Thursday, May 27, 2010

Micklegate Bar, York


Taken this morning on the way back home from a school assignment, this shot from within the walls takes in two traffic and one pedestrian arch. The Norse suffix gate is common in the north of England for street. Whitby, for example, has its Flowergate and Sandgate. 

In modern English, this post would be entitled Grand or Main Street Gate or something similar, bar meaning gate rather than pub. I think that makes a pretty good case for sticking with the old.

Being more or less on the south of the city, Micklegate Bar is the royal entrance to York, though you'd have to wait a very long time for a monarch to pass through.

4 comments:

  1. Love York bars, especially Micklegate because fron and back loo so different. We are lucky to live in a place like York. I really enjoy your photos...Ciao. A.

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  2. That's quite a magnificent brick gate! How many bricks did they use to build it?

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  3. Glad you cleared up the bar and gate terminology. I was confused looking for a bar as in pub! How old is it? It's grand.

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  4. Thanks for the language lesson. English English can be so confusing to me — and I find it funny too sometimes, which I love. :)

    That is one thick entrance!

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