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See the history lying in the shadow of York Minster
Visitors to York rightly focus on the grandeur of the Minster, but all around it are wonderful places to interest and delight you. From Roman columns to rare medieval houses that have survived all that time has thrown at them. Also seen is a Guild house, a unique Dutch brick building and the ancient Minster Library with its “evil” bible. Our aim is to make you familiar with all that has gone on around the Minster including the most fascinating ghost story you will have ever come across. We hope you enjoy this journey through the life and times of all that falls under the shadow of the Minster.
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Each walk delivers a unique and fascinating user experience. Through Tourist Walks’ self guided tour application you can explore the hidden gems created by local experts. For people wanting to explore the neighbourhood and experience the local culture, we provide a unique experience of exploring the city using GPS guided audio tours. The App is FREE, and all the walk summaries are FREE, each walk is individually priced and you can buy all the walks for a city at a discounted price.
Full Audio Visual Commentary
Tourist Walks is an application that can give you the freedom to explore the famous walks at your own discretion. We have created a full audio-visual self-guided experience that gives you the confidence to explore and discover the stories of various cities on your own.
Visit the Best Tourist Sites & Explore Them
Get a list of all the tourist sites you can visit. The Tourist Walks application will guide you to your next destination because every journey starts with a single step.
GPS and Multilingual Audio and Text Guidance
Even if you don’t understand the local language of the city you are visiting, Don’t worry. Audio guided walks have multilingual text assistance that will guide you in your native language.
Start/Stop/Rewind
/Restart Go at Your Own Pace
Tourist Walks’ audios are narrated by professionals who will keep you entertained while you are walking your way to the next destination. We help you discover the city around you in a more impressive way.
Download the Walk App & Use Offline. No Mobile Data Required.
It is always frustrating when you wish to travel somewhere but your mobile phone service is out-of-order. Don’t worry! Tourist Walks comes with an offline version of built-in maps you might need, even without internet access.
Find the amazing history lying under the shadow of York Minster
- Tour Name - In the Shadow of the Minster
- Tour Location - York
- No. of Attractions - #18
- Tour Starting Point - Deangate
- Tour Ending Point - Statue of Minerva
- Attraction Points -
- Deangate
- Minster Stoneyard
- St Williams College
- Lady Row
- Holy Trinity Gooodramgate
- The Royal Oak Pub
- Merchant Taylors
- The Dutch House
- Grays Court
- The Treasurers House
- The Minster Library
- The Theatre Royal
- Bootham Bar
- The Hole in the Wall Pub
- Petergate House
- St Michael Le Belfrey
- The Guy Fawkes Hotel
- The Statue of Minerva
Indulge in History on this Shadow of the Minster Walking Tour
Deangate
The area where you stand is known as Deangate. It stands directly on top of what was the Roman “BASILICA”. This stone roman column was recovered from the foundations of the Minster, and was once part of the Roman “BASILICA”. of which a representation is in our picture. The “BASILICA”. was a fundamental element of roman culture. It was used as a public building, as a meeting place for administration, as a law court, and as a marketplace. Find out more on our tour. There is also the statue of the 4th Century Roman Emperor Constantine, crowned in York in the year 306. He became Emperor when his father Constantius died, also in York, and he went on to earn the name of Constantine The Great. He united the Empire, made Christianity the state religion and even invented Christmas. A great man indeed.
Minster Stoneyard
This is the Minster Stoneyard. An important place as the work that goes on here ensures the survival of all the beautiful Stonework that characterizes the Minster. Generations of craftsmen have helped the Minster recover from four fires as well as centuries of weathering. This was all achieved using the same tools as was used in medieval times. The Stoneyard regularly has open days and sometimes auctions are held for Minster Stone, where you can bid for a piece of history.
St Williams College
St Williams College was built in the 15th Century to house chantry priests who were specifically employed to pray for the departed souls of their benefactors. Apparently they were often rowdy and were put here to be near the watchful eyes of Minster staff. Over the centuries the building has changed ownership and usage many times; it was a Royal Printing Press during the English Civil War, it has been divided into apartments, and it has also been a private house undergoing several changes and rebuilds. In the 1800s this beautiful medieval building contained nothing more than slum dwellings. Find out more on our tour.
Lady Row
This is “OUR LADY’s ROW” or as its often known “LADY ROW”. These cottages date from the early 14th Century and are England’s earliest examples of houses with over hanging jetties where the upper floor is wider than the lower one. This was a common style in medieval times as taxes were only paid on space occupied by the ground floor it is also thought to be the origin of the English phrase “eves dropping” where snoopers stand under the over-hang or “eves” to listen to the conversations inside. There were originally 11 cottages but now there are only 7. They were built in the church yard of Holy Trinity Church, which is behind them, to provide rental income for the Church.
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Holy Trinity Goodramgate
Holy Trinity” – Goodramgate is truly a hidden treasure. It stands in a small, secluded, leafy churchyard, with the Minster towering behind, tucked away behind one of York’s busiest shopping streets. The church building you see dates mainly from the 15th century, but has features from its foundation in the 12th century right up to the 19th century. Now make your way inside the Church. Find out more on our tour.
The Royal Oak Pub
The Royal Oak Pub dates back to the 17th Century. It’s one of York’s oldest pubs and is supposed to be haunted by several ghosts. These include an old woman in the front bar, children playing by the fire; a tall, gaunt man in the back room and two female ghosts, one on the first floor called Alice and one in the flat above the pub called Mary.
Merchant Taylors
“Merchant Taylors” one of York’s two remaining Guild Halls. The other one we will visit on our Docks Castle and Dick Turpin Walk. The “Merchant Taylors” is one of only three Guilds to have existed, without a break, since medieval times. The Guild was first mentioned in the 13th Century and the Hall itself dates back to at least the end of the 14th Century. The size of it and its oak beamed roof would have tested the skills the medieval builders to their limit, but it is still here, a real testament to their workmanship. You can still join the Guild of Merchant Taylors, if someone invites you! Find out more on our tour
The Dutch House
“The Dutch House” which is believed to be the oldest brick built house in York. This town house was built in 1648 and is now a luxury vacation accommodation for the history loving visitor.
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Grays Court
“Grays Court” is regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings in York. It is a working Hotel and restaurant and so it is usually open. It also has an extensive history. It is believed to be the oldest continuously occupied house in Britain. It was commissioned in 1080 by the first Norman Archbishop of York Thomas of Bayeux. It was home to the treasures of the Minster before “Treasurers House” was built, the back of which is on your left. It is open for non residents to go in and take refreshments and visit the beautiful gardens at the back, which we would recommend. You pay a little bit more, but what a location! Find out more on our tour.
Treasurers House
The house, as the name suggests, was built for the controller of the Minster finances and was later home to a number of archbishops. Its most well known owner was the wealthy industrialist Frank Green. He bought it in 1897 with a view to renovating it so he could best display his large collection of antiques. He was a great eccentric and very particular in his ways. All the furniture had to be precisely positioned and these were marked by metal studs that can still be seen today. He left the property to The National Trust, apparently saying to them “I am an old man. I may not have very long to live. But I warn you, if ever you move so much as a chair leg, I will haunt you till your dying day”. Find out more on our tour.
The Minster Library
York Minster Library was built in the 13th Century and was the chapel to the Archbishops palace that was on the site just beyond it. It became the Minster Library in the 19th Century and houses Cathedral records dating back to 1150. It also has the 1631 “Wicked Bible”, so called because a misprint changed the commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery” to “Thou shalt commit adultery”. The printers were heavily fined and lost their printing license, most copies of it were recalled and burned making the survivors very rare items indeed.
Theatre Royal
The current one was built in the 18th Century, and is on part of the site of the medieval hospital of Saint Leonards. Remains of the hospital can still be seen in the building, including archways and walls, and under the stage there are remains of a well, believed to date from Roman times. Find out more on our tour
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Bootham Bar
Bootham Bar has been the site of the city’s main gateway, to the north, for 2000 years, and it was one of the four main entrances to the Roman Fortress here at York, or, as it was then called, Eboracum. Just imagine all the different peoples that have passed through this gateway, or the Roman one that lies just beneath it. They include Roman Legions and medieval armies, all out to conquer the tribes of Scotland, mostly unsuccessfully. Also using this gateway over the centuries were the multitudes of ordinary people coming to the weekly market. Find out more on our tour.
Hole in the Wall Pub
The Pub was originally known as The Board Inn. During excavations in Victorian times it revealed a dark secret. A hole was found which led to a dark dungeon where chains and manacles still hung on the wall. A tunnel was also found, but it was bricked up by a builder because of the sound of ghostly footsteps that came echoing from the darkness. It is claimed these ghostly footsteps can still be heard today.
Petergate House
This was the home of Sir Thomas Herbert, who was groom of the bedchamber and a friend of King Charles I. It was Sir Thomas who stayed with him on the night before his execution in 1649 and who attended him on the scaffold when he was beheaded. He was born in another house in York which we visit in our Castle area tour.
St Michael Le Belfrey
There has been a church on this site since the 8th Century. The building you see dates from the 1500’s, in the time of Henry VIII. The “le Belfrey” bit of the name might give us a clue as to why the church was built, possibly as the Minster’s belfry, or to an older church on this site which had a bell tower. Or, it might have been a descriptive of its saint meaning something like “Saint Michael the Strong Tower”. It is still a parish church with an active congregation to this day.
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Guy Fawkes Hotel
This hotel claims to have been the birth place of Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was a member of the The famous Gunpowder Plot Gang who planned to blow up the House of Lords, and King James 1, at the state opening of Parliament in 1605. He was born nearby and was baptized in this church in 1570 though he probably wasn’t born in that particular house.
Statue of Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and drama. The statue shows that the shop below was once a bookshop. Minerva was the virgin goddess of music, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic. She is often shown with her sacred creature, an owl, which symbolizes her connection to wisdom.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. After the walks have been downloaded, for which you need an internet connection, no mobile data is required to do the walks.
No you can pause and resume at any point within the walk. Whether you need a coffee or a comfort break the walks are entirely flexible.
Yes you will receive both verbal guidance and a GPS enabled map to take you around each of the points of interest on the walks.
No the walks are circular so you will receive multiple options of where to start each walk.
Yes there are providing you buy them as a bundle, not one at a time. You can even buy all the walks in one package at a very generous price.
For each point of interest you will get information both verbally and in text and sometimes video form together with helpful images to get the most from each one.
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In the walk summary we point out if the walk is suitable for wheelchairs and pets, and there is also an indication of the distance of the walk, and how long it will take.
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