Category: Latest News

Daffodil Bulb Planting-Volunteers are needed to plant bulbs on Saturday 24th November from 9:00am onwards. Meet at Fishergate Postern Tower. We have 1000’s of bulbs to plant – come and help.

Regarding Daffodil Bulb Planting- you may see “Community Pay Back” teams on the ramparts between Fishergate Postern Tower and Walmgate Bar planting our bulbs. £200 was donated by the Walmgate Ward towards the cost of these bulbs.

On January 14th 2013 we will be presenting “East Meets West” an evening of music and dance. This event is being sponsored by M & S. Watch this space, FOYW Facebook and Twitter for more details, event location, ticket prices, how to get your tickets, etc..

Are you aware of our “POP UP CAFÉ” events being held in the Guildhall? Come along and have a look at the Charity Stalls that will be there. Again watch this space, FOYW Facebook and Twitter for more dates and details.

We will be holding an Xmas Raffle. For prizes so far we already have a B&B stay at the Holiday Inn York, and a family ticket on the York Eye already kindly donated. We still need donations of more prizes – please help!

How about a “Unique Christmas Present” – ‘Sponsor a Stone’ for £20 and get a certificate to identify your stone, and your personalised message visible on our website and in the Book of Sponsors. See here for details and on-line sponsoring.

Don’t forget to follow us on our website on Facebook and on Twitter for all the latest info.

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So did you identify where Picture Number 1 was taken?

At the River Ouse end of Marygate is Marygate Water Tower, sometimes known as Marygate Landing Tower. The tower walls have four cruciform slits, which have oillets to the arms. Mystery Picture Number 1 shows one of these cruciform slits.

Marygate Water Tower is part of the remains of the defensive precinct walls of St Mary’s Abbey, which survive on the north-west and north-east sides of the Abbey Precinct. The walls were erected in 1266, then raised, crenellated and extended in 1318. The Water Tower and St Mary’s Tower, at the other end of Marygate, were erected in 1324. A pedestrian arch was added beside the Water Tower circa 1836. The tower exterior is circular on plan, but the interior is hexagonal, with a single opening to each inner face. The Towers and The Abbey Walls are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

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A group from The Friends of York Walls had a wonderful day out on a visit to the walled city
of Chester on Tuesday October 16th 2012.

FOYW have formed links with some members of the Chester Renaissance group and a day
visit to Chester was organised with their help. They entertained us with a guided walk & talk
around the walls, including entry into many places the normal public currently don’t have
access to.

The coach departed from York at 9.30am and after a wet drive via the M62 the sun came out
and we arrived at Chester in time for lunch and a short look around the city center. We met
up with Jane and Magnus from Chester Renaissance at the Chester Amphitheatre at 1.45pm –
and the weather was perfect.

Chester Renaissance have recently been spending over £2M on major restoration work
around their City Walls and have included many innovative improvements to make the walls
a major tourist attraction. The result of the work should be an inspiration for York and to
FOYW – if only we could get some of the same European Grant money!

We walked the walls in an anticlockwise direction and looked in many of the restored towers
not presently open to the public. By 4.30pm our weary group arrived back at the Chester
Castle and Little Roodee area. We departed from Chester at 5pm for the evening return to
York.

We would like to thank Jane Hebblewhite and Magnus Theobald of Chester Renaissance for
their time, their interesting talks and their guidance during a wonderful afternoon, and for
giving us the opportunity to see the results of all the recent work on the Chester City Walls.

Some photographs taken on the day can be seen below and more at our Flickr Group.

If you took any good photos on the day please share them with us on the Friends of York
Walls Flickr Group here (add the tag “Chester Visit”).

The Chester Renaissance website can be viewed here. There is an interesting article on the restoration of the walls here. A summary of a Chester Walls Walk can be read here in an article published by Cheshire Life in March 2007.

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