Fitted with a doorknocker for Scottish visitors
Bootham Bar, one of the four main gateways to York, stands on the site of an entrance to the Roman fortress. Although the bar doesn’t date back to Roman times, the oldest part – the archway – is from the 11th century, and the rest is from the 1300s.
As with any long-surviving building, Bootham Bar has been modified over the years. One of its finest customisations was the addition of a doorknocker in 1501. This was added specifically to force Scotsmen to knock and request entrance to York. Following centuries of disagreements with its northern neighbours, York became suspicious of all things Scottish. This can be seen in the long-standing law which made it legal for anyone to kill a Scotsmen within the city walls with a bow and arrow (except on Sundays – York people are not savages after all).
Info
Address St Leonard’s Place, York YO1 7HD | Public Transport 2-minute walk from Bootham Row car park. Closest bus stop: St Leonard’s Place | Hours You can walk the city walls from 8am to dusk| Tip At the Croque Monsieur cafe, built into the walls next to Bootham Bar, you can see parts of the Roman legionary fortress through a glass floor.
Other alterations to Bootham Bar included the removal of its barbican in 1831. This was a relief to those who had complained it was “not fit for any female of respectability to pass through,” owing to the animal droppings deposited there on the way to market.
Like Micklegate Bar, Bootham Bar was sometimes used to display the severed heads of traitors. In 1405, the head of Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Norfolk, decorated the gateway after a failed rebellion against the throne.
Three figures look down on York from atop the Bootham gateway. Carved at the end of the 19th century, the statues depict a knight, a mayor, and a mason holding a model of the restored bar. He stands as a reminder of how close York was to losing Bootham Bar – zealous modernising Victorians wanted to demolish the whole thing, but a campaign not only saved but also restored the structure.
Reached by a steep climb up a set of stone steps, Bootham Bar is worth the effort to see its wooden portcullis and enjoy the views down Petergate.
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