The interior of the Multangular Tower; the coffins down below were found elsewhere but placed here for lack of a better place to put them. The larger bricks up top are from the Normans.
Then we swung by St. Mary's Abbey, which was once the wealthiest, most powerful church in Northern England but was reduced to ruins in Henry VIII's restructuring of the church system.
All that remains is one wall and some bits and pieces scattered across the grounds.
It was strong evidence of the power of the arch as an architectural device, though.
We walked the same stretch of the city walls that I toured after dinner yesterday, which afforded some decent views of the Minster and the grounds, then came down and walked the streets. We saw evidence of the first form of house insurance, little plaques that could be put on a house wall. If your house caught fire and you didn't have one of those, you were on your own for putting it out: the fire department wouldn't help you.
Better get one of those little sun plaques!
We ended the tour in the Shambles and I got a black pudding pork pie in the one remaining butcher on that street. It was delicious. I then window-shopped for a long time, enjoying the sights and exploring the Newgate Market. The Yorkshire Soap Company was my favorite shop by far. They make soap cakes. I mean cakes. Like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, but made of soap. There was even a lemon meringue pie that looked good enough to eat!
At five fifteen I went to the Minster for the evensong service. It was beautiful. I couldn't take any pictures, but I'll definitely come back and take some before I leave York! The structure is amazing, the arches are so elegant and light and airy and yet firm and grounded as a mountain. All of the arch joinings in the ceiling are decorated with giltwork, each piece intricate and unique. I couldn't find any repeats in an hour of staring upwards. The choir was amazing, too, especially as it echoed against the stone. And the organ was the most beautiful organ I have ever seen. Each pipe was decorated in red and blue and green and gold, and the wood holding it all together was intricately carved. I would consider converting if I could spend an hour each week in a place like that.
After evensong, I got some dinner and ate it in the Museum Gardens by the observatory which houses a telescope that was once the largest in the world. That must have been a long while ago, because the entire observatory is maybe fifteen feet across. At eight I took part in a quiz night at the Yorkshire Terrier, a wonderful little pub. The quiz night is apparently pretty new, there were only three teams including me; I got third place! But I think I did pretty well for a team of one American who knew next to nothing about British culture or the guest round titled British Sitcoms. But I tried some good beer and cider, and the bartender was very nice. I like York.
I finally returned home a little after ten and immediately crashed.
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