St. Helen's Square opens out at the bottom of Stonegate. There are welcoming benches here to stop a while and rest your feet. Yet through the hustle and bustle of today's busy shoppers, it is difficult to imagine that, before 1733, this was the churchyard of St. Helen's Church, just to the north.
St. Helen's dates from the 13th century and was the house of prayer for the city's medieval glass-painters. Their arms can be seen in the south-west window. The place was partially demolished in the 16th century, but Queen 'Bloody' Mary passed a private Act to enable the parishioners to rebuild it. Other buildings in the Square include the Mansion House and the original Terry's Chocolate Shop.
The Mansion House, the Red and Whit ebuilding on the square has been the official residence of the Mayor of York since it was first built in 1725. This colourful Georgian town-house has an evocative and striking facade of pilasters surmounted by the city's arms and stands next to the site of the old Roman Praetorian Gateway.
The Mansion House is open to the public on extremely rare occasions (or by appointment), the interior is richly furnished and houses the city's important collection of Silver and Plate. This includes York's great sword of state, dated 1416, which once belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
GO BACK
Location photography completed: 24/6/01 19:52:51
You are viewing one of over one thousand produced by Red Door VR Limited.
© Unauthorised use strictly prohibited.
|
