This museum centers around two authentic representations of British
street life that make one think one has wondered
into one of those dramas produced by the BBC. The first is the Victorian
Kirkgate, where one can visit shops, a family at home, and a police station.
The second is Edwardian Half Moon Street, depicting life in York
of that era. The street is built inside an old debtors’ prison. Some of the
cells have display of Yorkish handicrafts and rural skills. Don’t miss the cell
where the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin spent his last night before his date
with the gallows.
The museum also houses the Jane Austin costume collection,
as well as exhibits on social history, the military, and collection of doll
houses. Just about all that remains of York
Castle itself is the lonely stone
tusk of Clifford's Tower, northwest of the museum. The former castle keep sits
atop the mound created for William the Conqueror's original wooden castle,
which burnt down in 1190 when 150 Jews sheltering within were forced to take
their own lives during an English style pogram.
York Minster
York Minster is the largest cathedral in Northern
Europe. The church was apparently built on the site of the
original Roman fortress. It has undergone several incarnations, including a
wooden church built in 627, a subsequent stone church, a church destroyed by
William the Conqueror, and a Norman Church dating from the 1060s. Today's structure
incorporates a variety of styles, including the Early English northern transept
(1241-60); the Decorated-style nave, choir and octagonal chapter house
(1260-1405); and, at the cathedral's heart, the perpendicular-style lantern
tower (1460-80). More recent amendments were made following the disastrous fire
of 1984, which severely damaged the south transept. A climb up the 275 steps to
the top of the lantern tower is rewarded with a magnificent view of York.