he came in sight of the Bar underwent the terrible ordeal of seeing his son’s head which had been exposed thereon. The Earl was arrested but was subsequently pardoned. Hotspur’s widow besought the king for the head and body of her husband. The king granted her request, and issued a writ as follows:—

The bereaved lady collected the remains from Shrewsbury, London, Chester, Newcastle, and York and had them interred in York Minster.

Lord Scrope being detected with others in a plot against Henry V, was arrested and condemned. His head was placed on Micklegate Bar.

Richard, third Duke of York, was, through his mother, the representative of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third son of Edward III, whilst King Henry V was descended from the fourth son. In the next reign Richard, Duke of York, claimed the throne.

At the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, the citizens of York favoured the House of Lancaster. The Duke of York was slain at the battle of Wakefield in 1460. His head, which his enemies had in mockery covered with a paper crown, was brought to York and stuck on a pole over Micklegate Bar, his face looking towards the city. In the play of Henry VI, Queen Margaret exclaims:—

The Earl of Salisbury and other notable prisoners were put to death and their heads fixed on poles near that of their leader. Edward succeeded his father as fourth Duke of York, and the year following, after the second battle of St. Albans, was, through the instrumentality of the King-maker, proclaimed King. On Palm Sunday as he was coming to York, he met at Towton the forces of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, and defeated them. Next day, Edward IV set out for York and, nearing the city, he was confronted with the ghastly sight of his father’s head on Micklegate Bar.

In his indignation, the King ordered the Earls of Devon and Wiltshire and three other prisoners to immediate execution, in order that their heads might replace his father’s.

During the great Civil War, the city was besieged by the Parliamentarian forces, and after a blockade of six weeks the Royalists attempted two sorties, both of which were failures. The besieged waited patiently for relief from the bold but erratic Prince Rupert, on whose approach the Parliamentarians retired towards Marston Moor. The Royalist troops passed through Micklegate Bar to meet their foes. In the ensuing battle the Royal forces were completely routed and retreated to York, followed by the Parliamentarians, who, however, were compelled to stay outside Micklegate Bar. The siege was renewed. Subsequently, Sir Thomas Glenham, governor of York, having made good terms, surrendered the city to Lord Fairfax, and the Royalist garrison passed out through Micklegate Bar with colours flying.

The last occasion on which Micklegate Bar was used for the exhibition of rebel heads was during the Jacobite rising of 1745. After the battle of Culloden there were set on this “Traitor’s Gate” two heads which remained for about seven years, when the heads were surreptitiously removed. The culprit was found, and at the Assizes sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, ordered to pay five pounds and to find sureties for his good behaviour for two years.

Bootham Bar protected the road from the north, and owing to continual disputes between Scotland and England, it was always strongly guarded. Whilst King Stephen was engaged in the south of England, the Scots thought it a favourable opportunity to invade England, not taking into account the generalship of the Archbishop. The prelate summoned the barons to York. An army was mustered and after passing through Bootham Bar, met and completely routed the Scots at the battle of the Standard, near Northallerton. In a raid, however, about two centuries later, the

BOOTHAM BAR

position was reversed: the Scots had penetrated into England as far as York, and after gaining much booty retreated. The Archbishop and the Mayor hastily gathered an undisciplined army, which passed through the Bar and overtook the Scots at Myton. This time the city forces were completely routed, the Mayor and many of the clergy who had joined were slain.

In later times a Scot was obliged to announce his arrival at the Bar by using the rapper, and if he entered the city without the permission of the warder or Lord Mayor, he was liable to arrest and imprisonment. This Bar retains its portcullis or drop-gate in its entirety, the pointed ends of which and the wicket are seen within the archway. The upper part of the portcullis is to be seen in the chamber above.

Monk Bar, the entrance to the city from Scarborough, was built in the reign of Edward III. It is the most complete and imposing of the Bars, and, although shorn of its barbican, it remains the finest example of an English city gatehouse. Over the archway are crosslets to two stories which are enclosed by a pointed arch springing from the base of the turrets and supporting an embattled balcony, access to which is obtained from either turret. The balcony is adorned with the shield of Edward III, and on each spandril is a shield bearing the arms of the city of York. The gateway is vaulted and above are two stories of vaulted chambers, in the upper of which is the horizontal windlass for raising or lowering the portcullis. This is the only bar that retains its original city front, which has, however, been slightly modified by the insertion of mullioned windows. The first floor over the gateway is contained within an arched recess. A doorway leads to a narrow platform, from which the constable could announce to the citizens important news from the northern world outside or the herald could thence read proclamations. Through this Bar passed King Charles I attended by his knights and soldiers and a great concourse to a meeting on Heworth Moor. The meeting was called by the King, whose disputes with his Parliament had reached a crisis. The King, in his overconfidence, rejected the petition presented to him by Parliament and the Civil War broke out.

Walmgate Bar is the entrance to the city from