{"id":12350,"date":"2023-09-06T13:59:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillecelticfestival.com\/?p=12350"},"modified":"2023-09-06T13:59:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T13:59:35","slug":"unlock-yorks-secrets-access-the-citys-gems-at-this-free-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillecelticfestival.com\/travel\/unlock-yorks-secrets-access-the-citys-gems-at-this-free-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlock York&apos;s secrets: Access the city&apos;s gems at this free festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Unlock York&#8217;s secrets: Medieval towers, magnificent mills &#8211; access the city&#8217;s hidden treasures at this free festival<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>York Unlocked will showcase 70 sites of interest on the weekend of October 7-8<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Andrew Martin\u00a0was given a preview of six of the attractions<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: British Airways launches huge end-of-summer sale<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>York citizens \u2014 of whom I used to be one \u2014 might moan about all the tourists, but most are secretly proud of inhabiting a city that is a jewel box of historical treasures.<\/p>\n<p>On the weekend of October 7-8, York Unlocked will showcase 70 sites of interest, often with guides on hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I was given a preview of six of the attractions.<\/p>\n<p><span>Key question<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The medieval St Mary\u2019s Tower, part of the defences of now-ruined St Mary\u2019s Abbey, is the picturesque centrepiece of Museum Gardens. Built in the 14th century, it was blown up in 1644 during the Civil War, killing several dozen occupants.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/06\/12\/75117211-12486587-image-a-3_1693998841799.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>This October, York Unlocked will showcase 70 sites of interest in York. One attraction is the medieval St Mary\u2019s Tower, which is part of the defences of now-ruined St Mary\u2019s Abbey (pictured)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was rebuilt \u2014 badly, in a far-from perfect circle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Today, home to York Singing Academy, visitors can ponder a modern mystery: how did they get the grand piano in?<\/p>\n<p><span>Milling around<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/06\/12\/75118127-12486587-image-a-10_1694000367727.jpg\" height=\"634\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Holgate Windmill, pictured,\u00a0is the city\u2019s last surviving windmill and the oldest five-sailed mill in the country<\/p>\n<p>Standing tall amid a crowd of suburban semis is Holgate Windmill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Built in 1770, it was rescued from dereliction by volunteers in 2001. It is the city\u2019s last surviving windmill and the oldest five-sailed mill in the country. Its impressive interior is flour dusted and the main vertical shaft was formerly a ship\u2019s mast.<\/p>\n<p><span>Take a pew<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/06\/12\/75117219-12486587-Picture_courtesy_of_Creative_Commons-a-9_1694000052772.jpg\" height=\"633\" width=\"633\"><\/p>\n<p>The Central Methodist Church (above) resembles a theatre rather than any Anglican church. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Behind the monumental classical facade of the Central Methodist Church, built in 1840 to mark the centenary of Methodism, lies an enormous, two-tier auditorium whose box pews could accommodate 1,700. It resembles a theatre rather than any Anglican church.<\/p>\n<p>In place of the stage is the rostrum from where the minister conveys the word of God in unfussy Methodist style.<\/p>\n<p>Mysticism is banished: light floods in from the many windows, plain except for decorative red or blue borders.<\/p>\n<p><span>Worth asking<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/06\/13\/75117215-12486587-Now_an_Ask_Italian_restaurant_the_historic_Assembly_Rooms_pictur-a-14_1694002859344.jpg\" height=\"372\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Now an Ask Italian restaurant, the historic Assembly Rooms, pictured, first opened in\u00a01732. Image courtesy of Creative Commons\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 18th-century York, the centre of social life of the local gentry was the Assembly Rooms, designed by the Earl of Burlington and opened in 1732. It is one of the earliest buildings built in classical style outside Italy, so it\u2019s either all-the-more, or less, strange it\u2019s now an Ask Italian restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>Surveying the double colonnade of Corinthian columns and the candelabra, it\u2019s easy to imagine the York elite engaging in formal dances, the scents of coffee, hot punch and cinnamon on the air.<\/p>\n<p><span>Ain\u2019t it Grand<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/06\/12\/75117213-12486587-image-a-6_1693998867467.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The five-star Grand Hotel, pictured,\u00a0was built in flamboyant neo-baroque style by North Eastern Railway<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m shocked to see men stepping out of the five-star Grand Hotel in shorts and T-shirts. In the 1970s, when it was British Rail offices, everyone who worked there \u2014 including my dad \u2014 wore suits.<\/p>\n<p>It was built in 1906, in flamboyant neo-baroque style, by North Eastern Railway, whose crest adorns the exterior.<\/p>\n<p>The building was a \u2018palace of business\u2019, with luxurious fixtures and fittings \u2014 all marble floors and oak panelling \u2014 designed to impress coal merchants, mine owners and other railway clients. The building became a hotel in 2010. Visitors to the basement spa are surprised to see 6 in-thick steel doors: the NER kept the cash down there.<\/p>\n<p><span>Clock-watching<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Terry\u2019s chocolate was considered classier than its York rivals, Rowntree\u2019s \u2014 and its salubrious factory, opened in 1926, boasted extensive grounds.<\/p>\n<p>Having closed in 2005, after Kraft bought Terry\u2019s, it has been converted into high-end flats and is near the River Ouse and racecourse. The complex has a clocktower, whose four-faceted clock has the words \u2018Terry\u2019 and \u2018York\u2019 (plus three asterisks) in place of numerals.<\/p>\n<p>The clock mechanism \u2014 recently restored to working order after 18 years out of service \u2014 can also be viewed.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>See <\/span><span>york-unlocked.org.uk<\/span><span>.<\/span><span> Booking is required for The Grand and Terry\u2019s Clock Tower. <\/span><span>Andrew Martin\u2019s book,<\/span><span> Yorkshire \u2014 There And Back<\/span><span>, is published by Corsair.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/travel\/article-12486587\/Unlock-Yorks-secrets-Medieval-towers-magnificent-mills-access-citys-hidden-treasures-free-festival.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlock York&#8217;s secrets: Medieval towers, magnificent mills &#8211; access the city&#8217;s hidden treasures at this free festival York Unlocked will showcase 70 sites of interest on the weekend of October 7-8 Andrew Martin\u00a0was given a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Unlock York&amp;apos;s secrets: Access the city&amp;apos;s gems at this free festival - jacksonvillecelticfestival.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillecelticfestival.com\/travel\/unlock-yorks-secrets-access-the-citys-gems-at-this-free-festival\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unlock York&amp;apos;s secrets: Access the city&amp;apos;s gems at this free festival - jacksonvillecelticfestival.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unlock York&#8217;s secrets: Medieval towers, magnificent mills &#8211; 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