With a population as big as Scotland’s and an area half the size of Belgium, Yorkshire is almost a country in itself. It has its own flag, its own dialect, and its own celebration, Yorkshire Day, August 1. It has moors and dales rolling down to a dramatic coastline and a long history that is represented here from Roman times to the 21st century.
History. The Romans conquered Yorkshire in the 1st century AD and many towns (York, Catterick, and Malton) were founded by the Romans and many modern roads follow the alignment of Roman roads. Then came the Teutonic Angles and the Vikings with Jorvik (York) their thriving capital. The invading Normans built a chain of formidable castles at York, Richmond, Scarborough, Pickering, and Helmsley. Their land grab formed the basis of the great estates that supported England’s medieval aristocrats.
In the 15th century, the duchies of York and Lancaster had become so wealthy and powerful that they ended up battling for the English throne in the Wars of the Roses (1455-87). The Reformation saw the wealth of the great abbeys of Rievaulx, Fountains, and Whitby fall into the hands of noble families. It prospered for 200 years with fertile farms in the north and Sheffield cutlery in the south, until the Industrial Revolution transformed everything.
South Yorkshire became the center of coal mining and steel-making and West Yorkshire had a massive textile industry – Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and Rotherham flourished. By the late 20th century, the heavy industries had died out and the cities reinvented themselves as high-tech centers of finance, higher education, and finance.
I saw all these places in a very different order as my visits here were interrupted by the necessity of having to return to London. I saw things in this order: Sheffield, Leeds, and Lincoln, and then on my second trip through Hull, York, Fountain Abbey, and the Yorkshire Dales.
SOUTHEAST YORKSHIRE
HULL (pop 285,000)
Properly known as Kingston-upon-Hull, this ancient harbour on the River Hull was granted a royal charter in 1299 and became Kings Town. It has long been the principal port of England’s east coast with an economy based on wool, wine trading, whaling, and fishing.
Its waterfront and old town have been redeveloped – derelict buildings have been reclaimed and most of the cobbled/brick streets are pedestrianized. The harbour has some fine Victorian architecture and good museums, all free.
Ferens Art Gallery. In the lobby is the Sea of Hull, a photograph of more than 3000 naked volunteers covered in blue body paint. The permanent art collection was refreshingly devoid of abstracts with some wonderful realism. Free
Street Life Museum of Transport. In the Museum Quarter, this was a great museum with only really old trams, buggies, and cars plus a nice “street” of shops. Free
Hull & East Riding Museum. Next door to Street Life, is a twisting corridor with some good exhibitions on the Celts, an ancient wood boat unearthed out of the bogs, and Roman mosaics. Free
NORTH YORKSHIRE
YORK (pop 197,000)
Truly medieval, it has lost little of its pre-industrial luster with a circuit of 13th-century walls enclosing a medieval spider’s web of narrow streets.
History. In AD 71, the Romans built Eboracum, a large fort with a civilian settlement around it that Hadrian used as his northern base. Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor here in 306. The Anglo-Saxons made it the capital of the independent kingdom of Northumbria.
In 625, a Roman priest converted King Edwin to Christianity and the first wooden church was built, attracting students from all over Europe. The Vikings arrived in 806 and gave it the name Jorvik and it was their capital for 100 years. King Eadred drove out the last Viking ruler in 954. William the Conqueror torched the entire city (along with Durham) and then rebuilt it, adding a grand new cathedral or minster. Over the next 300 years, York prospered through royal patronage, textiles, trade, and the church. The railway arrived in 1839 and new industries sprang up such as the confectionaries Terry’s and Rowntrees.
Unusually, all the museums charge.
York Minster. This is the largest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe and one of the world’s most beautiful Gothic buildings. It is second only to Canterbury, the seat of the Primate of all of England. The first church was a wooden chapel built in 627, replaced by a stone church built on the Roman basilica, and then the first Norman minster was built in the 11th century – the remnants can all be seen in the crypt (the inner inside the aisles up to the choir screen traces its foundations). The present minister was built between 1220 and 1480 encompassing all the major styles of Gothic architecture: transept (1220-55) in Early English, nave (1291-1340) in Decorated, the west towers, west, front, and lantern tower (1470-72) in Perpendicular.
Nave. Unusually tall and wide, the aisles are roofed in stone and the central roof is wood painted to look like stone with many wonderful bosses and a dragon’s-head crane used to lift the front cover. The Great West window has a heart-shaped stone tracery.
Transepts. The south transept was badly damaged by fire in 1984 but has been restored and is dominated by the Rose Window. The north transept has the magnificent five-lancet, 15m-high Five Sisters Window (the geometric patterns can be barely discerned with all the lead used to repair the many pieces of broken glass).
Chapter House. The carved stonework has over 200 carved heads and figures in an airy space.
Choir and High Altar. The 15th-century choir screen has 15 statues depicting the kings of England from William I to Henry VI. The east window (1405) is 23.7m by 9.4m and is the world’s largest medieval stained-glass window depicting the end of the world.
Undercroft. In 1967, the foundations of the building were shored up when the central tower threatened to collapse and Roman and Norman’s remains were uncovered – 2000 years of the church’s history are revealed.
Crypt. There is a nice exhibit here on pilgrims and pilgrimages.
Tower. 275 steps up tight spiral stairs lead to views of the city. I didn’t think this was so worthwhile for the price as York has a pretty flat landscape, but it was good much-needed exercise. £14 including the tower concession.
Yorkshire Museum. Shows Roman York and has fossils from the Jurassic coast. £7.50
York City Art Gallery. The biggest exhibit is on British ceramics with a Wall of Pots that gets tiring. There is also the usual range of paintings from old masters to William Etty, who in the 1820s, was the first British painter to specialize in nudes. £7.50
FOUNTAINS ABBEY & STUDLEY ROYAL
Fountain Abbey was built in the 12th century and along with Studley Royal is a combined Unesco WHS. After falling out with the Benedictines of York in 1132, a band of 13 rebel monks came here to establish their monastery. Struggling to make it on their own, they were formally adopted by the Cistercians in 1135. By the middle of the 13th century, the new abbey had become the most successful Cistercian venture in the country – the main source of wealth was wool. After the Dissolution when Henry VIII confiscated church property, the abbey’s estate was sold into private hands, and between 1598 and 1611, Fountain Hall was built using stone from the abbey ruins. The hall and ruins were united with the Studley Royal estate in 1768.
Studley Royal was owned by John Aislabie, once Chancellor of the Exchequer, who dedicated his life to creating the park after a scandal saw him expelled from parliament. The main house of Studley Royal burnt down in 1946, but the superb landscaping with its serene artificial lakes survives almost unchanged from the 18th century.
The remains of the abbey are grandiose: a huge vaulted cellarium, a big sunny cloister, ruins of the housing, and the soaring Chapel of Nine Altars. Walking trails lead for a mile from the abbey ruins to the water gardens, a series of geometric lakes and channels. Above the gardens is St Mary’s Church, an ornately decorated church commissioned in 1870.
YORKSHIRE DALES NATIONAL PARK.
The old Norse word dair means ‘valleys’ – the park’s glacial valleys are characteristic of high heather moorland: flat-topped hills and green valleys with drystone dykes, little barns, picture-postcard villages, and sheep and cattle grazing. The southern dales are England’s best example of karst landscape.
The views driving to Grassington and from there over the park to Skipton are gorgeous but there is nowhere to turn off and stop to take in the views. The roads are twisty and slow. Parking is difficult in the busy summer.
I slept in Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales National Park lot (very nice) and even though I was up at 4 am, didn’t start driving until 6:30 because of all of the fog. The fields are full of cattle and horses.
Skipton (pop 15,000). This busy market town on the southern edge of the Dales takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon sceape ton (sheep town). Market days bring crowds from all over. Skipton Castle next to the church is well preserved but small and not so worthwhile – all castles are the same. £7 concession
WEST YORKSHIRE
The textile industry drove West Yorkshire’s economy from the 18th century onward. The woollen mills, factories, and canals built to transport raw materials defined much of the landscape. But most of that is gone. Leeds and Bradford have grown so big, that they are virtually one and undergoing rapid redevelopment and reinventing themselves. The surrounding land is wild moor dissected by deep valleys dotted with old mill towns and villages, vividly described by the Bronte sisters.
SALTAIRE. This WHS (2001) takes its name from its founder, Sir Titus Salt (1803-1876) and the River Aire that runs through the village. Salt made his fortune in the Bradford textile industry, manufacturing fine woollen products. He was a teetotaler. Determined to escape the polluted and overcrowded town center for greener pastures, he made the bold decision to move his business and employees. Local architects were employed to plan a new community where Salt’s workforce would be healthier, happier, and more productive. What he produced was recognized by WHS as an international influence on town planning and as one of the earliest, largest, and best-preserved 19th century ‘model villages’ in the world.
Work began in 1851 and continued until 1876. Each house had a water supply, gaslighting, an outdoor privy, separate living, and cooking spaces, and several bedrooms. Almshouses were provided rent-free for the elderly and sick. There was a pension, 40 years before the first UK state pensions. There was a beautiful church but no pubs. The primary wool used was not sheep but alpaca and angora that had to be imported from South America
By the 1980s, the British textile industry was in steep decline and the Salts Mill closed in 1986. It was bought by Jonathan Silver who first opened a gallery exhibiting the works of Bradford-born artist David Hockney in the 4-story mill along with several shops. There is a short video on the 4th floor that tells some of the stories of Saltaire. Over the years, more businesses arrived to fill the buildings, one became the local NHS offices, the church is a United Reform parish and the school has become a college. None of the original contents remain.
The canal is used for pleasure boats and the park with a bandstand has an imposing statue of Salt with an alpaca on one side of the base and angora on the other. A statue of two goats sits on the grass.
LEEDS (pop 752,000)
One of the fastest-growing cities in the UK, redevelopment is strong here.
Royal Armouries. Originally built in 1996 to house armour from the Tower of London, it has expanded to house armour and weapons from the last 3000 years worth of combat and self-defence. An interesting exhibit is on armour for tournaments and a lot of it was Henry VIII’s. There is a wide range of amour from all over Europe and Japan and every type of hunting and handgun there is. Very well presented. Tours and demonstrations occur daily. Free
Leeds Industrial Museum. One of the world’s largest textile mills has been transformed into a museum showing Leed’s industrial past. The city grew rich from textiles but at a great human cost. £4
Leeds City Museum. In a wonderful old building, this tells Leed’s story. A special exhibit was on Chippendale furniture. Free
Leeds Art Gallery. This is a sculpture museum with more modern pieces than not. I didn’t find it so interesting. Free
National Coal Mining Museum for England. Near Waverly, this has lots of fascinating displays and the not-to-be-missed tour of an actual coal mine.
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
SHEFFIELD (552,000)
Steel is everywhere in Sheffield, but it is not the steel of foundries, mills, and forges that made the city’s fortune, nor the cutlery that made ‘Sheffield steel” a household name, but the steel of scaffolding, cranes, modern sculpture, super trams and of new steel-framed buildings used in skyscrapers. The industrial area once covered 4 miles along the Don River.
The steel industry that made the city famous is long since gone and a new economy has developed based on services, shopping, and the ‘knowledge industry’ that flows from the city’s industries. Since 2000, the city center has been in the throes of massive redevelopment.
Kelham Island Museum. Sheffield’s industrial heritage is the subject of this excellent museum set on a man-made island in the city’s industrial district. Since 1400, water-powered grinding machines started the industry. Exhibits cover steel-making as files, knives, saws, and cutlery. tools to knife sharpening and knife handles (ivory, antlers, and mother of pearl). There is a 12,000 HP River Don steam engine and a new steam boiler.
It had to happen sometime and I finally had my first traffic accident. The left-hand steering wheel is especially a problem in traffic circles – they are two-lane and I have huge difficulty with traffic coming from the right, and it is especially bad on smaller circles when taking the first exit and the traffic comes from behind me – one has to look back through the rear side windows to see oncoming traffic in the circle. I hit a new Mercedes in the rear passenger door which was probably going very fast. My vehicle was still drivable but had 3 warning check lights due to a lacerated electrical cable. I learned that Californias are only repaired in van centers, not the common VW dealerships. They were able to fit me in and repair the damage – £330 for 4 hours of work. I’m terrified of having a serious accident where the van may be undrivable.
My plans are to take June 6 to drive south and see a few of the places in the Midlands.
After my dentist appointment on June 7, I’ll finish seeing some of the things I missed on my first visit to London, then leave for the north to see Yorkshire and then come south via Wales and see the southwest before my 3rd dentist’s appointment I have my last dentist’s appointment on June 22, see my friend Andrew in Maidenstone and then get the ferry to France.
I will not be unhappy to see the end of driving on the wrong side of the road.