The Barley Hall is a hands-on living history museum,
depicting life in the 15th Century. One is actually encouraged to
handle the objects or even sit on the furniture. One can follow the costumed guides or pick up
an audio tape self tour. During weekends in the summer there are special
events, such as mystery plays or medieval markets.
The Shambles
The Shambles is Europe’s best
preserved medieval street and entering it is like entering the 16th
Century in some respects. It is a maze of narrow, twisting lanes and alleys
lined with shops catering to visitors. Some of the upper floors project out
over the street, as if trying to touch one another.
One building of note in The Shambles is the home of Margaret
Clitherow. She was arrested in 1586 on the charge of harboring Catholic
priests. To make matters worse, she had regular Masses said in her house, and
hid clergy vestments there. The Elizabethan authorities condemned her to death
by pressing, which meant being crushed beneath a heavy weight. Margaret
Clitherow was canonized as a Catholic Saint in 1970, and her home is now a
shrine.
York Dungeon
Buried beneath the streets of York,
the York Dungeon is much like its counterpart in London
as it depicts nearly every horror inflicted on man by man in British history.
There are exhibits depicting torture and punishments including branding,
boiling, beheading, roasting and drowning. Note the displays of the torture to
death of Guy Fawkes and the hanging of Dick Turpin. There is also a depiction
of the Black Death in York and an
authentic medieval prison cell. Not for the more sensitive.
Treasurers House
This house was built in 1419 and housed the treasury of York
Minster for over a hundred years. It is now a museum with a fine collection of
medieval, 17th, and 18th Century furnishings. There is an
audio visual display recounting the history of the place. The cellar is said to
be haunted by the spirits of Roman legionaries.