something creative within them, and it is a joy to find ways of being creative. Blogging is NEW to me, so here goes ..... Archives
January 2024
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