C12 Benedictine abbey and monastery. Originally founded as the minster of St Olave at Galmanho before 1055, it was refounded as a Benedictine monastery as part of an exchange of land between the Archbishop of York and monk Stephen of Whitby by 1068. Following a visit by William Rufus circa 1086-9, the church was found to be too small for the brethren and William granted land adjacent to the church to expand the abbey. A new church was built and rededicated to St Mary. It was the first monastic establishment founded in Yorkshire after the Conquest and became one of the wealthiest abbeys of the order and had a mitred Abbot who sat in the House of Lords. The chief portions remaining are the late C13 north aisle with arcading and traceried windows, the adjoining west wall and doorway, most of C13 precinct wall, towers and gatehouse. Licence to crenellate granted in 1318. The abbey precinct wall forms part of York Town Wall. The Abbot's House, constructed by Abbot Sevier 1485-95, altered and rebuilt in 1541, additions of 1572. Offices of the King's Council of the North and occasional royal residence 1539-1641.The precinct wall of the Abbey has slots in the sides of the merlon and a reconstructed shutter and a notice describing this as a military feature to protect 'soldiers' on the wall walk and saying it exists only there and at Alnwick. Unlike the city wall, there was not a masonry wallwalk behind this wall although there is evidence there was a wooden platform. The shutters may have served as much to hid the lack of patrolling soldiers as to 'protect' them.

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Name	York Abbey
Alternative Names	St Marys Abbey; The Kings Manor
Historic County	Yorkshire Ainsty and York
Civil Parish	York
Type	Fortified Ecclesiastical site Urban Defence Palace
Confidence	Certain
Remains	Major
Listed	Grade 1
Scheduled Ancient Monument	No
Ordnance Survey Reference	SE599521
Eastings	459940
Northing	452170
Images of England Reference	464211
PastScape Reference	1406756
Historic Environment Record	MYO1080

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StreetMaps

Books

• Dean Gareth, 2008, Medieval York (The History Press)
• Salter, Mike, 2001, The Castles and Tower Houses of Yorkshire (Malvern) p119
• Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p319
• Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p282-5
• Pevsner, D. and Neave, D., 1995. The Buildings of England: Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (London, Penguin) p181-6
• Thurley, Simon, 1993, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England (Yale University Press) p50, 57
• Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1982, The history of the King's Works Vol4: 1485-1660 (part 2) (London) p355-64
• Waterman, R.D., 1980, The Bars and Walls of York: a Survey. An Assessment of their Condition and State of Repair, [City Engineer’s Department]
• RCHME, 1975. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York: 4, the North-east (London, HMSO), 3-24
• RCHME, 1972. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York, 2: The Defences (London, HMSO)
• Knowles, David and Hadcock, R Neville, 1971, Medieval religious houses in England and Wales (Longman) p82, 487
• Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p111
• Tillott, P.M. (ed), 1961, VCH York, City of York p357- http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36374
• Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p407

Antiquarian

• Speed, John, 1611-12, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain [http://faculty.oxy.edu/horowitz/home/johnspeed/Cities30.htm]
• William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/yorkseng.html#yorks22]

Journals

• Coulson, C., 1982, 'Hierarchism in Conventual Crenellation: An Essay in the Sociology and Metaphysics of Medieval Fortification' Medieval Archaeology Vol26 p69-100 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
• Whittingham, A.B., 1971, 'St Mary's Abbey, York: an interpretation of its plan' Archaeological Journal Vol128 p116-46

Guidebooks

• Wilson, C. and Burton, J., 1988. St Mary's Abbey, York (York)

Primary Sources

• Calendar of Close Rolls (1259-61) p315 [Permission to build wall]
• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1317-21) p190 [licence to crenellate]
• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1354-58) p84-6 [dispute between abbey and town. Details rights and obligation regarding wall]