Anglophile Friday - York, From the Wall

I had to scroll back through several posts to make sure that I hadn't already shown you all of these photos. I can't find them, so we'll proceed, and if you've already seen them, you can just quietly move on.

All of these photos were taken from the old Roman Wall in York. It is fun to walk the wall to see what's happening, and to see York Minster from several different vantage points.


From Wikipedia: "Roman walls. The original walls were built around 71 AD, when the Romans erected a fort (castra) occupying about 50 acres or 21.5 hectares near the banks of the River Ouse. The rectangle of walls was built as part of the fort's defences.

"York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Walls, the Bar Walls and the Roman walls (though this last is a misnomer as very little of the extant stonework is of Roman origin, and the course of the wall has been substantially altered since Roman times)."

Look at all those flues!

 What a life!
I wonder if he appreciates living in the shadow of York Minster.

If you look closely, you can see the Husky in the bottom right photo too.
And if you don't think it's a Husky, you can let me know.

Mowing the wall - remote control
Brilliant idea!

I'm pretty sure that I'd never get tired of living in that city.

I have several other Cranberry Morning posts devoted to York and particularly to York Minster, so if you think you haven't already reached a saturation point with York Minster and would like to see and learn more, feel free to type 'York' in the search bar on my sidebar. :-)

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Lendal Bridge, York, England, Anglophile Friday

 Lendal Tower (left)

which has been standing since about 1300

Bridges seem to fascinate me, and it appears, according to my photo files, that I took several photos of this particular bridge in York, England, the Lendal Bridge over the River Ouse (pronounced 'ooze,' or perhaps it rhymes with 'youse,' a word you might find in the NE part of the country.)  It flows SSE through York and into the Humber before emptying into the North Sea. Below is a short history of the bridge, stolen from another website, but when hunting for the history, I found that others had stolen it too, so I'm not sure of the actual origin of the information.

If I have labeled anything incorrectly, please have mercy because I'm only an American tourist, after all - and feel free to kindly correct me.

From historyofyork.org.uk:

1861AD - 1863AD

"Lendal Bridge was the second of the three modern road bridges built over the River Ouse at York (the first being Ouse Bridge which has existed since as early as the ninth century).

"The bridge replaced an earlier ferry service, which had operated from Barker Tower, on the south-west bank, to Lendal Tower. The advent of the railways in York in the first half of the nineteenth century made the ferry service busier than ever with passengers wanting to cross the river going to and from York’s original railway station in Tanner Row.

 Barker Tower

"This river-side tower was built in the 14th century. 

 It was positioned at the boundary of the medieval 

city-centre and, in conjunction with Lendal Tower 

  on the opposite bank, was used to control 

river traffic entering the city. 

 A great iron chain was stretched across the river 

between the two towers 

and boatmen had to pay a toll to cross it.  

The chain also served as a defence for the city." 

 "A bridge to replace the Lendal ferry service was first suggested in 1838 but responsibility for its construction became a point of controversy between the Corporation of York and the railway companies. After much debate, the Lendal Bridge and York Improvement Act was finally passed in 1860 and the foundation stone of the original bridge, designed by William Dredge, was laid later that year.

Barker Tower, now 'The Perky Peacock'

"Then disaster struck. In 1861 the original bridge collapsed during construction, killing five men. The bridge was redesigned and finally opened in 1863. The new architect, brought in after the failed first attempt, was Thomas Page, who also designed Skeldergate Bridge in York and Westminster Bridge in London.

 Looking Northeast

"Lendal Bridge is an iron bridge with details in the Gothic style popular in Victorian England. The ornate parapet of the bridge features the white rose of York, the crossed keys of the Diocese of York and the lions of England. Additional ironwork includes York’s coat of arms and the initials V & A, representing Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

 York's Coat of Arms

plus

Initials V&A (for Victoria & Albert)

 View from the Bridge

"The new bridge put the ferryman out of business. Records show that he received compensation of 15 pounds and a horse and cart.

Now 'Circles Cafe'

"A toll was charged to cross the new bridge to help pay for its construction. The charge was half a penny for foot passengers, a penny for animals and twopence for horse-drawn vehicles. The two small toll-houses can still be seen today, now housing cafés. The last toll was charged in 1894."

 ***

 The charge at the toll house is considerably more these days. 

***

Also, I was curious about the name origin. From the ever-reliable Wikipedia is the following information, for what it's worth:

"The origin of the name is uncertain. The name was first recorded in about 780 as Usa. It has been speculated that the name is of Celtic origin, from an assumed word udso-, assumed to be derived from the Indo-European root wed-, meaning "water". Other sources prefer a pre-Celtic or pre-Indo European origin.^"

This post is linked to

Mosaic Monday

and

Amaze Me Monday

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York Minster Exterior, Anglophile Friday

South

I wonder if anyone ever really gets over York Minster, once they've visited. It's an amazing work.  So as I was scrolling through my [ever-aging] photos, I decided to post a few photos of the exterior of this great Cathedral today, and post a few interior shots next week. This has been done before, but it was about three years ago -  and since I never tire of them, I thought maybe you could enjoy them too. I hope so.

South

 West front
Okay, look at those red arrows, and then find the close-ups in the two photos below.

I have spent far too much time today trying to find out who the figures represent in the statues above and the one below. Everything I'm finding simply calls them 'stone carvings.' Drives me crazy.  I did find one source that said there was a 'seated figure' holding a church above the east door, but this is on the west front, so I don't know. I guess they're keeping it a big secret. There is so much intricate stone carving on this building it's just incredible.

So here's today's puzzle: I think the photos above are of the west front of York Minster. However, I found the following information which sounds very much like it describes the figure above:

From Yorkminster.org:

'One of the mysteries of the East Front is what has become known as the ‘seated figure’. It’s a large carved human figure – now badly worn with the ravages of time - obviously an integral part of the East Front stonework and highly significant for the medieval builders. The figure has one hand raised in blessing and in the other hand is holding something. But who is the figure? What does this piece of stone represent?

'The academics have their views. One is that the figure is a representation of St Peter, the Apostle to whom the Minster is dedicated. Another suggests that he is one of the medieval archbishops. There are points to be made on both sides, but wherever the truth might lie, an important practical question remains: ‘what are we to do about it?’ 

'We’ve removed the badly worn stone and have decided that we will replace the figure with a piece of 21st century craftsmanship – a new seated figure, to take the place of the old. But who will it be? Decisions have had to be made, and the die has been cast in favour of St Peter.'

That description certainly sounds like this guy, doesn't it. But when I do a Google image search on the west front of the minster, I get photos like the ones I'm showing  you here. So if anyone has a definitive answer, I'd be happy to hear it.

Zoomed out a tad

Photo Source

 South Transept with Rose Window

East
Photo Credit

From Wikipedia:

'York has had a verifiable Christian presence from the fourth century. However there is circumstantial evidence pointing to much earlier Christian involvement. According to Bede missionaries were sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the chieftain Lucius of Britain in AD 180 to settle controverted points of differences as to Eastern and Western ceremonials which were disturbing the church. Tradition speaks of 28 British bishops, one for each of the greater British cities, over whom presided the Archbishops of London, York and Caerleon-on-Usk.

'The first recorded church on the site was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. Moves toward a more substantial building began in the 630s. A stone structure was completed in 637 by Oswald and was dedicated to Saint Peter. The church soon fell into disrepair and was dilapidated by 670 when Saint Wilfrid ascended to the see of York. He repaired and renewed the structure. The attached school and library were established and by the 8th century were some of the most substantial in northern Europe.'   READ MORE...

I hope you get to visit York Minster some day - and I hope I get to visit it again too...someday.

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This post is linked to

inSPIRED Sunday

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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 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

Anglophile Friday - England Red

 The  British Museum - London

You'll probably realize that I'm getting desperate to find a theme for new Anglophile Friday posts. It's not easy, considering the fact that I've posted most of my photos already. So many of them are now doing re-runs as part of other themes. Thus, although you may have seen some of these, you will not have seen all of them, and never before have they been posted together as 'England Red.'

One thing that's always bothered me about the above photo is that you can actually see those two people in the foreground, real people who are here on my blog. Isn't that creepy, when you think about it? It's like I'm stalking them online!

 Phone Box in Cambridge

And every time I see that sign, I first think it says 'ESTUARY' until I remember that it actually is 'RESTAURANT.' And then, of course, Estuary reminds me of a song that Hugh Laurie sang. (Crazy how this mind works.)

My favorite red door  - in Kettlewell

Bike-in at Littlefairs in Hawes

Double Luck Takeaway - in Ripon

You can see Ripon Cathedral at the end of the street.

Hawling - in the Cotswolds

A little store in Muker

Narrowboat on the canal - Skipton

Someday...

Near Bolton Abbey

Okay, I know. I'm really smitten with phone boxes and post boxes!

in York

 - in Kettlewell

- in stark contrast to the dignified beauty of York Minster

(I'll put York Minster in another post)

the gaudy York sightseeing bus!

Last, but not least...

My very favorite 'red' England photo

Kettlewell

You really notice bits of color when most everything else is made of stone.

Am I complaining?? NO.  The stone is beautiful!

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 This post is linked to:
Photo Friday 
and
Saturday Nite Special
and
Serenity Saturday 

Have a great weekend, everyone!