York’s city walls
At the March meeting of the Friends of Scarborough Art Gallery, John Oxley, York City archaeologist, gave an account of the history of York’s city walls over the last 1,500 years.
The city walls are a major feature and demonstrate York’s importance over many centuries.
A Roman general established a fortress on the site of York in 71AD, defended at first with an earth and timber rampart. Stone walls were built on top of these later and defensive towers were added on the outside; the lower part of the Multangular Tower in the Museum Gardens is original Roman stone and brickwork with medieval additions added above. As York expanded, the walls were redesigned, rebuilt and moved. York was a centre of Christian government in the 7th century, but the Vikings arrived in the 9th century heralding turbulence over the next 150 years.
The Normans made huge changes rapidly during the late 11th century, creating much more substantial defences, building two castles on the south side of the city and building a dam to flood the Foss valley. These defensive works were not tested in battle for about 400 years, so give a good idea of Norman state-ofthe-art military thinking. The Parliamentarians besieged York in 1644 and managed to tunnel under Marygate Tower and blow it up. The early Victorians were keen to get rid of the walls which, they considered, obstructed city development. Campaigns by the artist William Etty and the Archbishop of York to prevent their destruction saved much of them and holes made for the roads and railways were bridged over.
The walls are in constant need of attention and repair. John showed pictures of the recent major renovation of Walmgate Bar which was suffering from neglect and damage from traffic accidents. Walmgate Bar still has its barbican and encapsulates the history of the walls. The Tudor addition now has a cafe with wonderful views of the city. The walls have five main gateways, 45 towers, two Victorian railway arches and much more. Access is free and an extremely popular tourist attraction. Spring is the ideal time to visit, before the leaves of the trees interfere with the views and the daffodils are in flower.
The Friends’ annual meeting takes place in the art gallery on Monday April 10 at 2.30pm. Member Martin Dove will follow with a talk about the designs of 50p coins.
Group information is available in the gallery or email thefriendsofscarboroughartgallery@hotmail.co.uk for membership enquiries.