Knavesmire | |
---|---|
Path on the edge of the Knavesmire | |
Location within North Yorkshire | |
OS grid reference | SE592499 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | YORK |
Postcode district | YO23 |
Police | North Yorkshire |
Fire | North Yorkshire |
Ambulance | Yorkshire |
The Knavesmire is one of a number of large, marshy undeveloped areas within the city of York in North Yorkshire, England, which are collectively known as Strays . Knavesmire, together with Hob Moor, comprises Micklegate Stray. [1] This place includes an area of execution known as York Tyburn.
It has been suggested that the name 'Knavesmire' may share a derivation with Knaresborough—Cenward's mire. [2]
Situated in the south-west of the city, some distance outside the historic walls, Knavesmire's low-lying position makes it liable to severe flooding in times of heavy rain. [3] As a consequence, it remained undeveloped as the city expanded around it.
The Knavesmire was the site of York Golf course for many years.
During the Second World War, parts of the Knavesmire were farmed, while other parts were used for military purposes including an anti-aircraft battery and a prisoner of war transit camp which was located near the grandstand. [2]
Knavesmire was also the site of Knavesmire Secondary School, which then became one of the campuses of The College of Law till 2014. Millthorpe School uses the Knavesmire for cross country running. Knavesmire Primary School is located on Campleshon Road, at the southern end of Knavesmire Road. In 1864 a letter was sent to the York press from H. J. Jenkinson of the Leeds football club suggesting that the citizens of York form a football team and that they should play a friendly match on Knavesmire.
Between 2009 and 2022, it was also home to Yorkshire's largest beer festival. [4] The annual York CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival was held in a marquee on Knavesmire opposite the Grandstand. [5]
For many years, Knavesmire was the site of public hangings in York. The gallows were erected in 1379, a few miles outside the city on the main southern approach road (now known as the A1036 Tadcaster Road). [6] The execution site was often referred to as "York Tyburn" after the original Tyburn gallows in Middlesex. [7] [8]
Probably the most famous people to be executed there were Rhys ap Maredudd, a Welsh nobleman and rebel, hanged in 1292, and Dick Turpin, who was hanged in 1739. Catholic priests Alexander Rawlins and Henry Walpole were hanged, drawn and quartered on 7 April 1595. [9] Another Catholic priest, Nicholas Postgate, was hanged, drawn and quartered there in 1679. One of the last women to be burned at the stake was Elizabeth Broadingham, who had already been killed with her lover, in 1790. [10]
By the beginning of the 19th century, it was felt that the gallows did not create a good first impression for visitors to the city. [11] The last hanging at Knavesmire was in 1801, after which the gallows were moved to a more discreet (although still public) location near the castle. [12] A paved area with a small plaque today marks the position in which the scaffold stood. [13]
Today, the Knavesmire is used for recreation and for public events. It is a popular site for dog-walking, and a large part of it is occupied by York Racecourse. The York Races were first moved to the Knavesmire from Clifton in 1731. [6] Since January 2012 it has been the location of the York Parkrun, a free 5k running event held every Saturday morning. [14]
The Little Knavesmire is the home of Ovington CC.
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne, means 'boundary stream'.
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902.
Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the Calderdale borough of West Yorkshire, England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack, is 1,448, increasing to 1,470 at the 2011 Census. The town of Hebden Bridge lies directly to the south-east. Although Heptonstall is part of Hebden Bridge as a post town, it is not within the Hebden Royd town boundaries.
Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the point where Swaledale, the upper valley of the River Swale, opens into the Vale of Mowbray. The town's population at the 2011 census was 8,413. The town is 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Northallerton, the county town, and 41 miles (66 km) north-west of York.
Albert Pierrepoint was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him.
A gallows is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks of grain or minerals, usually positioned in markets or toll gates. The term was also used for a projecting framework from which a ship's anchor might be raised so it is no longer sitting on the seabed, riverbed or dock; "weighing [the] anchor" meant raising it using this apparatus while avoiding striking the ship's hull.
York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It attracts around 350,000 racegoers per year and stages three of the UK's 36 annual Group 1 races – the Juddmonte International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks.
William Wynne Ryland was an English engraver, who pioneered stipple engraving and was executed for forgery.
Catterick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north-west of the county town of Northallerton just to the west of the River Swale. It lends its name to nearby Catterick Garrison and the nearby hamlet of Catterick Bridge, the home of Catterick Racecourse where the village Sunday market is held. It lies on the route of the old Roman road of Dere Street and is the site of the Roman fortification of Cataractonium.
The Strays of York is a collective name for four areas of open land, comprising in all over 800 acres (3.2 km2), within the City of York. Their individual names are Bootham Stray, Micklegate Stray, Monk Stray and Walmgate Stray.
Whixley is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is near the A1(M) motorway and 10 miles (16 km) west of York. The ancient village of Whixley lies on Rudgate, the old Roman road along which the Roman “Hispania” Legion would have marched to nearby Isurium (Aldborough).
Sir Robert Constable was a member of the English Tudor gentry. He helped Henry VII to defeat the Cornish rebels at the Battle of Blackheath in 1497. In 1536, when the rising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace broke out in the north of England, Constable was one of the insurgent leaders, but towards the close of the year, he submitted at Doncaster and was pardoned. He did not share in the renewal of the rising, Bigod's rebellion, which took place in January 1537; but he refused the king's invitation to proceed to London, and was arrested, tried for treason, and hanged at Hull in the following June.
To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). The convicted traitor was fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn behind a horse to the place of execution, where he was then hanged, emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and quartered. His remains would then often be displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge, to serve as a warning of the fate of traitors. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burned at the stake.
Bigod's rebellion of January 1537 was an armed rebellion by English Catholics in Cumberland and Westmorland against King Henry VIII of England and the English Parliament. It was led by Sir Francis Bigod, of Settrington in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Alexander Rawlins was an English Roman Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929.
Marcy Clay alias Jenny Fox, was an English thief and highwayrobber, and subject of the 1665 pamphlet The high-way woman, or, A true and perfect narrative of the wicked life, and deplorable death of Marcy Clay.
York Debtor's Prison is a former debtor's prison and Grade I Listed building located in York, North Yorkshire. Since 1952 it has been part of the York Castle Museum.
The Female Prison is a former women's prison and a Grade I Listed building located in York, North Yorkshire, England. Since 1938 it has been part of the York Castle Museum.
Elizabeth Broadingham was a British murderer. She was executed in 1776 with her lover for the murder of her husband in York. Her husband was considered to be her social superior so she was one of the last women to be burned at the stake.