Friday, March 8, 2013

King's Manor - York, England - Anglophile Friday


Charles I Coat of Arms,
York, North Yorkshire

 Dieu et mon droit, 'God and my right'

Honi soit qui mal y pense, 'Shame be to him who thinks evil of it.'
This from the Royal Order of the Garter, established by King Edward III in 1348



From HistoryofYork.org:

"The present-day King’s Manor backs on to the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, now in the Museum Gardens behind.  It was originally built in c. 1270 as the Abbot’s house.


"When Henry VIII was appointed Supreme Head of the Church in England in 1534, he began disbanding monastic communities across England, Wales and Ireland.  This process, known as the dissolution of the monasteries, resulted in the closure of St Mary’s Abbey in 1539.  No longer required as the Abbot’s house, the Manor was retained by the Crown and became the headquarters of the Council of the North.  The former Council Chamber is now the refectory café which can be accessed from the first courtyard.

"As the headquarters of the Council of the North, King’s Manor was the official residence of the President of the Council and played host to visiting royalty.  Henry VIII, Charles I and James I all stayed here.  At this time, the former medieval Abbot’s house was enlarged and extended, including the completion of the first courtyard and the addition of a residential wing and service building. Some of the building work from the 1560s onwards reused stone from St Mary’s Abbey.  The coat of arms above the main entrance is that of Charles I – observant visitors may notice that the ‘N’ in the motto ‘Dieu et Mon Droit’ (‘God and my right’) is backwards – a careless stonemason?




"King’s Manor continued as the seat of northern power until the Council of the North was abolished in 1641.

"Subsequently, during the English Civil War (1642-1651), King’s Manor became the Royalist headquarters in York and was the scene of fighting between Parliamentarian forces and Royalist defenders of the city.

"When Charles I was defeated in 1644 by Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces at the Battle of Marston Moor, just outside York, the king lost control of the north of England and King’s Manor surrendered.  This marked the beginning of 200 years of decline[*] for the building and in 1688 King’s Manor was leased out and divided up into apartments; its former glory as the seat of northern power confined to upmarket residences."




This certainly does catch your eye!

* I laughed when I read 'after 200 years of decline.' My husband is working on a hospital that is being torn down after 35 years - because they can't find a use for it.

***


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Have a great weekend, everyone!

 
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 This post may be linked to some of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and  Cure for the Common Monday and Mealtime Monday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Mosaic Monday  and Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and On the Menu Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and   What's in the Gunny Sack and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and Love Bakes Good Cakes and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and  Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

11 comments:

Yenta Mary said...

Oh, I just love the little escape on Fridays, before heading in to work! Such beauty ... we have so little to compare, here in this country. And it always makes me chuckle to see these ancient buildings juxtaposed with modernity, like the bright red bus ... :)

Life Happens said...

These pictures remind me of Downton Abbey. :)

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

I love the history of the buildings!!

MadSnapper said...

i love the BRICKs that surround the coat of arms, they are beautiful and I love the windows and doors and peaks of the roof.

Diane said...

Very interesting! Always liked that crest. I searched around but couldn't come up with an explanation for the backwards N. Someone out there must know!

Marti said...

Wonderful old buildings!

RURAL said...

What stunning architecture....sigh. Love the patina on those old bricks.

Still haven't watched the last episode of DA...saving it for a rainy day.

Jen

Ruth Kelly said...

There is one that I missed while I was in York, no wonder it is one of the places I really want to return to and stay for a few days.

Unknown said...

What a GREAT post Judy!!!
I'll tell you something funny -Once, while visiting a house in Yorkshire - I ranted and raved about living in such an old house- with so much history - and the Woman responded with " well - it's not really THAT old - only about 300 years " - I guess when you're surrounded by buildings that are 1000 years old - 300 years doesn't seem so OLD!
She then said " but you don't have homes that old in North America, right? "
To which I responded of course we do - but they're called Teepees"
LMHO
XOX

Terri D said...

I do love your photos and history lessons on all things English!!

bj said...

What amazing history...and such beautiful buildings..

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