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Monk Bar
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Monk Bar, 129 Monkgate, York YO31 7PD -
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8:00 am - 8:00 pm
Monk Bar is York’s tallest gateway, with four storeys standing at a height of 63ft. The structure has the strongest defences of all four of the city’s main gates, a self-contained fortress.
Attraction Duration
1 hour
Age Range
Suitable for all ages
About Monk Bar
Monk Bar is one of four main medieval gates in York’s city walls and perhaps the finest. Largely constructed in the 1300s, an upper storey was added to the structure in the 15th century, making the entrance a formidable stronghold, complete with arrow slits. It is said that it has the only working portcullis of any of the city’s main entranceways, a gate which could be lowered when York was under threat of attack. ‘Murder holes’ are still visible in the structure, which allowed defenders to throw objects from above.
On top of Monk Bar’s battlements, carved stone figures known as the ‘Wild Men of York’ wait to defend the city. Local legend says they will come alive and drop boulders onto the enemy below, if York is ever attacked. York’s walls were last besieged during the English Civil War in 1644, when the city was captured by Parliamentarian forces.
History & Heritage 
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