York

Back to York and a meeting with the Emperor Constantine. He was declared Emperor by his fathers troops close to this spot, the Roman barracks is under York Minster (strange place to build a barracks). Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople, it's Istanbul not Constantinople now, though the city was called Byzantium at the time. Naming it after himself shows how modest he is.

St Mary's Abbey, York

This is St Mary's Abbey, well what's left of it. Founded in 1088 it was one the richest Benedictine monasteries in England. That was until Henry VIII and his Dissolution of the monasteries came along in the 1530's. Over the years the buildings fell into decay. Now the ruins are in York Museum Gardens and its all very lovely.

Clifford's Tower in York

I'm standing in front of Clifford's Tower. Its part of what's left of York Castle. Originally built by William the Conqueror the castle has been changed over the years. The original wooden tower was burnt down in 1190 and rebuilt. In the middle of 13th C Henry III decided to knock it down and build an entirely stone tower. Wooden castles aren't really that useful, especially against us dragons. For people that can't fly (I don't know how they manage) there are steps going up to the tower. The path used to wind round the mound up to the tower, which sounds more fun than the straight steps there now. Nobody knows why its called Clifford's Tower - they could tell you that before making you climb all those steps to read the information inside the tower.

York Tyburn

I'm at the site of York gallows in Knavesmire, know as York Tyburn. Knavesmire is about a mile from York Castle and is a marshy area. Executions used to attract large crowds who would gather in nearby pubs and get drunk before going to watch the hangings. The gallows were here until 1801 and is now home to York race course, so it still does attract large crowds who get drunk before the entertainment. The most famous person executed here was Dick Turpin in 1739.