Castlegate
York
Yorkshire
Situated at the end of a short 100 metre stretch of wall that would have once connected the Davy Tower to the Castlegate Postern (now gone!) this tower probably doesn't feature on anyone's visit to York these days.
This stretch of wall, judging by some contemporary drawings of this specific area, does not appear to have ever been very substantial....although today it is even lower. This is partly due to the fact that the surrounding ground has been raised for added flood defences. The lower levels of the Davy Tower, and the wall leading off it, are buried beneath the earth for this reason.
There is a a very narrow wall walk on the inside of the wall, which may have been emboldened with a timber platform. Some of the wall's embrasures have been bricked up and the outer ditch, dug out in 1454, has long since been filled in.
The Davy Tower sits at the South Western end of this short stretch of wall, and probably dates from the early 1300's. It is mentioned in documents dated 1315 and again in 1380, as the Davytoure. It was also historically known as the Tower of the Friars Minor, due to its proximity to the Franciscan Friary.
Originally a rectangular building, it appears to have lost its North West angle. Hiding behind some bushes to the side, one of the tower's walls still contains an arrow slit and a small gun loop.
Above. A view of the tower from across the river.Between 1731 and 1750, a brick summer house was incorporated into the South angle of the tower. The whole structure has now been converted to a house, and only the pale stone work now visible to a height of about ten feet, represents the remains of the medieval stone work.
Like Barker Tower and Lendal Tower, the Davy Tower would have been used to secure a chain across the River Ouse, with the other side of the chain being secured to the now demolished Skeldergate Postern tower.
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