York - At night

York has some classic views in the evening. These shots were taken from just between when the shops were closing and 6:30 pm when I needed to head back to the railway station for my train. Ideally, I would like to have replicated what I have done in previous years by staying overnight to get quieter images. The above picture was affected by the passing white light from a car and the best of 5 shots including a problem of standing on extremely bad ice, stationary Taxis and distant passing pedestrians.

Bootham Bar (the Tower on the left) is one of the many gates that access the city. It has seen a lot of changes down through the centuries stretching back to a wooden structure in AD 71 right through various stages of development and destruction. It survived an attack on the city in the 15th century but was damaged during the seige of York in 1644. Repairs to the building were quickly set in motion soon after and more significantly it survived possibly its final battle in 1831 when the planners who wanted to demolish the Bar were defeated.

The above photograph was taken from the forecourt of the City Art gallery. The Art Gallery was originally built as a showcase for an art and industrial exhibition in the 19th century, later becoming the Art gallery. The statue outside behind the fountains is of William Etty, an earlier Yorkshire painter who moved to London and eventually retired and spent the last days of his life in York.

Crossing the road and entering the city wall via Bootham Bar (pigeon wake up call shot.... earlier post) and heading along High Petergate, shoppers were making their way home from the shops.

At the end of this short street, I was greeted with the full glory of York Minster. A wooden church on this site was replaced with a stone one following the baptism in 627 AD of Edwin of Northumbria who was an Anglo Saxon King.

The church survived in an enlarged form until it was damaged by fire during the 11th century Norman conquest.

The badly damaged Minster was replaced during this period with many further additions up until the completion of all three towers by the 15th century. Interestingly, the major points of concern through it's history from ancient to modern has been it's susceptibility to fire and the safety of the central tower.

At  Christmas and New Year, the streets and shops are decorated with festive lights. The marquee on the left was of a local Christmas craft fair that was something similar to my Durham (3) Christmas market post.

 Around the corner from Betty's tea rooms stands Mansion House which is always well lit at night.....

It was a problem getting this first shot of it , as I was virtually standing in a queue for a cashpoint machine from a bank so I was being watched, bumped, hassled and stared at by those who had spent their money during the day and needed more to sample the evening refreshments !!
Mansion House is the Lord Mayor's house who carries out a mixture of civic duties for the city by hosting dinners for leading business people to promoting the City of York to others. It was built in 1725 and took 7 years to build.

"I just want to buy one more picture"

 A night trip around York is not complete without a trip to The Shambles and even though, it seemed quiet at this time, it was unfortunately not quiet enough....

The Shambles as I said before takes its name from a street of Butchers and can sometimes confusingly be referred to as a group of similar streets nearby incorporating Petergate and Stonegate (seen in the first York post). Although the street is 900 years old, the style on show today is more Elizabethan middle ages. It was unfortunate that I couldn't get the right picture to show half way down the street where, as you can see, the buildings lean out into the street upstairs.... but I'll be back !

The shops are brightly lit and I had the patience to wait for five minutes to get the end of the street...

Lastly, no interesting or funny pictures as it was getting cold ... the market place behind had finished for the day and was also the reminder that it was time for me to leave for my train home.