The loss of most of the early records of the city has been compensated
for somewhat by the survival of a built fabric in which there are an
unusually high number of medieval elements, together with a strong
archaeological
programme in recent decades which in particular has thrown important
new light on pre-Conquest York. The cathedral and castle keep were
doubtless the most prominent features on the city skyline, along with
the towers of the medieval parish churches, of which there were about
forty, while the abbey, priories, hospitals, and friaries must also
have been among the more prominent buildings of the city.
The late medieval version of the cathedral was
rebuilt on a scale intended to rival Canterbury's and in a more modern
style than the Norman predecessor. The
building programme
began with the south transept and north transept in the 1220s,
continuing with the chapter
house in the third quarter of the century, followed by the
nave;
rebuilding of the eastern
end of the cathedral, in Perpendicular style, was next, then the
choir received attention, and finally in the fifteenth century
the massive central
tower was erected (replacing an earlier tower that collapsed in 1407).
A number of lesser buildings have also survived from the late medieval
period – both ecclesiastical structures, such as a college of chantry
priests built within the cathedral precinct and ruins of
St. Mary's abbey, and lay structures.
The latter include three guildhalls – one now associated with the
Merchant Adventurers (although not
built by them) and another which came to be used by the city government
(surviving only as a reconstruction of the medieval original) – and a
number of houses in Stonegate and the
Shambles, both of which still have a slight
flavour of medieval streets. One house lying just off Stonegate is now
in process of restoration and refurnishing to represent the
residence of a
late fifteenth century merchant and city leader.
However, other than the cathedral, it is the
medieval defences
for which York is best known today, for a large portion of the walls and
their gates and towers has survived the centuries. Archaeological
investigation of the city walls
has revealed successive layers of defensive works:
the Roman stone wall having been covered over by the
Danish earthworks, which in turn were heightened by the Normans (perhaps
at the time when the castles were built), before being further bolstered
in the thirteenth century to support the medieval stone walls.
References have already been made to York's involvement in various
of the military conflicts of the Middle Ages. After recovering from
the disastrous outcome of its resistance to the Conqueror and later
to Henry II, York was caught up in the struggle between John and his
barons. The king gave York timber from the royal forests to strengthen
its defences; although when the barons attacked it was a bribe rather
than the fortifications that protected the city. By this time there
were already gateways, called "bars",
controlling access through the ditch/bank in each of the four quarters
of the city. Grants of temporary reductions in the
fee farm and in royal
tallages followed in the 1220s,
so that the money freed up could be put towards bolstering the defences.
The castle itself was rebuilt in stone
during the reign of Henry III, and the same period saw most of the city
walls built. Although York remained largely aloof from the next round
of baronial wars in the 1260s, the threat from the Scots was becoming more
serious and encouraged sincere efforts to maintain the defences. When in
1319 a Scottish army defeated an army raised by the Archbishop and
Chancellor (York losing its mayor and many citizens among the dead) and
posed a direct threat to York, the king had to abandon his siege of
Berwick to protect the city. He then ordered further strengthening of
the walls.
Regular grants of murage for the
purpose began in 1251, continuing with few breaks up into the fifteenth
century. Except for in the Walmgate area (east of the Foss), the walls
were completed by the end of the thirteenth century; the Walmgate
ditch/bank does not appear to have received walls until about 1345. At
each point where the walls reached the river, a tower with a postern
gate was built.
Maintenance of the defences continued to be a small but constant
drain
on city finances. In the fifteenth century,
masons were appointed to
work for the city in taking responsibility for keeping the walls in
good repair. From 1449, York was allowed to assess murage at will,
although not all of the revenues collected went towards the intended
purpose.
In 1392 the king authorized the city authorities to acquire lands
worth £100 annually to support upkeep of the bridges. The city
already held property of about this value – listed in a rental of
1376 – of which the single largest source of income came from rents
from stalls on the Foss Bridge; a
large number of houses on or beside the bridge were also held by the
city, and there were numerous shops and other buildings on and around
the Ouse Bridge too providing revenue
for the city. The remainder of the properties from which rents were
due the city were spread across the intra-mural area; a few more were
outside the walls. They included buildings and open land – the latter
for pasturing animals in some cases, and industrial uses in others.
Space was being rented out in some city gates and in the cellar of
the Common Hall; also rented were
some of the towers that were part of the walls, as well as sections
of the city ditch (possibly implying fishing rights there). While some
of the city properties listed in 1376 may have been purchased by the
authorities, many were doubtless obtained through bequests.
The Common Hall referred to was probably a building on or near the
site of the present Guildhall reconstruction. It may have been the
guildhall mentioned in Henry III's charter of 1256, and a gildgarth
mentioned ca.1080 could perhaps have been the merchant gild's base. Much
of the day-to-day administration of the city, however, was carried out
from the Tollbooth and other buildings on the Ouse Bridge. There was a
council chamber in the Ouse Bridge headquarters, but this was likely
for regular meetings of the aldermen and (perhaps) the 24. Full
meetings attracting larger attendance from the community and, later,
the required attendance of the 48 representatives of the lower
council would have required the larger space of the Common Hall, and
partly explains the attention on rebuilding that hall in the
fifteenth century.
History of
medieval York
