The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-08-30
The Ancient City Of York.

yesterday, anu lney trace tnelr BeHealORy -
back to the great grandson of Eneas, who
was contemporary with King David"
York was the Roman capital Of Britain, and
here Constantine the Great was born. This
ancient town beasts of structures thou
sand years old, and has Roman antiquities
of all kinds lying around, whilst the people .
have so little relish for modern things that
they almost stopped making history after
the WARS of the Roses The white rose of
York is introduced into pretty much every
thing in the city, albeit the people put up
the head of Richard, Duke of York, as
warning to traitors, upon the chief entrance
to the city, Micklegate bar. The two and
three quarter miles of old and carefully pre-
served walls, towers, gates, battlements and
bastions, almost surrounding this ancient
city, enclose a sort of condensed Boston, al
though the streets outrival anything that
Boston can show in the matters OF crooked
ness and irregularity. They are not ouly
crooked but of varying width, and run into |
and out of each other aud ali sorts of angles |
and by all sorts of curves. Every house is |
ancient and Roman like in appearance
Even the few new ones put up are made so
as to unite to the curious and cumbrous con-
struction of the olden time. 1t is very
easy city to get lost in, but then the towers
of the Minister stand out as Landmark
which can be sought for fresh start. The
streets are nearly all named gates such as
Petersgate, Castlegate, Newgate, Friargate.
Fcssgate, Cripplegate, Goodromgate, Fish
ergate, Monkgate, Skeldergate and the like,
whilst the gates are called bars The old
castle of York is of little account now,
all that is left being fattened, broad, round
tower, called Clltford's Tower, dating from
the Norman conquest. The remainder Of
the present castle ia a comparatively modern
structure within high walls, and used as
Jail. The city has any nun Der of churches
They appear in all directions. The-e 9
several OF them under the very walls of the
Minister. A chief use to witch they seem
just now to be put is as public bill boards.
All the churches contain an announcement
to the public to step in and pay their taxes,
and also long lists of voters. for York is
about having an election, and this is the
way the polling lists are put up. Might not
Philadelphia get hint from this antique
city and put up her elections on the church
es as well IS on the taverns? York's chief
present pride seems to centre in an old stage
bill and her Minister. Jealously guarded as
precious relic is this old stage bill,
about six inches by four, printed in ancient
type, in 1706, and announcing the beginning
of the regular stage line between York and
London, on which the stages we're to start
three times week, beginning April r. in
that year This line, the little bill tells us
performs the whole journey in four days ii
God permits, and sets forth at in the
= morning.
u York Minister, the Cathedral of st. Peter
is worthy the pride of the city. 1t is the
largest Gothic church in England, and con
=, tans the largest church bell in the King
- dom 'Old Peter weighing l0} tons, anc
struck regularly every day at noon. Th
Minister is OF huge size, 624 feet long, %
:, wide 80 feet high in the nave, and abou
- 200 feet in the towers. The nave would holc
~ the Masonic temple of Philadelphia, with
out its tower, though one can stand unde
" the central lantern tower of York Mirster
and look up 1856 feet to the roof it beinl
PIP feet high. These are large prOportlo n
- and there is no wonder this massive pile va
% two centuries in building. Its great char
. are its windows, most of them containir
- the original stained glass, some of it datin
- back AS far as the year 1900 These windoN
are of enormous size, the east window beir
w the largest stained glass window in tt
u world II by AZ feet-and Of exquisite d
r sign made in l40S by John Thornton,
u Coventry, who designed, stained and glaz
ns :, it, doing the whole work on wages of TO
~ shilings week, and ten pounds gratui
" when finished. Then there is the famo
Five Sisters window at the end of one ira
sept, designed by five nuns, each planning
tall, narrow sash and the beautiful RI
e window in the other transept. This old gil
'0' is among the most famous in Europe. 1
Minister, like most other church edifces, b
uIP been desecrated in the religious and ci
'A' wars, some statues being thrown down a
others beheaded. Curiously enough, no
~ ever, the desecrators left the statue OF
'.' George, which stands high up in the ma
~ untouched. He deties the dragon, whi
'"' pokes out its head on the opposite side, a
:. they concluded to let them fight il out.
Chapter House, al octagonal building, 81
ty.three feet in diameter, surmounted by
:" pyramdal roof, is one of the gems OF
'i'' Minister. Seven of its sides are composed
-, huge stained glass windows, and the CELL
We is magnificent work. 1t is no wonder Il
an Archbishop, Bishop and about thir
other clergymen of various grades are requ
~ ed to conduct such grand church as tt
y It's tombs are among its curiosties All
up walls are full of memorial tablets,
modern ones to fallen soldiers of recent
=, glish wars, but most Of them ancient. Tn
are strange tombs set in the walls bearing
fgies of the dead. Sir William Gee stal
~ there with his two wives, one on each 81
W ~, and his six children, all eight statues hay
Nv their hands folded Others sit up
!, Punch and d-J udy, the women being dres
N?' in hoops and tarthingales and ruffs, and
u highest fashions of their age. There
i"' scores of graves of archbshops, so plenty
to be almost unnotced. Here is bur
'o' Wentworth, second Earl of Strafiord q
" % the famous Hotspur, whose body rests
" the wall underneath the great east wind
~ In one tomb the efiigy of an archbishop
-. on the ground covered by a stone cano
"s and the corpse, instead of being underne
~ the ground, is up overhead in the cano
'o' This tomb is G2O years old. Here is bur
''', Burke's friend Sayile, his epitaph hav
80 been written by that great statesman. |
'''' derncath the Minister is the crypt, the "
of which were those of u chuch stand
and there before the present one was built, $
ooh OF the efligies on the tombs represent SIX