Year: 2013

Introducing a new photographic project and pictorial archive for The Friends of York Walls called “York – Scene From The Walls”.

The object of the project is to record everything that can be seen in all directions and at all “significant viewpoints” around the bars, the full walls circuit and all the associated defences in York.

An archive of still photographs is being produced and made available to the general public on the photo sharing website Flickr. The images are held in a group called “York – Scene From The Walls” and can be viewed on Flickr. It is hoped that these images will provide a useful and lasting resource not only for the Friends of York Walls but also for local organisations including the City of York Council and anyone interested in York’s archaeology and history at a snapshot in time – i.e. Winter/Spring 2013.

Please see the article here for more information.

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The solution to last weeks Picture Number 19 –

Mystery19

This is St Mary’s Tower, at the corner of Marygate and Bootham, a corner tower to the abbey walls. Built sometime between 1318 and 1324 by Stephen de Austewyk, St Mary’s tower has changed much over the years. It is a two storey structure, around thirty four feet in diameter, with an octagonal interior.

It was badly damaged during the 1644 siege of York, and subsequently rebuilt. The tower was mined by Parliamentarian forces during the attack, with an explosion beneath its foundations almost totally destroying it. The subsequent breach in the walls enabled Cromwell’s army to gain access to the city, fighting their way to the King’s Manor. However the attack was soon repelled with many injured and killed. The tower was rather crudely rebuilt, with much thinner walls, and some rather inexplicable external faults ….. still visible today.

With its disjointed bits and salvaged masonry it’s a visible reminder of the 1644 siege, a part of our history which doesn’t really seem to have captured the public imagination.

Picture Number 20 :-

Mystery20

The daffodils are a bit late this year – so here is one from 2012.

The location will be given here on our FaceBook page.

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The Council for British Archaeology are organising a “Festival of Archaeology 2013” from 13th to 28th July 2013.

As part of supporting this event the Friends of York Walls will be opening the Medieval Fishergate Postern Tower, at Piccadilly, York YO1 1PL – from 13th July to 28th July daily from 10am to 4pm.

To achieve this full opening schedule a team of dedicated and trained volunteers will be needed. If you are interested in helping us with this venture and would like to be trained as a volunteer please see the attached document which outlines the “Training Programme” – Aims, Objectives, Orienteering Days, and Deliverables.

For further information please contact sec@yorkwalls.org.uk

FPT Volunteer Training Programme

FPT Archaeology weeks

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The solution to last weeks Picture Number 18 –

Mystery18

The Multangular Tower in the Museum Gardens is the most noticeable and intact structure remaining from the Roman walls. It was constructed as part of a series of eight similar defensive towers. The first settlement, centred on where the Minster now stands, had a much smaller circuit wall than the later medieval defences and the Multangular Tower was a polygonal bastion added to the western corner around the early third century, though it may have been built later.

Its style, protruding from the fortress wall rather than sitting behind it, was a development designed to enable defenders to fire down on anyone attacking the wall itself.

The small stone blocks making up the lower section, along with the red tile course known as Saxa Quadrata, are typically Roman. The larger blocks above however, date from a later medieval rebuilding. Walk round to the left of the tower, under the yew trees and through a little door to get the view from inside the tower and a look at some old Roman coffins.

Picture Number 19 :-

Mystery19

Another distinctive tower – showing the battle scars from 1644 !

The answer will be given here on our FaceBook page.

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