York's Ancient & Mighty Defences

Highlights from York's 2.5 miles of ancient stone boundaries

York’s walls are spectacular. To live within their boundaries is something to brag about. There’s also no better way to see York than by walking its walls – affording views across most parts of the city. Few sights in York are lovelier than glimpsing the Minster through trees in Spring on the stretch of wall between Monk Bar and Bootham Bar.

They were first built by the Romans and some remains, such as the Multangular Tower, can still be seen. Successive settlement by Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans saw the walls evolve: earth ramparts were expanded and new stretches added. Much of what remains is medieval, built for protection against Scottish raiders. The city now has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England – roughly 2.5 miles in total.

York is notorious as the city where the streets are called gates and the gates are called bars. The former reveals York’s Viking heritage: Old Norse gata means 'street'. The latter, the term ‘bars’, describes the gateways through the city’s defences, and has its origins in the bars, or simple gates, which were used to block the gateways to keep people out. Originally the bars were made of simple stone but, over the years, they became increasingly more elaborate and complex. The bars also acted as control points and toll booths. People coming to York who were not residents or members of the various guilds had to pay tolls on items brought into the city. The gates were normally locked at 9pm and the keys were kept by the Mayor. The gates were not unlocked until 4am.

This tour of York’s walls begins at York Castle and perambulates anti-clockwise around the city. An accompanying map highlights the location of each feature.