Description

SE5952SE
1112-1/12/781
14/06/54

YORK
MUSEUM GARDENS
St Mary's Abbey remains: Precinct Walls
(Formerly Listed as:
MARYGATE
Precinct walls of St Mary's Abbey)
(Formerly Listed as:
BOOTHAM
Postern and Tower (formerly listed as Queen Margaret's Arch))
(Formerly Listed as:
BOOTHAM
St Mary's Tower)
(Formerly Listed as:
MARYGATE
Tower immediately to south-west of St Mary's Tower)
(Formerly Listed as:
MARYGATE
West Tower (Marygate Landing))

GV
I

Includes: St Mary's Tower MARYGATE.
Defensive wall approximately 150 metres long from Queen
Margaret's Arch and Postern Tower to St Mary's Tower,
including 2 intermediate towers; defensive wall approximately
400 metres long from St Mary's Tower to the Water Tower on
Marygate Landing, and 3 intermediate towers. Walls 1266,
raised, crenellated and extended 1318; St Mary's Tower and
Water Tower 1324, St Mary's Tower repaired 1644 following
Civil War damage; Queen Margaret's Arch and Postern Tower
1497, Postern Tower raised and altered in C17. Pedestrian
arches beside Queen Margaret's Arch and the Water Tower
inserted c1836.
MATERIALS: walls and towers of magnesian limestone except
Postern Tower which is red brick faced with ashlar; Postern
and St Mary's Towers have tiled roofs, respectively hipped and
conical.
EXTERIOR: walls with crenellations vary from approximately 2
to 5 metres in height and have irregularly spaced dwarf
buttresses with offsets and steeply sloped copings. Some
merlons are pierced with cruciform arrow slits; others retain
grooves to house wooden shutters protecting embrasures, three
of which are fitted with replicas.
Queen Margaret's Arch: stub wall attached to Postern Tower
contains segmental arch, chamfered and with defaced coved
hoodmould on outer side; inner side rebated for gates and
flanked by buttresses with offsets. Bronze plaque of 1899
incorrectly records date of arch as 1503. Inserted arch
adjacent has shouldered head.

Postern Tower (sometimes known as Bootham Tower): 2 storeys
and attic, on moulded plinth. Vertical panelled door in
4-centred arch in moulded surround with flat hoodmould and
sunk spandrels: similar doorway to left side now blocked by
2-light window. Upper floor windows are inserted in splayed
openings except for single segment-headed light in moulded
surround over door. In right side, C19 ground floor window is
of 3 diamond latticed lights with board shutters on ornate
C-hinges. INTERIOR: brick newel staircase in thickness of
wall. Openings have 4-centred arches of chamfered brick.
St Mary's Tower: 2 stages, an irregular circle on plan,
originally with chamfered plinth. Doorway to Bootham has board
door in moulded surround with restored 4-centred arch with
keyblock. To right is 2-light window with trefoiled heads in
chamfered square-headed surround. Upper stage has three
re-used 2-light windows with ovolo-moulded mullions and
transoms and moulded sills, and one cruciform arrow slit with
oillets. Inner side has wide chamfered doorway with 2-centred
head and C20 board door. Two upper stage doorways led to
wallwalk on each side, both in chamfered surrounds, one with
corbelled head, one with flat lintel.
Water Tower (sometimes known as Marygate Landing Tower):
originally 2 stages, now sunk in sloping ground to wallwalk
level. Exterior is circular on plan, interior hexagonal, with
single opening to each inner face: chamfered doorway to
wallwalk has shouldered head, four cruciform slits have
oillets to the arms, one vertical slit at wallhead has
chamfered opening.
INTERIOR: openings are splayed and have shouldered lintels.
Adjacent pedestrian gateway is 4-centred double chamfered
arch.
Scheduled Ancient Monument.
(An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York:
RCHME: The Defences: HMSO: 1972-: 160-173; An Inventory of the
Historical Monuments in the City of York: RCHME: Outside the
City Walls East of the Ouse: HMSO London: 1975-: 14-22).

Listing NGR: SE5998352340

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St Mary's Abbey remains precinct walls including St Mary's Tower at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17530591

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)