York City Wall

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bootham Bar; Micklegate Bar; Walmgate Bar; Fishergate Bar; Monk Bar; Castlegate Postern; Fishergate Postern; Layerthorpe Postern; Skeldergate Postern

In the civil parish of York.
In the historic county of Yorkshire Ainsty & York (Modern Authority of York, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Substantial remains of medieval wall and gates. Some parts of the wall reuse Roman wall. Possible new defences earthwork built by Danes in C9. William I dammed the Foss and added water defences to castle and city, and may have strengthened Danish earthworks. Stone walls and gates added from late C11-early C12 and continual additions, improvement and repairs made for the next 400 years. Still provided major defence in Civil War. Regular Murage granted from 1251. An iron chain continued the defences across the river Ouse.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence
Chain Tower.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SE599522

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 58149, 536760, 536739, 536775 etc

• Web site links
  • http://www.york.gov.uk/walls/index.html
    http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/towns/york5.html
    http://www.norman-world.com/angleterre/Patrimoine_architectural/Angleterre/Castles/gates/Yorkgate.htm
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/advanced_results.asp?top_term=Defence&period=MEDIEVAL&county=NORTH%20YORKSHIRE&district=YORK
• Books
  • Wilson, B. and Mee, F., 2005, The city walls and castles of York: the pictorial evidence (York: York Archaeological Trust - The archaeology of York supplementary series; 1/3)
    Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p18, 23, 29, 37-42, 48, 50, 52-6, 59-60, 70, 93, 107, 110, 114, 118, 120, 124, 127-8, 131, 133, 135, 137, 139, 141-2, 144-5, 171, 181, 187, 189-90, 192, 197, 215, 222, 234, 237, 239-46, 267, 278-9
    Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p116-9
    Ingham, Bernard, 2001, Bernard Ingham's Yorkshire Castles (Dalesman) p126-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p282-5
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and David Neave, 1995. The Buildings of England: Yorkshire, York and the East Riding (London) p192-4
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p535
    Waterman, R.D., 1980, The Bars and Walls of York: a Survey. An Assessment of their Condition and State of Repair, [City Engineer’s Department]
    Harvey, J., 1975, York. (London: Batsford)
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71 plan p67
    RCHME, 1972. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York, 2: The Defences (London, HMSO) p7-55, 90-175
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p110-15
    Tillott, P.M. (ed), 1961, VCH York, City of York p510-4
    Raine, 1955, Medieval York (London) p.viii-xi, 1-29
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p232-3
    Allcroft, A. Hadrian, 1908, Earthwork of England (London) p415
    Cooper, T.P., 1904, York, the Story of its Walls and Castles (London)
    Clark, G.T., 1884, Medieval Military Architecture in England  (Wyman and Sons) Vol2 p534-48
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p168-9
    Britton, John, 1835, The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain (London) Vol4 p102-3
    Lockwood and Cates, 1834, History and Antiquites of the Fortifications of the City of York (London)
    King, Edward, 1782, Observations on Antient Castles (London) p82-5
• Journal Articles
  • Kemp, R., 1985, ‘The hole in the wall’ Interim: Archaeology in York Vol20.2 p15–17
    Curr, G.G., 1984, ‘Who saved York walls? The roles of William Etty and the Corporation of York' York Historian Vol5 p25–38
    Pearson, N., 1982, ‘City walls tower 11’ Interim: Archaeology in York Vol8.3 p16–20
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p213-4
    1977, Fort Vol4 p85
    (Davison), 1972, Medieval Arcahaeology Vol16 p191-2
    Radley, J., 1972, 'Excavations in the defences of the City of York: an early medieval stone tower and the successive earth ramparts' Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol44 p38-64
    Miller, 1934, Archaeological Journal Vol91 p380-3
    Raine, 1926, Yorks. Phil. Socy p14-16 [on Multiangular Tower)
    Eaton, 1905, The Builder Vol89 p207 [on the Red Tower]
    1889, The Antiquary Vol20 p214-16 [on restoration]
    Clark, G.T., 1874, Archaeological Journal Vol31 p220-61 [Reprinted in 1887, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol6 p1-42 and MMA]
    King, E., 1782, Archaeologia Vol6 p258-61 [reprinted Antient Castles]
• Guidebooks
  • Ward, W.R., 1976 (2 edn), ‘The Walls of York: A Guided Tout (Dalesman)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities30.htm]
    William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/yorkseng.html#yorks21]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p539-40, 542
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p54