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Summary

Parent record for City Walls between Baille Hill and Barker Tower.

This stretch of Wall looks comparatively modern and has
certainly been rebuilt many times. Many of the most dramatic
changes were due to the coming and expansion of the railway
– a pair of arches were made in the Walls north of Tofts Tower
to give access to the original York railway station, and its goods
facilities, and two road arches were installed at the expense of
Tower 18 as part of the development of the new railway station
outside the Walls. Within the ramparts, air raid shelters were
introduced during the Second World War (the one behind the
War Memorial, intended for railway staff, still exists). This is one of the few stretches of wall
walk that comes down to pavement level (partly a result of the
construction of the approach road of Lendal Bridge (1860-63)).
This section terminates with the postern, rebuilt to allow easy
access to the railway coal yards outside the Walls. The two
railway arches spanning Station Avenue and Station Rise were
stabilised in 2004-05 and interpretation panels installed.
Conservation Management Plan 2021

Monument Type(s)

• GATE (Early C12, Medieval - 1100 AD to 1132 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1250-1260, Medieval - 1250 AD to 1260 AD)
• TOWER (Early C14, Medieval - 1300 AD to 1332 AD)
• TOWER (1330-1340, Medieval - 1330 AD to 1340 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1330-1340, Medieval - 1330 AD to 1340 AD)
• TOWN GATE (Mid C14, Medieval - 1333 AD to 1366 AD)
• TOWER (C17, Post Medieval to Late 17th Century - 1600 AD to 1699 AD)
• TOWER (1645, Mid 17th Century - 1645 AD to 1645 AD)
• COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENT (1727, Early 18th Century - 1727 AD to 1727 AD)
• PLAQUE (1727, Early 18th Century - 1727 AD to 1727 AD)
• BARBICAN (1826, Early 19th Century - 1826 AD to 1826 AD)
• ARCH (1827, Early 19th Century - 1827 AD to 1827 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1827, Early 19th Century - 1827 AD to 1827 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1831-1832, Early 19th Century - 1831 AD to 1832 AD)
• DATE STONE (1836, Mid 19th Century - 1836 AD to 1836 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1838, Mid 19th Century - 1838 AD to 1838 AD)
• ARCH BRIDGE (Mid 19th Century - 1839 AD to 1839 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1839, Mid 19th Century - 1839 AD to 1839 AD)
• POSTERN (1840, Mid 19th Century - 1840 AD to 1840 AD)
• TOWER (1840, Mid 19th Century - 1840 AD to 1840 AD)
• ARCH BRIDGE (Mid 19th Century - 1845 AD to 1845 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1845, Mid 19th Century - 1845 AD to 1845 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1863, Mid 19th Century - 1863 AD to 1863 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1864, Mid 19th Century - 1864 AD to 1864 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1874, Late 19th Century - 1874 AD to 1874 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1876, Late 19th Century - 1876 AD to 1876 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1877, Late 19th Century - 1877 AD to 1877 AD)
• TOWER (1878, Late 19th Century - 1878 AD to 1878 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1952, 20th Century - 1952 AD to 1952 AD)
• TOWN WALL (1965, 20th Century - 1965 AD to 1965 AD)
• TOWN GATE (1968, 20th Century - 1968 AD to 1968 AD)
• TOWER (1970, 20th Century - 1970 AD to 1970 AD)

Protected Status

• Listed Building
• Scheduled Monument
• Area of Archaeological Importance
• Conservation Area

Full description

Includes: Barker Tower and North Street Postern NORTH STREET. Includes: Victoria Bar NUNNERY LANE. Includes: Micklegate Bar MICKLEGATE. Defensive walls, towers, gates and gatehouses between Baile Hill and Barker Tower including Baile Hill Tower, Bitch-daughter Tower and 15 intermediate towers, in addition to the 3 main towers. Walls 1250-60 and 1330-40; major restoration of 1831-32. Walls breached for railway arches in 1839, 1845, 1874 and 1876, latter rebuilt 1965. Baile Hill Tower 1878 when walls adjacent to Skeldergate Bridge (qv) were demolished. Bitch-daughter Tower 1330-40, remodelled 1645. Victoria Bar constructed 1838, foot arches added 1864 and 1877. Micklegate Bar mid C14 incorporating early C12 gate; barbican removed 1826, inner side remodelled by Peter Atkinson jnr. 1827; foot arches 1827 and 1863; figures carved in 1950 by R Ridley; restoration and repairs of 1952 and 1968. North Street Postern rebuilt 1840. Barker Tower early C14, re-roofed in C17, altered 1840, restored 1970. All structures of magnesian limestone ashlar except for walkway partly carried on wall of orange-brown brick and Victoria Bar steps of orange brick with stone treads and cast-iron balustrade and handrail. Barker Tower has plain tiled conical roof with overhanging eaves.
EXTERIOR: wall strengthened by squat weathered buttresses on high bases. Wallwalk paved with stone flags edged with chamfered coping stones; parapet part crenellated, part plain and pierced by musket loops, with sloped coping. Towers are semicircular, rectangular or half-hexagonal, on battered, weathered and double chamfered plinths; some have cruciform slits with or without oillets, some chamfered doorways with shouldered or flat lintels, others no openings; crenellated parapets are unpierced. Baile Hill Tower octagonal on plan; Bitch-daughter Tower irregular circle on plan; Barker Tower circular on plan.
Baile Hill Tower: 2 storeys with embattled parapet. Flight of
steps to wallwalk passes through tower from foot of rampart, through arched doorway with stilted 2-centred head. Other openings are 3 slit lights in chamfered openings and 2 arrow slits with oillets, one blocked.
Victoria Bar: semicircular carriage arch of 2 chamfered orders flanked by single chamfered pedestrian arches. Incised stone above central arch reads: Victoria Bar erected by Public Subscription under the direction of The City Commissioners AD1836 George Hudson Esq Lord Mayor.
Micklegate Bar: 4-storey 3-bay front: outer bays in form of pilaster buttresses with battered bases rising into 2-storey embattled bartizans with cruciform arrow slits. Semicircular carriage arch incorporating portcullis slot, of 2 stepped orders of gritstone voussoirs. First stage has narrow vertical light over arch: in buttresses shoulder-headed doorways originally to barbican walkway, all in chamfered openings. Second stage has similar central light flanked by cruciform arrow slits with oillets. Third floor has two vertical lights. Bartizans joined by embattled parapet over lion's head gargoyle in centre: some merlons pierced by cruciform slits. Heraldry includes carved plaque commemorating restoration of 1727, with shield of arms of Lord Mayor Sir John Lister Kaye; two shields of the Arms of the City of York: the Plantagenet Royal Arms beneath a crested helm. Inner side: carriage arch as on outer side. Each upper storey has two square-headed windows of two pointed lights in chamfered surrounds. Corbel course beneath plain parapet steps up over top floor windows. Shield of Tudor Royal Arms between first floor windows. INTERIOR: portcullis remains are stored on the first floor.
North Street Postern: rebuilt length of wall contains 4-centred carriage arch between pointed side arches of gritstone voussoirs, all chamfered.
Barker Tower: 2 storeys on battered base: conical roof broken by barge- boarded gable with 1-light attic window in quoined opening. Ground floor door beneath outside stairs to first floor has one chamfered jamb with run-out stop. Other openings are vestigial cruciform arrow slits with oillets and two inserted 1-pane windows. First floor doorway has plain lintel. Embrasures of original embattled parapet converted to 1-pane windows by altered roof: two 2x6-pane Yorkshire sashes inserted in C18. INTERIOR: original ground floor openings are splayed with shouldered rere-arches recessed beneath 2-centred arches: 3 survive, 2 altered. (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York: The Defences: HMSO: 1972-: 90-107).
Listing NGR: SE5968351630

Derived from English Heritage LB download dated: 22/08/2005

City of York Council, 1991, 1991 City Walls Structural Survey (Unpublished document). SYO2265.

YAT, 1996, York City Walls, Chainage 492- 587 (Unpublished document). SYO706.

YAT, 2004, York City Walls Chainage 352-400 (inc Sadler Tower) (Unpublished document). SYO850.

YAT, 2004, York City Walls Chainage 822-906 (Unpublished document). SYO537.

YAT, 2004, York City Walls Chainage 949-1000 Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SYO944.

PLB, 2004, York City Walls Conservation Management Plan (Unpublished document). SYO1733.

PLB, 2004, York City Walls Interpretation and Access (Unpublished document). SYO1734.

YAT, 2009, MICKLEGATE BAR, YORK INTERNAL STAIRCASES REPORT (Unpublished document). SYO1188.

Dr Bill Fawcett, John A Ives and Alison Sinclair, 2013, YORK CENTRAL AUDIT OF HERITAGE ASSETS,NOVEMBER 2013 (Report). SYO1457.

York Archaeological Trust, 2017, York Station and Queen St Bridge DBA (Unpublished document). SYO2053.

Donald Insall Associates, 2021, York City Walls Conservation Management Plan (Unpublished document). SYO2629.

Sources and further reading

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