We went to breakfast a little later than the previous day. Consequently the breakfast room was more crowded due to it being a bank holiday Saturday.
After breakfast we made our way to Barley Hall. I stopped to take some photos along the way and Mr C and my mum carried on ahead. By the time I caught up with them I found that they were chatting with a gentleman. I found out that he was from the Gideon Society and that he had given Mr C a copy of the New Testament and Psalms. This was fortuitous as I had accidently left my copy, which I normally take on holiday, at home.
Barley Hall is a reconstructed Medieval Hall, the remains of which had been hidden under a more modern building. It was only when this modern building was due to be demolished that the medieval structure was discovered. The oldest parts of the Hall date to around 1360 when the Hall was built as the York Townhouse for Nostell Priory. Later the Hall became the home of a leading York citizen, William Snawsell, a Goldsmith, Alderman and Lord Mayor of York. The Hall is currently housing an exhibition called The Power and the Glory; York in the time of Henry VIII. On display in the exhibition are some of the costumes from the BBC’s Wolf Hall dramatization.
After our visit to the hall we browsed around a few shops to keep warm and dry until it was time to queue for lunch in Bettys. We didn’t have to queue for too long and the poached salmon and lemon mayonnaise sandwich was well worth the wait. After our sandwich, we all indulged in a naughty cake. As we arrived the waitress had asked if we were celebrating something so I mentioned that it was my mum’s birthday weekend. We presumably didn’t look like tourists. When we had finished our cake, the waiter brought a small fondant cake with a candle on top and presented it to mum. What a lovely touch. He then brought a small box and bag and packed it up to be consumed later in the day.
Next we visited York Minster, all decked out for Easter with the Easter Garden underneath the Five Sisters Window. This happens to be my favourite glass in York Minster. There is something about the way the light shines through the smaller panels at the top of the window. We also visited the crypt and the undercroft which houses an excellent exhibition covering 2000 years of the history of York and York Minster.
Mum made her way back to the hotel whilst we returned to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop that we had browsed around earlier in the day. We bought some (too many) Christmas decorations to replace the ones that got broken when a box slipped out of the loft as we were getting them down last Christmas. The girls in the shop were horrified when we told them this tale.
We enjoyed another delicious evening meal. This time we dined in La Vecchia Scuola. I chose Sea Bass with prawns and clams. The food was delicious, even the clams (which I don’t normally eat). I followed this with a small scoop of salted caramel ice cream. The restaurant had a very lively atmosphere, with live piano music.
Barley Hall might be a reconstructed Medieval Hall, but how could they not know/think/assume/hope that there was a medieval structure already there? Property developers who pull down important buildings (original or renovated) drive me nuts
On the face of it, I suspect there was no reason for them to think that there might be archaeological remains underneath. The discovery was made 40 years ago when these things weren’t considered in the same way that they are now.
It looks as though you had a really interesting day – great photos. The food looks delicious and the little cake with a candle was a lovely gesture. Hope your mum enjoyed her birthday.
My mum did enjoy her birthday, although I think we wore her out with too much site seeing…