York's Hidden History

26/12/2024

How was your festive feasting? Enjoy any roast peacock, wild boar, or conger pie? No? Well you clearly weren’t at a medieval royal wedding banquet then!

King Henry III and the royal family spent Christmas 1251 in York. Christmas Day saw him knight Alexander III of Scotland at York Minster. Henry’s daughter Margaret was then married to the new Scottish king very early the next morning. (Apparently this was to avoid a repeat of the previous evening’s scenes, when members of the Scottish and English parties started drinking, fighting and killing each other.)

Once the matrimony was complete, it was time for the wedding feast. Not sure how many guests they were catering for but hopefully they were hungry, as the father of the bride had apparently ordered:

“one thousand mullets, ten thousand haddocks, two hundred and fifty salmon, five hundred conger eels, thirty pikes, and sixty jacks; and the King’s “Piscator” was directed to catch all the fish he could in the royal fish-ponds, and to keep them alive in some safe stew until they were required.”

And that was just the fish course!

Feeling full yet? Make sure you save space for York’s Hidden Christmas! Our last two walks of 2024 are at 11am on Sat 28th and Mon 30th of December.

25/12/2024

Wishing all a very merry Christmas! Don’t eat too many chocolate apples!

23/12/2024

Christmas Cinema at Saint Saviourgate - final night tonight! The Polar Express at 4pm and It’s A Wonderful Life at 7.

22/12/2024

Ice skates - Jorvik's must-have Yuletide gift for '24!
https://eoforwicproject.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/vikings-on-ice-trying-out-bone-ice-skates-from-york/

(AD 924, obviously)

Alternate title: Fear and Skating in Jorvík With 2023 coming to a close, I’m reminded of the famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote to “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Source: Jo…

21/12/2024

Severus Hill, Midwinter Solstice. Wonder if the Severan myriads had any Saturnalian jaunts up here in the early 3rd century?

19/12/2024

Clifford’s Tower is a feast for the eyes in the midwinter sun. It’s also seen a fair few festive feasts over the years. AND It’s the starting point for our York’s Hidden Christmas walk - 11am on Friday 20th and Monday 23rd of December. Book your tickets on Eventbrite.

17/12/2024

Wow! The looks pretty spectacular!

⭐️⭐️ Very pleased to Welcome ‘The Matchstick Minster’ to its new home at Totally Awesome York this evening.

🍫 Surrounded by Toys that celebrate the wonderful aspects of York. 🚂

🎉Pop in next time you’re in town and appreciate the incredible craftsmanship and dedication.

It’s our Christmas gift to the City and all who have supported our independent Toy Shop this year, thank you! 🎁

12/12/2024

Harkers, Herald, Angel, Xing.

The puns might be fresh out of a cracker, but there's plenty else to enjoy on our York's Hidden Christmas walks. 11am from the foot of Clifford's Tower, on December 20th, 23rd, 28th and 30th:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/yorks-hidden-christmas-tickets-752077011587

06/12/2024

The infamous Railway King, George Hudson, was the first chair of the York & North Midland Railway company. This block of sandstone, built into a brick wall on Lowther Terrace, off Holgate Road, is thought to be the last in situ example of the company’s boundary stones.

As the Y&NMR only existed between 1839 and 1854, the boundary stone is at least 170 years old. It’s rather weathered but you can still just about make out:

Y&NMR
Cos Boundary

Another example is in the collections of the , which is always worth a visit.

05/12/2024

A chocolate orange fountain sounds like something W***y Wonka might have dreamed up, but you can find one in Bayldon Square. It was created for The Chocolate Works development on the site of the former Terry’s factory in South Bank. Sadly it doesn’t use liquid chocolate.

Confectionery features heavily in our York’s Hidden Christmas walk, and though we don’t walk out to see the sculpture, there will be plenty of festive treats to sink your teeth into.

Our walks are at 11am on the 6th, 20th, 23rd, 28th and 30th of December, starting at the foot of Clifford’s Tower. Tickets are available on our Eventbrite page.

28/11/2024

This Saturday, November 30th, Thin Ice Press will be hosting the Frost Fair from 10.30am to 4.30pm: https://www.thinicepress.org/events/frost-fair-2024

Come to St Anthony's Hall, Peasholme Green, for all manner of frosty festive finery!

Join us in the gorgeous surrounds of St Anthony's Hall for a festive fair on Saturday 30th November, featuring print and other craft stalls and seasonal goodness. Save the date!

28/11/2024

Wonderful to see Samuel Parsons’ 1624 map of Dringhouses in the flesh. A thing of beauty and a thing of practical value, as many of the best maps are. Thanks to for bringing it to as part of week.

Great also to then be able to follow the library’s self-guided tour of , and uncover some of its hidden history. Pop into Dringy library and get your copy!

26/11/2024

Marygate Tower was badly damaged during the Siege of York in 1644. Presumably things are now deemed to have calmed down enough for repairs to be carried out safely.

15/11/2024

Very disappointing to see this. The Chalfonts bear - indeed the cul-de-sac as a whole: https://www.yorkc20.york.ac.uk/vignette/one-of-the-finest-examples-of-speculative-housing-in-york-but-who-is-the-bear/ - is one of 20th Century York's most interesting hidden treasures.

11/11/2024

Ghosts on the move.

11/11/2024

The North Eastern Railway Company war memorial was unveiled 100 years ago, in 1924. The screen walls bear the names of 2236 men of the North Eastern Railway who lost their lives in the First World War.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/30905 #

Memorial type: Obelisk

07/11/2024

Found in Riccall Churchyard, as found in most villages accross the country, is a memorial to those lost in the World Wars.
As for many of these memorials, the same surnames occur multiple times, hinting at the losses suffered by local families.
The gravestone for the Pratt Family can be found elsewhere in the churchyard and shows a particularly poignant date of passing for Gunner W. R. (Walter) Pratt. A reminder that the 11th November armistice may have ended the fighting but not the suffering.