Old York!

On the 800-year old wall one cool and clearing morn.

Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in the UK - and Rex had a couple days off - we headed north to York. Here's a ridiculously short history of the walled city based mostly on what we were able to see:

York is one of England’s oldest cities, with roots dating to the Roman occupation of 1^st century A.D.  After the Romans returned home (or  were lost, as was the case with it’s 9^th Legion), Saxons settled in York and fought on a regular basis with Vikings who were busy building their own settlement.

Next came the Normans in 1068, a mere two years after their official invasion southward in Hastings. William the Conqueror knew the value of this northern stronghold and built not one, but two castles in York to ensure its security. A couple centuries later York’s famous wall was erected around the city. Much of the wall remains to this day and visitors can walk the roughly 2 miles that still stand.  



Bad boys Guy Fawkes and Rex

York continued to thrive through the Wars of the Roses headed by York’s own King Edward IV and the signatory white rose (reminder: the House of York was pitted against the House of Lancaster with its red rose. After about 35 years of fighting, Tudor King Henry VII took the throne, brought peace to the kingdom and established a red and white rose – the Tudor rose. Clever, huh?)

After the Tudor reign, York may best be remembered as the birthplace of British bad-boy, Guy Fawkes, the fellow charged with planning to blow up Parliament in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

About 100 years later, York became home to  notorious highwayman and horse thief, Dick Turpin, where he was forthwith tried, hanged and buried within the city walls.  Today, visitors to York can wend their way through museums, ancient ruins, modern pubs and an absolutely horrifying dungeon tour (someone in our group cried the first 15 minutes, she was so scared).

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With its Dickensian feel, this is The Shambles, part of York's
shopping district. It is said to have been the inspiration for
Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series.

The old streets of York inside the wall are still a happening place with their tiny shops and cozy restaurants. The cobblestones and tilted buildings may look familiar and for good reason. Part of the market district, called the Shambles, was said to be  used as the design for 'Diagon Alley' in the Harry Potter series.

Christmas Markets were already in full swing when we arrived and what says holiday spirit more than chocolate? Nothing, that’s what. York has a long history of chocolate-making and is home to the Chocolate Orange ball as well as the Kit Kit bar. Though surprisingly, does not claim the York peppermint patty, which isn’t readily available in any part of England.

 

Inside one of the many Chocolate Shops. Home to the Kit Kat bar
and Chocolate Orange, York has a long, lovely chocolate history.

Although there had always been evidence of Viking inhabitants in York, nothing compared with the discovery made in 1976. During an archeological dig scheduled to last 6 months, workers unearthed one of the most astounding finds in England – a full-blown Viking settlement dating back over 1,000 year. The 6-month dig stretched into 5 years and more than 800 artifacts – everything from hair combs to ice skates – revealed how the Vikings lived and worked, what they ate and how they died. Today the information, artifacts -- and even smells! - are housed in York's Jorvik Viking Centre. Oh, the smells.



For more pictures of our visit to England's northern city of York, please get your click on here.

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And in case you're wondering where all this is on the map:

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Clifford's Tower:

During the reign of Henry VIII and his newly-established Anglican Church, York remained predominantly Catholic. One Yorkshire country gentleman, Robert Aske was chosen by the his fellow Yorkshiremen to help lead a rebellion in 1536 called 'Pilgrimage of Grace.' Aske honorably held sway over more than 30,000 and marched them south toward London to declare Yorkshire’s grievances directly to their sovereign, King Henry. Upon meeting with Robert Aske, the king drafted a treaty with York, promised the people free elections as well as a parliament in York. However, within a year, conditions soured, suspicions renewed, and in the end, Robert Aske was arrested, paraded through the streets and hanged as a traitor at Clifford’s Tower in York. 

This was not the first time someone died here for their faith. A plaque at the base of the tower reads:

"On the night of 16 May 1090, some 150 Jews and Jewesses of York having sought protection in the Royal Castle on this site from a mob incited by Richard Malebisse and others chose to die at each others hands rather than renounce their faith."

We humans have a long and tragic history of  tormenting one another because of religious beliefs. Will we never learn?

Clifford's Tower where Catholic gentleman Robert Aske was hanged for his steadfast
religious faith. He was accused of treason by King Henry VIII. Some 500 years prior,
York's entire Jewish community was wiped out here.