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.

The _Other_ Side of Micklegate Bar, York

In comparison to the interior (City-side) of Micklegate Bar in York, England, the exterior (outward-facing) side of the Bar is much more highly-decorated with heraldry, in addition to the dramatic turrets and battlements and narrow windows and arrow slits.

Most noticeable, of course, are the Royal Arms of England as used from the time of King Edward III until King Henry IV reduced the number of fleurs-de-lis in the French quarters from many to three. Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure semy-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

The Royal Arms, shown here hanging from the shield's guige, or strap, painted gold, are surmounted by a great helm atop which, issuant from a cap of maintenance, is a lion statant affronty.

The Royal Arms are flanked by two representations of the arms of the City of York: Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or. Here, too, the shields are shown hanging by their golden guiges.

You may wish to click on the image above to see a larger, more detailed image of these shields.

And finally, immediately above the central arch of the Bar, is another shield, this one couched (displayed at an angle instead of upright), but also hanging from its guige:

The arms are those of Sir John Lister-Kaye, 1st Baronet (1772-1827), a noted English amateur cricketer in the late 18th century. An illegitimate son of a baronet, he was created a baronet in his own right in December 1812 when he inherited the Lister estates by will. Sir John's acquisition of the landed estates devised on him was the cause for entitlement for a baronetcy, when George III created a new title by patent on 28 December 1812. His land included the Manors of Burton (or Kirkburton), Woodsham, Shelley and other lands in Yorkshire.

Sir John's arms are blazoned: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent two bendlets sable (Kaye); 2 and 3, Ermine on a fess sable three mullets or (Lister); overall on an escutcheon, Argent a sinister hand couped appaumy gules. (The small escutcheon on the shield is, of course, the armorial insignia of a baronet.)

The date inscribed below the shield is incorrect; it should have another "C" in it. Micklegate Bar was renovated in 1827, not 1727.

Sir John's arms have been placed on the face of the Bar because before his death in 1827 he was Lord Mayor of York.

All in all, the arms on Micklegate Bar, the main gate into the City of York, make an impressive display for anyone riding up to the city, whatever their intentions (peaceful or otherwise) might have been.

The English Royal Arms in York

We've seen a number of places so far that display the arms of the City of York, and others that show the arms of the City as well as the badge of the York Civic Trust, and even others that display the badge of the Trust, sometimes alone, sometimes with other insignia.

But, of course, York has a long history, and a place in both the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War.

Today's entry is the main of four "bars", or gates, to the old City, Micklegate Bar, whose lower portions date to the 12th Century. The stone facade on the upper stories, as is evident in the photo below, replaced a lath and plaster facing in the early 19th Century.

On it interior (toward the City) side, his bar bears the Royal arms of England, used from the time of King Henry IV through Queen Elizabeth I.

But of course it is the coat of arms that first caught my eye:

It was King Henry IV who, in imitation of King Charles V of France, reduced the number of fleurs-de-lis in the first and fourth quarters of the Royal arms to three. (Those quarters had been strewn with fleurs-de-lis from the time that King Edward III made his claim to the French throne.)*

The blazon for these arms is: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure three fleurs-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

Nothing says "This belongs to England!" like placing the arms of the King or Queen prominently upon it, am I right?

* This strewing of a field with an unnumbered set of charges, e.g., semy-de-lis/semy of fleurs-de-lis, has led over the years to the old joke that heralds can only count so high; specifically, "one, two, three, four, five, six, many/semy."

Historic Plaques With the Badge of the York Civic Trust

There were other historic markers in the City of York which did not display the arms of the City along with the badge of the York Civic Trust.

Some, like this one found on St. Sampson's Church, display only the badge of the Trust (Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or):

Still others displayed some other emblem along with the badge of the Trust.

For example, this marker for George Hudson street has, in addition to the Trust's badge, a roundel showing an early locomotive (you may click on the image below to go to a larger version where the locomotive can be seen more clearly):

And the plaque for St. Margaret's School for Girls displays the vesica seal of the School, which contains a standing cross and the legend "Saint Margaret's School" around the border.

Heraldry and visual emblems used for identification; they may not all be heraldic, but as used here, don't they help to fulfill the purpose of heraldry?*

* One (brief) definition of heraldry is: “designs painted on shields and used to identify the owner.” (Kevin Greaves, A Canadian Heraldic Primer)

Arms, and a Badge

All through the old city of York you will find plaques noting especially historic places. Some of these places are large and therefore especially notable, while others are less obvious without the assistance of a nearby plaque giving some of the history of the site.

One thing that all of the plaques have in common, though, is that they bear both the arms of the City of York (Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or), and the badge of the York Civic Trust (Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard’s face or).

The badge of the Trust is clearly based on the older Royal arms of England, Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure three fleurs-de-lis or; 2 and 3, Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or.

Here are some of the historic plaques displaying the arms of the City and the badge of the Trust which I found in my wanderings about the old city of York:

The original Roman fortress was completely rebuilt later, as the gate that stands there now is clearly not built in the Roman style:

And for those who are really interested in what historical plaques may be seen in York, the York Civic Trust website has an entire page listing all of the plaques that may be found there, along with an enlargeable map showing their locations, at https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/

With coats of arms and badges: what a great way to mark many of the historic places and people of York.

Those Words Must Mean Something Different in English Than They Do In Texan

Our next two bits of heraldry are coats of arms that we have seen before (along with another, new one that we'll be seeing more of later), but I'm giving them their own post because they are located on the "shortest street in York", the one with the unusual name.

Back in 1505, it was called "Whitnourwhatnourgate", meaning "What a street!"

Sometime later, it was changed to Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate. As being easier to pronounce, I suspect. (And just in case you think I might be making this up, here's one of the helpful location and direction signs posted there.)

Still, as I stated in the title to this post, I think those words, or at least those syllables, don't mean the same thing in York as they might here in Texas, where they could be taken to mean one should whip, or whop, or both, one's "Ma", or mother, at a gate.

But of course, we're here not to talk about the morality, or immorality, of whipping one's mother at a gate. We're here for the heraldry, which can be found on two other signs at the street.

The first, which we have seen before, is the arms used by the City of York Council, here placed on a sign near a bicycle stand explaining the best ways to lock up your bike to prevent its theft.

The other, on an historical marker, contains both the arms of the City of York (Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or) with the cap, sword, and mace on the upper right, and on the upper left, a new bit of heraldry for us, the badge of the York Civic Trust, Azure a fleur-de-lis or dimidiating Gules a crowned leopard's face or.

Please feel free to click on any of the images above to see a larger, more detailed photograph of these signs.

The badge of the York Civic Trust (the Trust says its vision is "promoting heritage, shaping tomorrow") is based on the pre-Stuart Royal Arms of England, Quarterly: 1 and 4, France modern (Azure three fleurs-de-lis or); 2 and 3, England (Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or).

I think you might be hard-pressed to say "historic York, England" more concisely than with these last two pieces of armory.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

Non-Governmental Uses of the Arms of the City of York

While the coat of arms of the City of York, England can be found on public buildings and used by the City and the City Council, I also noticed a couple of instances of the use of the City's arms by entities not directly affiliated with the local government.

This first, though, is directly licensed by the City of York Council through their Taxi Licensing Team, which involves fees and charges in addition to requirements for vehicles to meet certain specific standards, not to mention that only a limited number of hackney carriage licenses are available to be allocated.

Be that as it may, I found one of those hackney carriages bearing the arms of the City:

Additionally, one of the local public houses (or, pubs) was also using the City's coat of arms. Welcome to The York Arms:

Later on in another post, we will see different one of these pub signs which are fairly common in England, of "X Arms" or "The X Arms" where "X" is a specific individual or, as above here, city.

The City of York is obviously very proud of its coat of arms, and it was a pleasure to see them in so many different places, and even used by non-civic entities like taxicabs and public houses.

More Examples of the Arms of the City of York

So today we're going to visit some of the other places where I found the arms of the City of York (Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or) used within the walls of the old city.

This first one is the arms of the City found on a public water fountain built, as it notes on its face, in 1880:

I love the dolphins and the decorations made to look like waves here.

Another was found on much newer display surface, the side of a Dial & Ride bus, "York's flexible bus service":

And finally, in a manner that can be found all over the British Isles (including Ireland), on the lowly but armorial dustbin (that's a trash receptacle, for my American readers):

Next time, not everyone who uses the arms of the City of York is necessarily directly affiliated with the City or the City Council. Stay tuned!

The Arms of York in York, England

As I noted last time, the arms of the City of York, England, can be found all around the city. (You can even buy tee shirts with the arms on them, though I was a bit disappointed not to find any caps emblazoned with the arms. So I will just have to "make do" with the armorial tee shirt I purchased there.)

Anyway, there are enough different examples that I photographed while we were there to fill at least two blog posts, along with some others later on which have other coats of arms besides the City of York's arms on display.

Naturally, buildings in the city are a frequent backdrop for display of the City's heraldry. Here, for example, over the doorway of the old York Dispensary:

And here, in full color, on the Mansion House in St. Helen's Square:

And over the doorway to what is now the Antique Centre at Duncombe Place:

And then, not surprisingly, on the iron gate entrance to a local park:

And finally, on the building housing Gregg's Bakery -- and here the bycocket (see my previous post for the definition and discussion of this cap) has reversed its orientation and is painted like a true heraldic cap of maintenance:

Note also that in the two panels above, the sword and mace have reversed their placement from each other, even though the bycocket/cap of maintenance and the lions on the cross remain the same.

What a great display of civic heraldry to see, just wandering about within the old walls of the City of York!

On to Historic York and the Arms Used by the City Council

Or, as the Scandinavians who settled there called it, Jorvik.

York, the next stop on our trip to England last year, is an historic city which in many ways revels in its historicity. Among other things, it boasts the longest remaining old city walls in England, punctuated by several gatehouses, or "bars". (We will be visiting some of these bars later, as they - oh, yeah - have heraldry on them!)

But one of the other things that a heraldry enthusiast (like myself) will notice is that the City's coat of arms can be found all over the place. I spent several days wandering the streets of York, and I am pretty certain (not the least based on the book Heraldry and the Buildings of York by Hugh Murray, published in 1985 and which I purchased a copy after returning home) that I have not seen half the examples of them!

Be that as it may, the City arms I found in so many places that I'm going to have to break the examples up into a couple of different posts.

Today, the arms as used by the City of York Council.

It is unknown when the City's arms were granted, but it is likely that they were at least adopted, if not granted, during the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377). They were recognized by the College of Arms during a Visitation in 1584, confirmed by a note from the heralds in February 1587.

The arms are blazoned: Argent on a cross gules five lions passant guardant or. They often appear with a crossed sword and mace behind the shield, surmounted by what is termed a "cap of maintenance", but whose form is that of a bycocket* gules turned up ermine. The sword, mace, and bycocket in the achievement of arms are based the actual sword, mace, and cap presented to the City by King Richard II in 1389 (the sword) and 1392 (the mace and cap).

What follows are examples of the arms of the City as used by the City of York Council, and which were found all about old City of York:

This next one is even a "two-fer"; two depictions of the City of York Council arms in a single location.

This next one is on a building "to let" (not "toilet"!); that is, the space is available for someone to rent:

The arms are used by the Council pretty much like a logo, but as they are, in fact, the arms and accompanying accoutrements of the City, I find it to be a refreshing, appropriate, and frequent(!) use of the ancient arms of York.

* French, chapel à bec. Nowadays this form of medieval cap is often referred to as a "Robin Hood" hat, because it has appeared in so many Robin Hood movies.