Walmgate Bar restored to its former glory

Minster east end work completed

Following a £100,000 investment by City of York Council, Walmgate Bar has been fully reopened to the public after the completion of a programme of work to protect and preserve the historic structure.

Walmgate Bar 1830

Over the course of several months the bar, which is the most complete of the four medieval gateways in York, was carefully restored to its former glory. The walls themselves are the best example of medieval city walls still standing in England today.

The work saw the Bar Walls lifted by 10mm by a sophisticated set of hydraulic jacks to allow two of the supporting column capitals to be replaced and for the weight to be redistributed.

A viewing platform has also been added to the roof, enabling residents and visitors to enjoy the view. The thermal insulation of the Bar has been improved through the use of a lime render that incorporates hemp. A hand rail has also been installed on the Barbican walkway, enabling even more people to access it.

Walmgate Bar after restoration 2015

Over one million people walk on the bar walls each year which were originally built as defences. The focus is now on conservation and the council is working with Historic England to help preserve the walls for future generations. Walmgate Bar is a gatehouse to the city and is the only bar to still have its barbican, portcullis and wooden inner doors.

The City Walls are open every day from 8am to dusk. To find out more about the Walls or about the Walmgate Bar project visit:www.york.gov.uk/citywalls

Elsewhere the scaffolding has finally come down from the east end of York Minster

Minster East End stonework work completed

12 years. 16 miles of scaffolding. 2,500 stones…and this one’s the last. Huge news today: http://bit.ly/1mrI1Sz

Restoration work is currently taking place on the “CAMERA CANTORUM”. This is the section of the Minster to the left of the south door.

Workers will then move to the South Quire where each window bay needs restoration at a cost of up to £1 million (each).

A fund raising appeal is being led by the York Minster Fund.

CAMERA CANTORUM

South Quire window

Acomb resident wins cycle

A resident from Acomb has ridden away with a new bike ahead of Christmas after winning i-Travel York’s grand prize for completing her personal travel challenge.

Ursula Balla has won a bike of her choice to the value of £150 from the cycle shop Recycle York in i-Travel York’s grand prize draw. She won the prize after successfully completing a personal travel challenge to walk more following a visit from one of i-Travel York’s team of trained travel advisors.

Executive member for Transport and Planning, Cllr Ian Gillies, said: “Over 7,000 households across York like Ursula’s have benefited during 2015 from the most extensive door-to-door exercise ever carried out by City of York Council. Travel advisors have been providing tailored travel advice and incentives to help encourage residents to make informed choices on sustainable travel options such as cycling, walking, car sharing and public transport.”

As part of the initiative, participants were offered the chance to take part in a personal travel challenge to try different ways of travelling and have the opportunity to be entered into a prize draw for completing their challenge successfully.

Ursula and her family were interested in walking as an option to keep active and healthy, so the visit by i-Travel York came about at the right time. For her personal travel challenge, Ursula set herself a target of walking 30 minutes a day.

Ursula said: “It was actually quite easy to achieve and much more convenient than going to a gym! I simply walked home a lot from work rather than getting lifts in the car.”

Ursula also persuaded her husband to get involved “We downloaded some walking maps and went walking together in the summer, which we really enjoyed, we even went as far out as Tadcaster. It’s been a great way to spend more quality time together and talk.”

“‘I’m delighted to have won a bike from Recycle, and am looking forward to getting back out on a bike again!” says Ursula.

Brad Want of Recycle York in Walmgate who donated the prize said: “Congratulations to Ursula on winning the prize! It’s nice to be able to give something back to the community.”

The shop specialises in rescuing and rebuilding unwanted bikes. For more information visit www.re-cycleyork.co.uk

For more information on the i-Travel York programme please visit www.itravelyork.info