York castle when was it built

S Early Norman Castles of the British Isles. Butler, L Clifford's Tower and the Castles of York. English Heritage, London. Creighton, O. H Equinox, Bristol. Dean, G Medieval York. The History Press, Stroud. Douglas, D. C and Greeaway, G. W ed English Historical Documents Vol 2 Routledge, London. Historic England Baile Hill, List Entry Historic England, London. Clifford's Tower, List Entry Johnson, P Bloomsbury, London. King, C.

J Castellarium anglicanum: an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Kraus International Publications. Salter, M The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire.

Folly Publications. Williams, A and Martin, G. Domesday Book: A Complete Translation. Viking, London. Some segments of the Castle Bailey curtain wall are also visible. At Baile Hill only the heavily overgrown motte is visible. Any visit to York should be combined with a walk around the largely complete albeit extensively re-modelled city walls. York Castle Layout. The first castle was well sited between the Rivers Foss and Ouse. At the floor level three vertical arrow slits remain; they are under shouldered heads internally set in arched embrasures 6 ft.

An upper floor has been removed, and the arrow slits, housings for wooden hoardings, and crenellated parapet, visible in Place's drawings, have been replaced by a parapet walk on two levels with broad embrasures. In the N. The South-east Tower NG The original ground-floor level was 2 ft. There are five cruciform arrow slits, arranged on two levels, under shouldered heads internally and formerly set in arched embrasures, most of which have been cut away. The Bailey Wall Pls. A wall walk has brick parapets to the E.

Straight joints and changes in walling reveal the sites of the S. Gate and of a tower 80 ft. The length of wall between the S. A mediaeval arched doorway in the angle of the wall and the Assize Courts was renewed at this time. The Debtors' Prison Pls. Stone from the ruinous parts of the castle and the King's Manor was granted for the purpose in The curved pediments on the fronts of the wings are an unusual motif, paralleled earlier in England though in more conventional form at Robert Hooke's Bethlehem Hospital, London —6 , and more closely, and contemporaneously, on Vanbrugh's King William Block at the Royal Hospital, Greenwich — The design has affinities with work by Wren and Vanbrugh, and the building is notable as an early example in the English baroque style.

The accommodation as a prison was admired by Defoe and Howard but criticised by Gurney in Hargrove gives a full description of the internal arrangements in Details of the prison arrangements and life there as experienced by prisoners can be found in James Montgomery's poems ' Prison Amusements ', written in , and in an anonymous account of One Night spent in the Condemned Hole, York Castle, in April The system in force after the rebuilding and extension is summarised in Rules and Regulations for the Government of York Castle The building is described as if facing due N.

The main E. The N. The main entrances were originally at first-floor level in the N. The area between the wings was formerly enclosed by railings to provide an exercise yard for debtors. The main entrance is now central, on the ground floor. The basement on all sides is given an appearance of strength by rusticated stone facing rising from a plinth to a bold ashlar band at first-floor level, which thus forms the podium to the colossal order above.

Only the N. RomanDoric pilasters rise through the two main storeys to support a continuous entablature and a parapet. The coupled pilasters flanking the centre bay are rusticated and have a full Doric entablature; for the rest, the pilasters and entablature are plain.

The parapet returns in shallow pedestal form above the pilasters except over the three middle bays of the first of each wing where it provides the abutment and springing for a curved pedimental feature of impressive size. The windows generally are rectangular, with key-blocks, and fitted with timber mullioned-and-transomed, or mullioned, frames.

Only the second-floor window in the central bay is round-headed since it occupies the upper part of a tall rusticated wall-arch framed between the coupled pilasters.

Above the parapet over the central bay rises the clock tower and crowning cupola Pl. The tower of ashlar, has a moulded surround to the square clock face and is flanked by squat scrolls. The cupola, of timber, is octagonal and with round-headed arches in each face; the dome is lead-covered and has a ball-finial and weather-vane. The original clock, made in by John Terry of York, had a single hand replaced by the present pair in , when a new escapement was provided.

Subsequent to completion of the building the returns of the pilasters in the re-entrant angles have been cut away, and in the pedimental features were dismantled and rebuilt with concrete-beam reinforcement.

The basement has a chamfered plinth and a simple band at the level of the window sills. A projecting plat band at first-floor level has been trimmed back. Dowel holes indicate the position of the iron gratings which covered the condemned prisoners' exercise yard at the E.

The basement windows are square with heavy iron stanchions, and the nine first-floor windows have simple architraves with key-blocks to the flat arches, moulded sills, and timber casements. The entablature has a moulded cornice and plain frieze; the brick parapet above has an ashlar capping.

There are original lead waterheads and down pipes, the former of inverted bell form. The W. An external stairway, now removed, once led to a doorway near the S. The Half Moon Yard or Unshackling Court adjoining this side, once used for prisoners awaiting transportation, was roofed over in to form an extension to the Museum. There are several graffiti by prisoners on either side of the doorway from the W. The E. A rectangular central bay window at basement level lights the former Governor's parlour.

At second-floor level there is a moulded band, and below the windows, which have ashlar key-blocks and architraves, are stone aprons with sunk panels.

Inside, the ground floor has been modified to adapt it for warders' quarters and then a museum. Pairs of adjacent cells have consequently been combined and a cross passage made in the W. A new flight of stairs in the central room of the main range is now the principal approach to the upper floors. The cells have brick vaulted ceilings and many retain their iron-bound doors. The larger cell in the S. There is a simple fireplace in its N. The iron grilles cutting off the wings remain in the main corridors.

It has a closed string with heavy turned balusters and moulded oak handrail. There are graffiti in the cells of the W. On the wall at the E. These include a representation of a man with a dog shooting at a pheasant in a tree with the words 'Joseph Ray Aged 23, ' and another reading 'F.

On the first floor the principal feature is a staircase in the centre of the main range resembling that in the E. The Governor's parlour and under-gaoler's room in the E. The site of the chapel in the W. The chapel originally rose through the first and second floors and could be reached by a passage and stairs from the court between the wings: the moulded plaster cornice around its walls is visible in rooms at second-floor level. It was described as 'handsome and beautiful The altar was against the W.

On the second floor the central staircase continues in a simpler form. The corridor in the main E. The hipped lead roofs were extensively restored in Fittings : The communion plate provided for the prison chapel consisted in of a large chalice, a lesser chalice with cover, a large and a small salver, all of silver, and a pewter flagon. Hilda's church, Tang Hall, York, a cup with cover paten and a salver Pl. Also with these is a 19th-century flagon from the castle chapel.

Another cup, dated , was made in by John Thompson of York, but had disappeared by The 'King's Plate' was a collection of fetters and weapons once exhibited in the jailer's office at the prison and later, in part, at the Yorkshire Museum. The clock works, housed in a room at the base of the turret and reached by an original ladder, have been much altered. Newey in The bell in the octagonal turret above is dated The Assize Courts Pls. The roofs are covered with Westmorland and some Welsh slates.

This Court House or 'Basilica' was erected in —7 to designs by John Carr which were prepared as early as In Peter Atkinson senior added larger galleries in the Courts and access staircases at the outer ends of the front lobbies. Peter Atkinson junior and his partner Matthew Philips remodelled rooms on the W.

Atkinson and his later partner R. After P. Andrews remodelled galleries in the Crown Court and designed staircases and a stone screen in the entrance hall. The podium and lower flight of steps on the main front were added at about this time drawings in Brierley collection.

Gould and C. A two-storey range at the N. Ward, Ruddick, and Ward. The building is a fine example of Carr's work, in his home city. All along the front is a plain square plinth, a string with guilloche ornament between the storeys, and an entablature with a modillion-cornice and plain frieze.

The parapet, in part pierced and balustraded, has a moulded capping. In the pediment above the portico is a finely carved wreath with fasces and a staff crossed in saltire; on the end of the staff is a cap of liberty.

On the apex of the pediment stands a figure of Justice with scales and spear 'Mother Justice tall and thin, Who never yet hath ventured in' ; fn. The portico, approached up two broad flights of stone steps, has in the recessed back wall three round-headed wall-arches, each with a moulded architrave to the arch and moulded imposts; the central archway contains a two-leaf door below a fanlight, and both the others contain sash windows.

Over them and above the string with guilloche enrichment are three round windows each with a moulded architrave and containing radial glazing. The lower windows of the plain flanking bays are round-headed and the upper ones square.

The outermost columniated bays have windows resembling those in the portico and in the centre of the parapet over each is a broad pedestal-block with a recessed panel carved with a garland and supporting a large urn.

The comparatively plain single-storey annexes on each end are additions, of to the S. The roofs are of Westmorland slate with lead flashing, and the simple conical glazed cupola over each Court is original. The high basement has a few heavily barred windows; there are bands at sill level of both ground and first-floor windows and a moulded stone cornice.

The windows have moulded architraves, cornices, and sills, these last of the taller lower windows being supported by two consoles; all these elaborations are in cement.

A block of projecting S. Above these windows the wall is similar to that of the rest of the W. The roof, hipped to the S. Inside, the entrance hall and the two Courts on the ground or main floor rise through the full height of the building.

The Entrance Hall has an enriched dentilcornice with a frieze decorated with lions' heads set on marigolds between triglyphs. A glazed internal porch has been added here. The appearance of the hall has been encumbered by the stone screen to the W. The screen has a central square-headed opening framed by pilasters below a pair of consoles and flanked by round-headed windows.

The staircases have moulded rails and castiron balusters. The two Courts are of similar rectangular plan but differ in detail. The Civil Court on the N. Over the N. Two are freestanding and the rest together with four in the angles outside the dome are engaged. The dome Pl. In each spandrel of the ceiling is a medallion consisting of a central marigold with fluting radiating to a band of guilloche. The present colour scheme of the plasterwork in pink and white is by Cecil Ward.

The walls are wainscotted with oak fielded panels below a fluted frieze and enriched cornice. Some panels are original, but in the N. The added galleries with balustrades have been formed in rooms and corridors of the original building and the intervening walls pierced by segmental arches.

The Crown Court Pl. The cast-iron railings to the galleries on three sides of the Court, decorated with fasces and lions' masks, are of — The oak panelling and much of the seating is original although rearranged; the royal arms over the Judge's seat of c. Of the other rooms on this floor the Evidence Room at the centre of the W. In the basement, cell doors said to come from the Debtors' Prison have feeding hatches and cast-iron plates by C.

The Female Prison Pl. Tenders for a new building to replace the Moothall were invited in March The central part of the building was erected in —3 under the direction of John Carr; its front matches that of the Assize Courts opposite. As at the Assize Courts, the podium and lower flight of steps were added between and In the prison was bought by York Corporation and drastically modified to house the Kirk Collections of bygones.

It was opened as the Castle Museum in The Victorian prison was demolished almost immediately and no trace of it is visible today.

It still has holding cells and people accused of serious crimes are still tried there, as they have been for almost 1, years. Search Search.

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