Five snickelways lead off the Shambles The popularity of the book led to the author being called to present talks on the Snickelways, complete with a slide show. This in turn led to the publication in 1991 of an expanded, hardback book, The Complete Snickelways of York. This combined the original hand-written text with printed text and photographs. It also included information about Snickelways and other footpaths in the suburbs of York.
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In 1983 Jones devised a walk taking in 50 snickelways within the city walls. His book, A Walk around the Snickelways of York, soon became a local bestseller. It was unusual in being completely hand-written rather than using printed text, with hand-drawn illustrations, a technique which Jones acknowledged as inspired by the Pictorial Guides of Alfred Wainwright. At least nine editions of the book have been published, each revision incorporating necessary changes, such as the closure of snickelways which were not public rights of way or the opening of new paths.
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Lady Peckett's Yard, named after the wife of a former Lord Mayor of YorkJones, Mark W. A Walk Around the Snickelways of York A Walk around the Snickelways of York, by Mark W. Jones The entrance to Lady Peckett's Yard, leading through the buildings to the right of the shop Finkle Street, possibly derived from Old Norse or Danish words meaning angle or bend The Snickelways of York, often misspelt Snickleways, are a collection of small streets and footpaths in the city of York, England. The word Snickelway was coined by local author Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book A Walk Around the Snickelways of York, and is a portmanteau of the words _snick_ et, meaning a passageway between walls or fences, ginn _el_ , a narrow passageway between or through buildings, and alley _way_ , a narrow street or lane. Although the word is a neologism, it quickly became part of the local vocabulary, and has even been used in official council documents, for example when giving notice of temporary footpath closures.
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A Barghest (or Barguest) is said to roam the Snickelways and side roads of York, preying on passersby, and has also been seen near Clifford's Tower. To see the monstrous dog is said to be a warning of impending doom.
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Hone, William (1830). The Every-day Book and Table Book. Vol. 3, pp. 653–655. There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally where, according to legend, it preys on lone travellers in the city's narrow Snickelways.
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The snickelways themselves are usually small paths or lanes between buildings, not wide enough for a vehicle to pass down, and usually public rights of way. Jones provides the following definition for them: York has many such paths, mostly mediaeval, though there are some modern paths as well. They have names like any other city street, often quirky names such as Mad Alice Lane, Nether Hornpot Lane and even Finkle Street (formerly Mucky Peg Lane).
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Although the butchers have now vanished, a number of the shops on the street still have meat-hooks hanging outside and, below them, shelves on which meat was displayed. The shops currently include a mix of restaurants and shops as well as a bookshop and a bakery. Five "snickelways" lead off the Shambles. Patrick Pool, York, The Shambles Market at the end of this street and very close to The Shambles, operates daily Shambles Market operates daily and is situated between The Shambles and Parliament Street.
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Barghest, Bargtjest, Bo-guest, Bargest or Barguest is the name often given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a legendary monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham (see Cauld Lad of Hylton). One is said to frequent a remote gorge named Troller's Gill. There is also a story of a Barghest entering the city of York occasionally, where, according to legend, it preys on lone travelers in the city's narrow Snickelways. Whitby is also associated with the spectre.
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The north-east section includes a part where walls never existed, because the Norman moat of York Castle, formed by damming the River Foss, also created a lake which acted as a city defence. This lake was later called the King's Fishpond, as the rights to fish belonged to the Crown. The Shambles is a medieval shopping street; most of the buildings date from between 1350 and 1475 A feature of central York is the Snickelways, narrow pedestrian routes, many of which led towards the former market-places in Pavement and St Sampson's Square. The Shambles is a narrow medieval street, lined with shops, boutiques and tea rooms.
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The square, from the east The square is largely surrounded by buildings, with roads leading from its four corners: Feasegate leading from the southern corner, Davygate from the western, Finkle Street from the northern, and both Silver Street and Church Street from the eastern. Parliament Street leads south-east, and its broad entrance occupies half of the south-eastern side of the square. In addition, two snickelways connect to the square: Nether Hornpot Lane from the northern corner, and Three Cranes Lane from the middle of the north-eastern side. The north-western side of the square is dominated by Brown's department store, which was built in 1905, replacing several timber-framed houses. Further along, numbers 5 and 6 date from the 18th-century, and number 7 from the 16th- century.
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18-22 Coney Street The street runs north-west from the junction of Spurriergate and Market Street, to St Helen's Square. New Street leads off the north-east side of the street, as does a snickelway leading to the Judge's Court hotel, while several snickelways lead from the south-west side down to the River Ouse, including Blanshard's Lane, and paths leading to City Screen. While the street retains numerous historic buildings, most have had their street-level frontage rebuilt during the 20th-century. Notable buildings on the north-east side include the 15th-century 16-22 Coney Street, 24 Coney Street which was built about 1600 but includes part of an earlier building, the early-18th century Judge's Court hotel, and 36-40 Coney Street, dating from the 1780s.
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