Monday, October 9, 2023

Royal and York Arms on Another City Gate


Moving along in my wanderings about the old City of York, England, I came to the next "bar", or gate, of the City which was also decorated with both the Royal Arms of England and the arms of the City of York.

This one was Monk Bar (originally known as Monkgate Bar), and I will let the explanatory plaque there give you the basics of its history:


But of course it was the heraldry on its face that drew me to it, even from a distance:


Above the peaked central arch, we find the Royal Arms of England flanked by two examples of the arms of the City of York:


The Royal Arms are Quarterly: 1 and 4, France modern; 2 and 3, England, the shield hanging from its guige and surmounted by a crowned barrel helmet on which rests the Royal crest, A lion passant guardant or. the whole beneath a Gothic canopy. (Admittedly, the lion looks more "statant" here, but who am I to quibble?)


And then, to the left and to the right placed a little lower than the Royal Arms, also beneath golden canopies, we find the arms of the City of York, Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or:



I daresay, a display of heraldry designed to impress anyone marching up to the Bar.

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