York Debtor's Prison

York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Walls, the Bar Walls and the Roman walls (though this last is a misnomer as very little of the extant stonework is of Roman origin, and the course of the wall has been substantially altered since Roman times). The walls are generally 13 feet (4m) high and 6 feet (1.8m) wide.

The Davy Tower is a feature of the York city walls in England. The stone tower was built around 1250, probably at the end of a wall or earthwork leading to Castlegate, around the moat of York Castle. It was first recorded in 1315, and by 1424 the part of the city inside the walls was occupied by the York Franciscan Friary. Until 1553, a chain could be strung across the River Ouse from the tower to a now-demolished tower near Skeldergate. From 1607, a public toilet adjoined the tower, on the river side, known as the "Sugar House". In 1732, it was replaced by a stone arch, the Friargate Postern.Around 1730, the tower was altered, when a summerhouse was constructed in its southern corner: the basement in stone, and the raised ground floor in brick. It was extended in about 1830, and has since filled all but the north-west corner of the tower, which has been demolished. The building was extended again in the 20th century, incorporating a coal store and a new concrete floor. In 1954, it was Grade II* listed.The mediaeval stone wall is about 10 feet high and 1 foot 8 thick, and it retains two original windows: an arrowslit in a cross shape, and a musket loop. Some internal features survive from the 18th century, including a chimneypiece, window seats, a dado rail with panelling, and a cornice.

The Tower Street drill hall is a military installation in York. It lies on Tower Street, in the city centre.

York Franciscan Friary was a friary in York, North Yorkshire, England. It was located between York Castle and the River Ouse. In 1538, it fell victim to Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. All that now remains of it is a stone wall on King's Staith, adjacent to the Davy Tower on the York city walls.

York and Selby Magistrates’ Court is a Grade II listed building on Clifford Street, York.

Tower Street is a road in the city centre of York, in England.

Clifford Street is a road in the city centre of York, in England.

York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the south side of the River Foss. The now ruined keep of the medieval Norman castle is commonly referred to as Clifford's Tower. Built originally on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of Jórvík, the castle suffered a tumultuous early history before developing into a major fortification with extensive water defences. After a major explosion in 1684 rendered the remaining military defences uninhabitable, York Castle continued to be used as a gaol and prison until 1929. The first motte and bailey castle on the site was built in 1068 following the Norman conquest of York. After the destruction of the castle by rebels and a Viking army in 1069, York Castle was rebuilt and reinforced with extensive water defences, including a moat and an artificial lake. York Castle formed an important royal fortification in the north of England. In 1190, 150 local Jews were killed in a pogrom in the timber castle keep; most of them died by suicide in order not to fall into the hands of the mob. Henry III rebuilt the castle in stone in the middle of the 13th century, creating a keep with a unique quatrefoil design, supported by an outer bailey wall and a substantial gatehouse. During the Scottish wars between 1298 and 1338, York Castle was frequently used as the centre of royal administration across England, as well as an important military base of operations. York Castle fell into disrepair by the 15th and 16th centuries, becoming used increasingly as a gaol for both local felons and political prisoners. By the time of Elizabeth I the castle was estimated to have lost all of its military value but was maintained as a centre of royal authority in York. The outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642 saw York Castle being repaired and refortified, playing a part in the Royalist defence of York in 1644 against Parliamentary forces. York Castle continued to be garrisoned until 1684, when an explosion destroyed the interior of Clifford's Tower. The castle bailey was redeveloped in a neoclassical style in the 18th century as a centre for county administration in Yorkshire, and was used as a gaol and debtors' prison. Prison reform in the 19th century led to the creation of a new prison built in a Tudor Gothic style on the castle site in 1825; used first as a county and then as a military prison, this facility was demolished in 1935. By the 20th century the ruin of Clifford's Tower had become a well-known tourist destination and national monument; today the site is owned by English Heritage and open to the public. The other remaining buildings serve as the York Castle Museum and the Crown Court.

Friargate Quaker Meeting House is a religious building in the city centre of York, in England. Quakers first met in York in the 1650s, and in 1674 they converted a house on what is now Friargate for use as a meeting house. In 1718, a larger site to its east was purchased, and a larger meeting house was constructed, with a capacity of 800 to 1000 worshippers, while the original meeting house was extended and converted into a meeting room for women. In 1817, Charles Watson and James Pigott Pritchett designed an extension, including a new meeting room, library, committee room, strong room and toilets. In 1884, the original building was demolished, and William Thorp designed a further extension to the meeting house, providing a main entrance onto the newly constructed Clifford Street, a small meeting room, school room, lecture room, two committee rooms, a library, cloakrooms, and accommodation for a caretaker. The old entrance onto Friargate was closed in 1891. In the early 20th century, land at the rear of the meeting house was purchased, for use as a garden. Although the meeting house of 1817 was grade II listed, in 1979 it was found to be structurally unsafe, and was demolished. Part of the 1884 building was sold off, and later converted into housing. Jones, Stocks and Partners designed a replacement meeting house on the site of the 1817 building, which was completed in 1981. Between 2013 and 2015, the new meeting house was extended, adding an upper storey and a rear turret. The building is constructed of red brick and is two storeys high at the front, three at the rear. At the front is a canopy, supported by cast iron columns, reused from the 1817 building. At the rear, there is a two-storey turret, in brick with boarding above. Inside, the ground floor comprises a foyer, main meeting room, two smaller rooms, kitchen, library, quiet room and toilets. The main meeting room, originally built as the women's meeting room, has oak panelling, a suspended ceiling, and 19th-century pine benches. The lower ground floor has further meeting rooms and an archives room. The meeting house lies on part of the site of York Franciscan Friary, with a section of its wall being visible in the Woolman Room. On the first floor are four additional meeting rooms.

Castlegate House is a Georgian Grade I listed building in central York, in England.

The Bonding Warehouse is a historic building in the city centre of York in England. The building lies between Skeldergate and the southwest bank of the River Ouse. It was constructed in two sections, the northern block being built between 1872 and 1873, and the southern block in 1875. Both were designed by George Styan, the surveyor of the city of York. It was originally known as the Bonded Warehouse, and commissioned by York Corporation, for customs house officials to store goods on which duty had not yet been paid. In the 20th century, there was less commercial traffic on the river, and the warehouse closed in 1958. It was then used by Rowntree's for storage, then in 1981 was converted into a pub and steakhouse. In the 1990s, it was converted into a music and comedy venue, but it closed in 2000, following flooding. In 2004, it was briefly squatted by the York Peace Collective. In 2012, it was converted into a mix of offices and apartments, with concrete casings and a new footbridge enabling access even when the local area was flooded. The building has been grade II listed since 1977. The building is constructed of pink brick, with multicoloured brick dressings, an ashlar plinth on the riverside front, and slate roofs. The northern block is three storeys high and seven bays wide, and the southern block has two storeys and six bays. The central bay of the northern block has original lifting doors on the upper floors. There is a parapet, which rises to a gable over the central bay. The southeast front is two storeys high and five bays wide, and a gable over the central bay is inscribed "BONDING WAREHOUSE/ AD 1875". On the street front, the northern block is mostly six bays wide, with a single bay to the left set further back. There are lifting doors in the second bay. The southern block comes further forward. Inside, the northern block has an original full-height stone staircase with cast iron bannisters and handrail. The lower floors have brick vaulting on cast iron columns. The roof of the northern block has five queen post trusses, and the southern block four king post trusses.

York Institute of Art, Science and Literature is a Grade II listed building at 12 Clifford Street, York.