Day 23 Last Day in York

The York Shambles is a "traffic-free", 100 yard long street formerly called the "street of the butchers".



In the 16C you could buy fresh, raw meat hanging from hooks right above the windows or laying on the window sills. The smell must have been horrible. But baths were so rare that maybe you didn't even notice! It was a crowded place which now has wonky buildings (no building codes then) and one street just wide enough for a horse and cart. Of course, now it is "the place to be" and a "must see" for all York tourists.

The York Minster is the largest Gothic church north of the Alps. It is 520 feet long and 200 feet tall. Parts of the building are from the 1200s with remodeling and additions to 1472. You can see the spires from almost everywhere in the city. "Minster" means where people go to spread the word of God and originally was Roman Catholic but become part of the Church of England after Henry VIII's break with Rome in 1534.

The inside is beautiful and HUGE. So much to see that we took the guided tour.

See how big some of the columns are that hold up the roof. This cathedral will hold about 4000 people.

Next was the York Castle Museum which was like walking through a time machine. Everything is laid out in date order so we got a good feel about living in Yorkshire. This picture of a house would have been how my ancestors were living in 1850 right before my great, great parents came to America. This is a one room house and barn combination. The animal body heat would help keep the family warm through the cold winter.

We laughed at this book "How to Master a Wife" from one display. The men may have read this book but women ignored the husband's orders then as we do now!

We walked about 7 miles on this last day in York. It will be a city we return too on another trip.