Hull. It retains its barbican, portcullis, and its inner oak gates including the wicket. Henry V with Queen Katherine passed through this Bar on their way to visit the shrine of St. John of Beverley, and in honour of the event the arms of the King are emblazoned on the Bar. Later, when Edward IV had been temporarily deposed in favour of Henry VI, he, after a sojourn on the Continent, returned to England and landed at Ravenspurn, a site now submerged, and, gathering a force around him, marched to York, only to find the gates of Walmgate Bar closed against him.

He demanded to be admitted as Duke of York, and on acknowledging Henry of Lancaster as king, he and his followers were permitted to enter. This scene is described in the play of Henry VI, Part III, Act IV, Scene VII. Henry VIII with Queen Catherine Howard on their visit to York entered the city by this Bar.

The city front is in striking contrast to the exterior elevation and consists of a timber and plaster dwelling built in front of the Bar on columns, and apparently erected in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The Bar suffered severely during the siege of York, owing to its proximity to Garrow Hill, which was secured by the Parliamentarians during the great Civil War for their batteries, which kept up a destructive fire on the Bar. The barbican was repaired four years after the surrender of the city, for over the arch is a shield with the city arms and the date 1648.

Fishergate Bar was the entrance to the city from Selby, and the walls from this Bar to Fishergate Tower commanded the narrow approach to the castle. The Bar consists of a round arch between two wide buttresses, each with passage through. Adjoining the eastern buttress was a rectangular guardroom. The arch is of two orders, continued to the ground with rounded groove for a portcullis. Over the arch is a panel containing the city arms and an inscription. An insurrection broke out in 1489 amongst the peasantry in Yorkshire. At Topcliffe the rebels murdered the Earl of Northumberland and then invested York, burning the gates of Fishergate Bar. The rebels were eventually defeated and one of the leaders beheaded at York. Fishergate Tower is provided with a garderobe, and when built adjoined a wide water area. Adjoining, on the land side, was a postern under a pointed archway, which has the jambs grooved evidently to accommodate a portcullis.

York Castle was constructed originally by William the Conqueror, who built between the two rivers a mound, and set on it a wooden watch-tower, surrounded with a bailey-court. In order to keep the castle and other ditches full of water, the Normans placed a dam across the River Foss, which was thus considerably widened, and formed into an efficient defence where it adjoined the city.

In the rising against the Jews at the coronation

FISHERGATE POSTERN FROM THE WALLS

of Richard I, Benedict of York was fatally injured. The anti-Semitic feeling spread to York, the house of Benedict was plundered and his widow and family murdered. This atrocious act naturally alarmed the Jews in York, who gathered their treasures and rushed to the castle for safety. The governor had to leave them for a while, and when he wished to reenter, the panic-stricken Jews refused him admission. An assault on the fortress was ordered. The Jews, finding themselves unable to hold the citadel, set fire to the wooden erections, and killed themselves.

The tower was rebuilt, and in the middle of the thirteenth century the mound was enlarged and the wooden watch-tower gave place to the stone keep. The castle area was walled in during the Edwardian period, the principal entrance with its flanking towers—now removed—faced Castle Mills Bridge. The keep has a quatrefoil plan. Corbelled-out turrets fill three angles, whilst the fourth is occupied by a rectangular gateway with the chapel above. The royal arms and those of Clifford were placed above the entrance during the seventeenth century; and the keep became known as Clifford’s Tower. The keep owes the ruined condition of its interior to a fire which broke out while it was used as a powder magazine.

The military architecture of York, whilst giving an idea of strength and power to the city, adds greatly to its picturesqueness. The line of embattled walls is agreeably broken by buttresses and mural towers, whilst the stately gatehouses set along the line of fortification give a sense of dignity, at the same time reflecting the sturdy independence of the men of York.

The streets are generally termed “gates”, the gatehouses “bars”, and the city walls “bar walls”. Such names as Blossom Street, Nunnery Lane, and Bridge Street are only modern substitutes for Ploxamgate, Baggergate, and Briggate. The “gates” of York often confuse visitors. A revising barrister once excused himself for being late in court by saying that he had lost his way and at last found himself in “Bootham-gate-street!” The street referred to is simply named Bootham. The streets are narrow and wind in all directions. “What narrow streets!” exclaimed Sidney Smith to one of the city tradesmen. “There is scarcely room for two carriages to pass.” “Not room!” was the indignant reply. “There’s plenty of room, sir, and two inches to spare.”

The city is pleasantly situated on slightly elevated ground in the midst of a plain. Through it flows the Ouse, which is crossed by three bridges. The central one—Ouse Bridge—is of stone and consists of three elliptical arches. The other two are of iron and have quatrefoil parapets. A view of Lendal Bridge shows the old water towers. The bridge is of a single span, and on the apex of the arch the Queen-mother, Alexandra, is depicted as an angel, holding the shield of St. George. Other shields, on the parapet, bear the arms of Plantagenet England, the See of York, and the White Rose. On either side charming views present themselves. On the left by the side of the river is the Esplanade, backed by St. Mary’s Abbey Close, in which are the ruins of the Abbey Church. Towards the right is a beautiful view of the city. Rising from the riverside are the stone buildings of the Post Office, Council Chamber, and the ancient Guildhall, while beyond are seen the towers and spires of the city churches. Skeldergate Bridge consists of central and side arches, and has its parapet adorned with the Lily of France and the Sun of York.

In the streets old timber and plaster dwellings, with their overhanging stories and high-peaked red-tiled gables, are here and there hemmed in by modern buildings. Timber houses, however, are becoming scarcer, and quite recently a number of such dwellings have been demolished. A few carved brackets which carry overhanging stories remain in Stonegate and Fossgate, and two from Davygate have been re-erected in Trinity Lane. The Shambles, of which a view is given, is the only street that preserves its narrow mediaeval character. From the uppermost of its overhanging stories you might shake hands with your neighbour across the street. This and Little Shambles are the delight of artists. The end of one house has been shorn of