Let The History Begin!

Today marks the first full day of trip with the whole group.  From now on out it will be all Richard all the time!

The day started with a walking tour of York with a local guide that was obviously very excited about history.  The Romans and the Vikings both played a prominent role in this part of northern England.  The street names even still reflect the Viking history of the city.  While terribly fascinating, we were here to hear about Richard, so we took to the streets to start our quest.

Our first stop was a medieval church of St. Denys with wonderful examples of medieval era stained glass.  There was also wonderful emblems of the families that have been patrons of the church on the ceiling, both friends and enemies.  Churches provide a interesting window into the history of an area often serving as family burial grounds and a place to honor family members.

On our journey into the city center, we passed by the Merchant Adventurers Hall and we made a brief stop in Coppergate Square.  We were joined at this point by our two period costumed twins, Edith and Agnes.  I was never really clear on what place they served on our walk, but they were darn cute and made for some great photo ops along the way.

Crossing a bridge over the Ouse River, we stopped to talk about life in York in medieval times.  Cities like York were constantly balancing which family to support.  In our story, there was shift between The Lancastrians (boo) and the Yorks (yeah!) and a city had to constantly evaluate which family was in favor, support of which could mean favorable treatment.  It could be devastating if they chose wrong, subjecting their residents to fire and looting.  Our hero, Richard III, spent much time in York and it appears they were quite fond of him and even today have strong feelings about how he’s been treated by certain historians.

Mounting the stairs, we climbed onto the city walls which once provided protection for those that lived within. Micklegate was also used to display the heads of enemies defeated on the battlefield (or beheaded for crimes committed). Richard’s father and brother’s heads were displayed here after their battlefield defeat. Gruesome.

Our next stop included mid-morning refreshments and a fascinating lecture by a local historian, Victoria, at the York Guildhall.  The archives housed here date back to a time that freemen (and some women) were recorded in books serving as a sort of census.  These books are being restored and digitized at a great expense of both time and pounds.  Even more amazing to me was our ability to actually touch these records.

We broke for lunch which meant a dash to The Trembling Madness, a ‘bottle shop’ selling a huge variety of brews and housing a pub upstairs. The walls were covered in all varieties of dead animals, even we think a kangaroo. One of our travel mates is on a mission to add several beers to his craft beer app and The Trembling Madness provided several for his list.  The food was actually quite good with the Hunter’s platter offering several game smoked meats with some hearty bread and English mustard. 

After lunch, we met back at the Guildhall for a short walk past the ruins of St. Mary’s Priory to the Yorkshire Museum to meet another historian to view the Richard III exhibit.  Using the skeleton, a model has been made of his head and is on display.  Also on display is a white boar pin which was Richard’s emblem.  A sapphire pendant from Richard’s era, The Middleham Jewel, is also on display.  For all you would be treasure hunters, this was found using a metal detector near its namesake castle.  Keep the faith, you too can find a million dollar jewel if you look hard enough.

We were on our own after the museum, which gave us time to visit The Evil Eye for an afternoon cocktail. They are also known for their Thai food, but that would have to wait for another visit. Back on the street, we did a little window shopping in all the cute little shops lining the pedestrian walkway.  One of the more famous shopping streets is The Shambles, which is a wonderfully preserved street with quaint little shops hovering over the narrow street.

Tonight was our first reading by Sharon.  After reading two passages from Sunne in Splendor, she answered questions about her writing experiences.  My fellow travelers are truly Sharon devotees and never tire of her stories about characters, book covers and deadline woes.  A small group of us dined at Rustique, a very reasonably priced French restaurant with tasty food.  A short stroll back found us at our hotel just in town to avoid the evening’s rain.