Micklegate Bar
Micklegate Bar features on the Gingerguide audio walk through York. Give it roughly ~20 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~20 min
- York York guide
About Micklegate Bar
York's grandest gate, where monarchs still ask permission to enter the city, and where, for five centuries, the severed heads of traitors were spiked above the arch, the last removed in 1754.
Micklegate Bar is the grandest of York's four medieval gatehouses, on the south-western side of the walls, and the traditional ceremonial entrance to the city, where reigning monarchs still ask the Lord Mayor's permission to enter. Its lower arch is Norman, of the 12th century, with upper storeys added in the 14th; rooms over the gate were inhabited from 1196. For centuries the severed heads of traitors and rebels were displayed above the gate as a warning: among them Sir Henry 'Hotspur' Percy in 1403 and, most famously, Richard, Duke of York, killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 (Shakespeare's play adds the mocking paper crown). The last heads were removed in 1754, and the outer barbican was demolished in 1826. A Grade I listed gatehouse, it lies within the historic city of York.
Did you know? For nearly five centuries the heads of traitors and rebels were spiked above Micklegate Bar as a warning; the very last were not taken down until 1754, within living memory of the American Revolution.
How long is a visit to Micklegate Bar?
Set aside roughly ~20 min for Micklegate Bar. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Micklegate Bar worth your time?
Micklegate Bar is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for York, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in York
Hear the story of Micklegate Bar
Preview the York tour free in the Gingerguide app.