On our final morning in York, I got up bright and early – super eager to check out a couple of places I knew I just couldn’t leave the city without visiting!
But not before a long and leisurely (not to mention, delicious) breakfast at Gray’s Court!
The first spot I wanted to visit was St Mary’s Abbey (which I found out about when ).
Although it’s actually smack in the city centre, St Mary’s Abbey feels like one of those places you wouldn’t necessarily know to visit if no one told you about it as it’s tucked away, in the back streets behind some rather grand buildings.
Said grand buildings ended up serving as something of a distraction as we tried to navigate our way to the Abbey.
We soon found ourselves outside the and decided to pop in quickly to check out the collection here.
Apparently, the gallery has one of the largest ceramics collection (I think, in the UK) – amongst other treasures.
Thankfully, it’s not the biggest gallery so we didn’t spend too long here before heading out…
…only to be distracted by a building with a stunning colourful coat of arms on it. Unsure what it was, I figured we might as well pop in for a closer look!
Turns out the coat of arms was for Charles the 1st and the building itself was actually part of the University of York.
The building is actually the King’s Manor and was the home to the Abbots of St Mary’s Abbey (Abbots are kinda like the Archbishops of York).
The courtyard here is actually quite pretty and somewhat unexpected as it’s so quiet and serene and a far cry from the busy high street.
There’s actually a cafe here, by the way, so it’s worth popping round here for a coffee if you find yourself with free time on your hands.
St Mary’s Abbey, as it turns out was just behind King’s Manor, which again makes sense given that it was the home of the Abbots.
Once upon a time, the Abbey was one of the richest Benedictine Abbeys and upon surrender of all their money to Henry VIII (The King who beheaded his wives including Anne Boleyn) promptly fell into ruin and disrepair.
The King’s Manor apparently only survived because Henry VIII found used for it as the Council of the North (which eventually dissolved in 1641), after which it became the home of the Governor of York.
There’s so much more I could tell you about the history here but I’ll let you find that out all for yourself when you visit!
